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Blogging for Hope: Bloggers Unite for Human Rights

Monday, April 28, 2008

Join Bloggers Unite For Human Rights On May 15!

Thanks to you, May marks the first anniversary of Bloggers Unite and this time we're launching an awareness campaign chosen by BlogCatalog members. On May 15, let's unite for human rights and make a statement that all people are born with basic rights and freedoms - life, liberty, and justice!

On May 15th 2008, let's come together and all blog about Human Rights. There are dozens and dozens of human rights issues that you can write about. The one you choose is up to you.

Topics to Consider

The wrongful imprisonment of journalists covering assemblies.
Governments that ignore the plight of citizens left tot he mercy of gangs.
The censorship of the Internet in order to prevent freedom of expression.
Harsh punishments that include torture, forced labor, and starvation.
Sexual assault against women by members of military or militia.

Learn More About Human Rights

There are many organizations that promote human rights and work to protect people. We've picked three to help you learn more and find breaking topics.

Amnesty International (http://www.amnesty.org/) is a worldwide movement of people who campaign for internationally recognized human rights for all. They work to improve human rights through campaigning and international solidarity.
Human Right Watch (http://www.hrw.org/) is dedicated to protecting human rights of people around the world. They stand with victims and activists to prevent discrimination, uphold political freedom, protect people from inhumane conduct in wartime, and to bring offenders to justice.
Youth For Human Rights (http://www.youthforhumanrights.org) is an independent non-profit that educates people about the Universal Declaration of Human Rights so they become valuable advocates for tolerance and peace.

We have an entire group discussion dedicated to Bloggers Unite (http://www.blogcatalog.com/group/bloggers-unite) where you can add more organizations that you think are worth including.

How To Join Bloggers Unite!

To join, simply visit the Bloggers Unite page (http://unite.blogcatalog.com/) to get more information. Then, on Thursday, May 15th, write a blog post that shares awareness about human rights.

Your blog post could:

Have the title "Bloggers Unite For Human Rights" (or some variation).
include an example of human rights so people can learn about it.
Explain the importance of human rights and how it applies to everyone.
Link to one of the sites we've listed or the most suitable site for your country.
And add a link to our BlogCatalog Community Human Rights Awareness Campaign page so we can give you and your blog credit for being part of it.

If you have any questions, please e-mail [email protected]. And please, don't forget to tell your friends to blog about this too. Together, I know we can raise awareness and prove bloggers can do good!

Posted on Monday, April 28, 2008 at 08:40 PM in Blogging, News, Weblogs | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Power of the People and the Campaign to Free the Jena Six

Saturday, September 01, 2007

I am pleased to have been a part of the Afrosphere Jena 6 Coalition and the Day of Blogging for Justice. I know that we'll never capture the actual breadth of the campaign because many of my friends over at Yahoo 360 participated but didn't add their names to the list of Bloggers for Justice. My research also showed folks from throughout the U.S. blogging about this injustice.

As of this post, more than 139,000 people signed the petition on petitiononline.com and almost 130,000 have signed the petition over at colorofchange.org.

Surely the powers that be are trying to figure out the win-win situation that satisfies blacks and the supporters of the Jena 6 while not alienating the racist whites that obviously influence Louisiana politics and politicians. Three nooses hanging from a tree is not a prank, it's a terrorist act. Call it what it is and punish the culprits.

The Jena 6 situation makes the U.S. look bad especially in light of other injustices such as Genarlow Wilson, Martin Lee Anderson, Marcus Dixon, Shaquanda Cotton, etc. As much as I love animals, when so much coverage is given to Michael Vick and animal cruelty and the Duke Lacrosse Case, why doesn't the media cover the Jena 6 and Genarlow Wilson?

Well, just as the mainstream can get on board when movements take a life of their own, so will traditional journalism. Remember how many times you received that hoax e-mail about Sinbad dying or that Tommy Hilfiger said he didn't want black to wear his clothes? Well, it will take that kind of enthusiasm to share independent news but we can do it.

Before I end this, I must give props to Yobachi over at http://www.blackperspective.net/ for spearheading the Day of Blogging for Justice and keeping us updated with info.

Peace.

Posted on Saturday, September 01, 2007 at 06:40 PM in Blogging, Commentary, Current Affairs, News, Politics, Racism, Weblogs | Permalink | Comments (0)