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welcome to our listserv announcement!
July 2007
Dear Friends & Allies,
Welcome to the NESRI listserv! We appreciate your vital commitment to economic and social rights and thank you for taking time to learn about developments in our work.
Human rights and participatory democracy face ever greater challenges in the United States. As the world watched, our Supreme Court undermined core aspects of Brown v. Board of Education last month. The New York Times reported yesterday that we have not experienced the concentration of wealth in the U.S. at the levels seen today since the 1920’s, yet President Bush declared that all Americans have access to health care because, after all, they can go to emergency rooms!
And if all that were not enough to cause alarm, one only has to spend a week, as we have recently, in the Gulf Coast to understand just how deeply wrong things have gone for so many of our communities.
Most of us never expected to see the historic gains of the civil rights and other social justice movements of the last century unravel in our generation. Yet, at the same time, there are strong signs that our progressive movements are growing, such as the wide and diverse participation in the U.S. Social Forum in June 2007. Moreover, public sentiment strongly supports strengthening important social sectors such as health and education.
Our greatest and most important challenge is not to harness these opportunities for a short term change in policy, but to rebuild the foundation for social justice in the U.S. in a way that creates truly sustainable gains. Human rights, which provide an ethical and universal vision that addresses social equity in all critical arenas of human development, offers an indisputably compelling framework to meet this goal.
We continue in our work supporting innovative community leaders in demanding the protection and respect for human rights in their communities. We thank you for joining us in our efforts!
TSUNAMI-NETWORK MEMBERS DEMONSTRATE IN SOLIDARITY AFTER VISIT TO THE GULF COAST
Members of the Urban Poor Consortium (UPC) in Indonesia demonstrated before the U.S. Embassy in Jakarta and called for the right to return and to health care for Katrina survivors. View photos from the demonstration and read the statement prepared by UPC! >>>
The demonstration arose out of the visit, facilitated by NESRI, of representatives from Tsunami-affected regions in Asia to the Gulf Coast, July 1-6. NESRI organized a seminar during the trip entitled Survivors of Natural Disasters Unite Across Borders. >>> Members of our Asian delegation visited the communities of our Gulf Coast activists, and learned first-hand their struggle to rebuild. During the visit, Endesha Juakali of Survivors Village, a Gulf Coast delegate, screened the documentary H.O.P.E. (Housing Opportunities for People Everywhere), which highlights the group's ongoing battle to ensure the right to return for New Orleans public housing residents. >>> On July 4th, the Asian activists participated in a housing rights demonstration alongside several of the Gulf Coast delegates. >>>
The exchange was also facilitated by the National Policy and Advocacy Council on Homelessness and the Asian Coalition for Housing Rights.
DIGNITY REPORT GENERATES INTEREST ACROSS THE COUNTRY
After launching the Deprived of Dignity report in March 2007, our Education Program has generated increased interest in the Dignity in Schools Campaign. This campaign challenges, as a question of fundamental human rights, the abusive and ill treatment of children in all facets of their academic experience, from the classroom to interactions with police on school grounds. It also illustrates that this abuse and mistreatment serves no safety, or other interests, and targets students whether or not they are engaging in behavior contrary to school policy.
The report is being used as a learning tool from Mississippi to Illinois. One e-mail received from an on-the-ground activist and friend of NESRI’s states:
“I went to a conference for youth organizations in Chicago, the week before last, and I saw NESRI's education report being used by a lot of the organizations working on restorative justice in schools. It was awesome to see what an impact y'all were able to make."
NESRI is now joining forces with Teachers Unite in New York City to engage teachers in the struggle to bring dignity to public schools! Over 1,000 reports have been distributed and we are ready to send more! If you would like a copy of the report please e-mail us.
NESRI AND NHELP LAUNCH NEW HUMAN RIGHT TO HEALTH CAPACITY BUILDING COLLABORATIVE
NESRI and the National Health Law Program have launched a new Human Right to Health Capacity Building Collaborative. >>> The Collaborative will work with state and local coalitions seeking to reform health care financing and ensure universal access to health care in their localities. The Collaborative will develop advocacy tools and offer training on using human rights standards to build support for a right to health in the U.S. Members of the collaborative include the FXB Center on Health and Human Rights at the Harvard School of Public Health, Ipas, and Uplift International. NESRI and NHeLP are seeking to hire a coordinator for this project. For more information on this position see NESRI’s "Get Involved" web page. >>>
NEW PUBLICATIONS AND STATEMENTS
Bringing a Human Rights Vision to Public Schools: A Training Manual for Organizers was developed by NESRI in conjunction with one of our partner organizations, Community Asset Development and Re-defining Education (CADRE). This manual introduces basic human rights principles, provides exercises and case studies for using human rights in advocacy, and describes how to carry out a participatory documentation project. >>>
NESRI recently issued a statement on the U.S. Supreme Court decision ruling that the voluntary racial integration plans of the Seattle, Washington and Louisville, Kentucky school systems were unconstitutional because race was used explicitly in determining school placement. >>>
PRESENTATIONS
June 27-July 1, NESRI Board Member Lisa Crooms presented the workshop, "Building a U.S. Human Rights Movement: Understanding the Past, Engaging the Present, Imagining the Future" and NESRI Executive Director Cathy Albisa presented on the use of human rights strategies to protect the rights of undocumented workers at the U.S. Social Forum in Atlanta, GA.
June 15, NESRI Education Program Director Liz Sullivan gave a keynote presentation on “Education as a Human Right” at the Minnesota Advocates for Human Rights Conference, “Children Left Behind: A Child’s Right to Education in the United States.” >>>
June 7, NESRI Executive Director Cathy Albisa presented to Ms. Louise Arbour, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, the challenges facing economic and social rights in the U.S. >>>
TRIBUTE TO SHARDA SEKARAN, NESRI'S OUTGOING ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR AND CO-FOUNDER
The entire Board and Staff at NESRI want to express their deep appreciation, admiration and respect for NESRI’s outgoing Associate Director Sharda Sekaran. Ms. Sekaran is a co-founder of NESRI and a driving force behind the vision and organizational direction. We will strongly miss her day to day presence, leadership, and guidance. We also thank Ms. Sekaran for her continued commitment to NESRI and her willingness to serve as an ongoing advisor and consultant for the organization. She will always be part of the fabric of NESRI, and the organization’s existence is a testament to her persistence, commitment, and extraordinary creativity.
EVENT FOR SPECIAL PROJECT ON THE HUMAN RIGHTS OF HURRICANE SURVIVORS
On May 22, NESRI held a Donor Dialogue generously hosted by Jamie Fellner. The event was a wonderful evening. We heard from NESRI Board Members, Staff, and one of our Gulf Coast delegates, Pam Dashiell. Michèle Stephenson of Rada Film was also there to show the trailer for the documentary on this project. To see the trailers, visit >>>
NESRI CONGRATULATIONS
NESRI congratulates Founder and Executive Director of the Mississippi Workers' Center for Human Rights Jaribu Hill, who received the coveted R. Jess Brown award, which is the Magnolia Bar Association's highest award. Jaribu received this very prestigious award because of her commitment and dedication to the fight for equality and justice for all.
NESRI would like to offer a special thank you to:
- The Ford Foundation, the Mertz-Gilmore Foundation, the Public Welfare Foundation, and the US Human Rights Fund for their steadfast support for human rights in the U.S.
- The Edward W. Hazen Foundation and an anonymous donor for providing support to do another printing of the Deprived of Dignity report.
- Kramer, Levin, Naftalis & Frankel LLP and Simpson, Thacher & Bartlett LLP for their invaluable research support on behalf of the Coalition of Immokalee Workers, one of our partner organizations.
- Professor Bill Quigley for moderating the Katrina/Tsunami Transnational Exchange seminar.
- Tom Carton of NPACH for assisting in organizing the Asian delegation’s visit to the Gulf Coast.
- Latosha Brown, Vicky Cintra, Pam Dashiell, Reverend Frederick Fields, Sam Jackson, Endesha Juakali, Elvis Cintra Licea, Father Lukenguyen and Viola Washington, members of our Gulf Coast delegation, for their tireless work in ensuring that the Asian delegation’s visit was a success.
- Michèle Stephenson and Jon Stuyvesant for their work in filming the Asian delegation’s visit and continuing work on the Katrina/Tsunami Documentary.
- The Asian Coalition of Housing Rights and UPLINK for their continued support of our Gulf Coast activists working to secure the human rights of hurricane survivors.
- Jamie Fellner for being a generous and wonderful host for the NESRI Donor Dialogue.
- NESRI Interns, Molly Corbett, Jessica Fisher and Cindy Hong, for their assistance.
Thank you for all your support!
Please continue to be involved in NESRI’s work and consider donating today to strengthen human rights protections for communities across the U.S. >>>
NESRI Staff:
Cathy Albisa, Executive Director
Liz Sullivan, Right to Education Program Director
Laura Gosa, Program Associate
Tiffany Gardner, Consultant
Molly Corbett, Intern
Jessica Fisher, Intern
Cindy Hong, Intern
NESRI Board of Directors :
Mimi Abramovitz, Hunter College School of Social Work and The Graduate Center, CUNY
Martha Davis, Northeastern School of Law
Rhonda Copelon, CUNY School of Law
Lisa Crooms, Howard University School of Law
Paul Farmer, Professor of Social Medicine, Harvard Medical School
Patrick Mason, Florida State University, Department of Economics
Bruce Rabb, Kramer, Levin, Naftalis & Frankel LLP
The National Economic and Social Rights Initiative (NESRI) promotes a human rights vision for the United States that ensures dignity and access to the basic resources needed for human development and civic participation. |
