Human Rights Education Update - August 2024

Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights

Standing in solidarity with the bravest people on earth to realize Senator Robert F. Kennedy's ideals of justice.

Published Aug 27, 2024

Welcome back to school! Whether you’ve been back for a couple weeks already or are about to start, we’re sending our best wishes for a fantastic school year to you all, your students, and your whole community. We have a number of exciting discussions, events, and workshops planned for the fall, and we hope you’ll be able to join us. We would also love to hear from you! What are you excited about this year? What are you working on? How might we be able to partner with you to bring human rights learning into your school? Let me know—get in touch at robinson@rfkhumanrights.org. Here we go! Karen Robinson Program Director, Human Rights Education Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights

SERVICE LEARNING

TENTH ANNIVERSARY OF THE ROBERT F. KENNEDY HUMAN RIGHTS EDUCATION AWARD IN PARTNERSHIP WITH SCHOOLS THAT CAN

Educators, administrators, and students around the country work tirelessly each year as thought leaders and advocates to innovate and improve their communities and school culture. In partnership with Schools That Can, RFK Human Rights annually recognizes and celebrates the exemplary work of those who have demonstrated moral courage and commitment to bettering their communities. Learn more about this year’s inspiring winners and the mentoring and leadership opportunities they provide. Read more about the partnership → Register for our service learning workshop →

VIDEO CONTEST

HUMAN RIGHTS FILMMAKING: THE 2024 SPEAK TRUTH TO POWER VIDEO CONTEST

“Give ‘em hell,” was the impassioned rallying cry of Roswell Goransson and Ellison Martin as they accepted the 2024 Grand Prize at this year’s Speak Truth to Power video contest for the film “Don’t Mess With Texas: An Abortion Story.” Now in its twelfth year, the video contest encourages students to use film to shine a light on human rights issues, celebrate human rights defenders, and create social change. This year’s winning films, selected from over 500 entries, touched on topics ranging from honoring the life of human rights defender Donzaleigh Abernathy to examining the impact of the New York City migrant crisis. Be on the lookout for more information about this year’s video contest in the next newsletter. Read more →

YOUTH ORGANIZING

“NOW I AM GOING TO SPEAK OUT”: THE POWER OF YOUTH COMMUNITY ORGANIZING WORKSHOPS

In this three part youth organizing workshop series held in the spring, students from two New York area schools had the opportunity to learn about human rights, principles of organizing, and how to develop concrete action plans for their community campaigns. Participants developed projects to address gender inequality and immigration issues in their communities. These workshops empower the next generation of human rights defenders to assess the needs of their communities and take effective action. Read more about their projects and learn how to register for our virtual youth organizing workshops this fall. Read more → Register for our youth organizing workshop →

LEAD EDUCATOR

HUMAN RIGHTS EDUCATION IN THE SCIENCE CLASSROOM

Want to learn how to integrate human rights into the science classroom? Lead educator Stephanie Thliveris, who teaches science and sustainability at Buckingham Friends School, shares her engaging multidisciplinary project which encourages her sixth grade students to examine the intersection between human rights and the health of waterways. At the end of the project, students presented their findings to the community. Find out more about this project and other ideas for incorporating human rights into the science classroom. Read more →

JOHN LEWIS YOUNG LEADERS

A COMMUNITY FOR CHANGE: THE 2024 JOHN LEWIS YOUNG LEADERS RETREAT

Outgoing and incoming John Lewis Young Leaders fellows gathered in Chicago for a three day retreat which featured networking opportunities, grassroots organizing workshops, professional development, and service learning. This fellowship, which culminates in a capstone project, provides mentorship, funding, and access to an extensive human rights network so fellows can work with their communities to galvanize effective and sustainable change. Read more about the impact of the retreat and this year’s cohort. Read more → Meet the new cohort of fellows →

UPCOMING EVENTS

View our fall calendar and plan to join us for these exciting events.

September 18 and 25—Service Learning Workshop: Integrate human rights into your pedagogy and engage your students with tailored, hands-on service learning projects in your community! Meet with other educator leaders across the country in this virtual course on September 18th and September 25th—learn more and register today.
September 19, October 17, and November 21—Youth Organizing Workshop: Is there an issue you care about? Do you think things could be better in your community? Well, it’s time you start making good trouble by participating in the Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights youth organizing workshop! Learn more and register today.
September 23—Human Rights Defender Speaker Series: Pauline Arrillaga: Journalist and Professor Pauline Arrilaga and two students who won the 2024 RFK Human Rights Book and Journalism Grand Prize for their series America After Roe will speak about their award winning project and what it means to be a journalist who covers human rights issues today. Register here for the panel and receive accompanying lesson materials.

For any questions, please contact communications@rfkhumanrights.org.

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