Events: Michiana Celebrates Human Rights

Thank You to all who made the party such a great success!

For Immediate Release

Michiana celebrates Human Rights
Event marks anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights

Between 150 and 200 area residents from many walks of life braved the snow on Saturday to help celebrate the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). This Wednesday, December 10, is International Human Rights day, and the Universal Declaration will mark its 60th anniversary.

As several speakers at the event pointed out, we’re a long way from realizing the aspirations of the Declaration, which establishes that everyone has the right to be treated equally, to be free from discrimination, and to enjoy the ability to participate fully in the social and cultural life of the community.

The organizers of the event, the Michiana Social Forum and St. Joseph Valley Project/ Jobs with Justice, thought the UDHR anniversary was a good occasion to help advance the goal of building coalitions between the various groups working to improve life in our community. The UAW Local #5 provided the venue for the party, and some guests—who included students, members of different church groups, and community leaders working for peace and social justice—experienced their first visit to a labor hall.

Significantly at this time of economic crisis, the UDHR establishes for everyone the right to decent work at a fair wage, the right to an adequate standard of living, the right to health care and social security. Against the backdrop of the UAW local’s history, which is told in the murals that adorn the hall’s walls, Gene Knapp of Teamsters Local #364 and area students spoke of the efforts to protect worker’s rights on area campuses and in our local Housing Authority. Jobs with Justice president, Joseph Carbone, addressed the national campaign to advance UDHR Article 23 with the Employee Free Choice Act legislation, aimed at making workplace elections more fair.

Lonnie Douglas, executive director of the South Bend Human Rights Commission, outlined some of his hopes for new advances in local human rights protections. He called for legislation to extend the Commission’s mandate to allow it to defend against discrimination based on sexual orientation, age, and disability. Other speakers reinforced this call, and former City Council member Charlotte Pfeiffer, who introduced legislation on human rights while in the Council, encouraged continued action to protect the rights of all of South Bend’s residents.

As many know, our community includes many people who have come here from other countries seeking a means of earning a decent living for their families. Many Latino/a residents of our area face discrimination and harassment every day. Karen Gonzalez from La Casa de Amistad spoke of the work her group does to defend the basic rights and provide for the needs of our immigrant neighbors.

Michiana Social Forum organizers said that they hoped to advance some new initiatives supporting immigrant rights in the coming year. As the economy declines, people will be tempted to blame someone else for their hardship, and usually it is those least responsible—the poorest and most vulnerable members of our community—who suffer. The organization wants to focus attention on the local and national policies that have contributed to unemployment and poverty, and to demonstrate that all people in our community have a right to be treated with dignity and respect.

Kathy Liggett, of the Michiana Peace and Justice Coalition and Women’s  Action for New Direction, spoke of her dedication to peace and brining and end to the War in Iraq. Liggett, whose son served three tours of duty in Iraq, reminded the gathering of both the American and Iraqi loss of life and maintained that the right to live is the most fundamental human right of all.

Two students, Derek Webb of IU-South Bend and Sarah Lyons of the University of Notre Dame, made a joint statement. Webb spoke as president of IU-South Bend’s Civil Rights Heritage Center and told of history of South Bend’s Natatorium. He also raised the issue of skyrocketing tuition prices and the impact this has on the equal right to education. Lyons related her work as part of the Campus Labor Action Coalition and spoke of coming to recognize that human rights violations happen here in our midst, even on the Notre Dame campus.

Debra Stanley of Imani Unidad highlighted the challenges to human rights protections for people living with HIV and AIDs. Her group, Imani Unidad, works to protect these rights and to raise awareness of the need for human dignity.

Wendell Wiebe-Powell, an activist from the Elkhart/Goshen area, came to discuss some of the links between human rights and the protection of our environment. Without a healthy planet and clean air and water, none of the rights in the UDHR can be enjoyed. He discussed the need to work together on efforts to promote green jobs in our community, and pointed to promising examples of work being done elsewhere to eliminate the traditional tensions between environmentalists and trade unions.

The program ended with a moving call from Paul Mishler, an IU-South Bend labor studies professor, for solidarity across the many divides in our community. A documentary on the Civil Rights Heritage Center highlighted work being done to restore the Natatorium and to tell its history of racial discrimination and the ultimate triumph of efforts of African American leaders to integrate this public facility.

The program also included musical and theatrical performances from student groups, Teatro (IU-South Bend) and Unchained Melodies (Notre Dame) and featured local musicians David James and KellieRae Boann (who was joined by IU-South Bend history professor Monica Tetzlaff), singing traditional and contemporary songs for labor and social justice.

For more information:

Universal Declaration of Human Rights
http://www.un.org/Overview/rights.html

michianasocialforum@gmail.com
http://www.michianasocialforum.org
(574) 807-1349

Questions? Comments? Concerns? Calls to Action? Contact us!

Advertisement