SPEAK TRUTH HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS WHO ARE CHANGING OUR WORLD TO POWER
Based on the book by KERRY KENNEDY | Photography by EDDIE ADAMS and ARCHITECTS OF PEACE ROBERT F. KENNEDY HUMAN RIGHTS THE PROJECT
Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights’ Speak Truth To Power (STTP) celebrated actors and singers of the Arab world. It has also program evolved from Kerry Kennedy’s book, Speak Truth been performed by school children, college students, local To Power: Human Rights Defenders Who Are Changing Our heroes, and even prisoners. In 2014, at the European Union World, first printed in English in 2000, and since been printed in Brussels, several Members of the European Parliament, in seven languages. Featuring interviews with more than 50 including Martin Schulz, President of the European Parliament, human rights defenders, including Nobel Peace Prize winners performed the play. Wangari Maathai, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Elie Wiesel, and The Speak Truth To Power human rights education Muhammad Yunus, the book is a remarkable tribute to the curriculum, comprised of over fifty lesson plans, has been indomitable human spirit. taught to millions of students from kindergarten through Alongside the interviews, in the original book, are portraits law school in Africa, Asia, Europe, North America, and South by Pulitzer Prize-winning photographer Eddie Adams, which America. As an educational tool for students at every grade have since been developed into a museum-quality exhibition. level, the curriculum shows students that they, too, can make The exhibition began its international tour at The Corcoran a difference in the global struggle for justice. STTP uses the Gallery, Washington, D.C. and has since traveled to four stories of courageous heroes from around the world to teach continents, reaching countries such as Cambodia, Greece, students about human rights and empower them to become Italy, Qatar, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, South Korea and South defenders themselves. As students begin to self-identify as Africa. Most recently it was displayed at Baltimore-Washington human rights defenders, they learn to take active roles in the Thurgood Marshall International Airport for six months, work of creating a more just and peaceful world. What sets major train stations throughout Sweden, and in public spaces Speak Truth To Power apart is its power to inspire action. throughout Norway. By allowing students to see themselves as human rights Award-winning playwright Ariel Dorfman adapted the defenders, they begin to act as human rights defenders. words from the book into a play, Speak Truth To Power: Voices In addition to the curriculum and the play, the Speak Truth From Beyond the Dark. Hosted by President Bill Clinton, the To Power project includes a video contest, a partnership with play premiered at the Kennedy Center in 2000. A one-hour the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) and the Tribeca video was broadcast on PBS as part of its Great Performances Film Institute (TFI) and a music contest, a partnership with the Series. Many of our greatest actors have performed in the GRAMMY Museum. Both contests are aimed at encouraging play, including Alec Baldwin, Glenn Close, John Malkovich, students to create change through film and music. Sean Penn, Vanessa Redgrave, Martin Sheen, and Meryl Speak Truth To Power encourages governments, NGOs, Streep. The play has been produced across the United States major foundations, and individuals to support human rights, and performed by major actors in capitals around the world. and brings much-needed attention to continuing abuses. But Notably, a performance in Doha, Qatar, was transmitted live on perhaps its most lasting effect will be to demonstrate the the Arab news network Al Jazeera and read by ten of the most capacity of each individual to create change.
“IN A WORLD WHEN A COMMON LAMENT IS THAT THERE ARE NO MORE HEROES, TOO OFTEN CYNICISM AND DESPAIR ARE PERCEIVED AS EVIDENCE OF THE DEATH OF MORAL COURAGE. THAT PERCEPTION IS WRONG. PEOPLE OF GREAT VALOR AND HEART, COMMITTED TO A NOBLE PURPOSE, WITH LONG RECORDS OF PERSONAL SACRIFICE, WALK AMONG US IN EVERY COUNTRY OF THE WORLD.”–Kerry Kennedy
To learn more about the music and video contests, visit speaktruthvideo.com and speakupsingout.org
2 KERRY KENNEDY
In a world when a common lament is that there are no more repression, and so have come to a natural understanding of the heroes, too often cynicism and despair are perceived as issues and desire to overcome the wrongs. Others saw injustice evidence of the death of moral courage. That perception is in a community they were not a part of and took up the cause. wrong. People of great valor and heart, committed to a noble And still others had enjoyed the comforts of being among the purpose, with long records of personal sacrifice, walk among elite in their countries, yet risked banishment—and worse—to us in every country of the world. Nearly twenty years ago, I right wrongs committed by their peers. traveled the globe to forty countries and five continents, Despite the overwhelming powers arrayed against them, interviewing individuals who appear in the pages of the first these men and women are, as a whole, an optimistic lot. edition of Speak Truth To Power, and in the Ariel Dorfman play. In my interview with Archbishop Tutu, he emphasized this These are people whose lives are filled with extraordinary attitude, saying, “We have a God who doesn’t say, ‘Ah... Got feats of bravery. I’ve listened to them speak about the quality you!’ No. God says, ‘Get up,’ and God dusts us off and God and nature of courage, and in their stories I found hope and says, ‘Try again.’“ Perhaps the stance should be qualified as inspiration, a vision of a better world. less optimistic than hopeful. Overwhelmingly pragmatic and For many of these heroes, their understanding of the realistic about the prospects for change, all too aware of the abrogation of human rights has been profoundly shaped by challenges they face, nonetheless they continue to roll their their personal experiences: of death threats, imprisonment, boulders back up the hill. and in some cases, bodily harm. However, this is not, by any These voices are, most of all, a call to action, much needed measure, a compilation of victims. Rather, courage, with its because human rights violations often occur by cover of dark, affirmation of possibility and change, is what defines them, in remote places. For many of those who suffer, isolation is singly and together. Each spoke with compelling eloquence of their worst enemy, and exposure of the atrocities is their only the causes to which they have devoted their lives, and for which hope. We must bring the international spotlight to violations they are willing to sacrifice—from freedom of expression to the and broaden the community of those who know and care rule of law, from environmental defense to the eradication of about the individuals portrayed. This alone may well stop a bonded labor, from access to capital to the right to due process, disappearance, cancel a torture session, or even, save a life. from women’s rights to religious liberty. These leaders hold in I grew up in the Judeo-Christian tradition where our prophets common an inspiring record of accomplishment and a profound were painted on ceilings and our saints were sealed in stained capacity to ignite change. glass. They were superhuman, untouchable, and so we were The defenders’ own voices provoke fundamental questions: freed from the burden of their challenge. But here on Earth, why do people who face imprisonment, torture, and death, people like these and countless other defenders are living, continue to pursue their work when the chance of success is so breathing human beings in our midst. Their determination, remote and the personal consequences are so grave? Why did valor, and commitment in the face of overwhelming danger they become involved? What keeps them going? Where do they challenge each of us to take up the torch for a more decent derive their strength and inspiration? How do they overcome society. Today we are blessed by the presence of these people. their fear? How do they measure success? Out of their answers They are teachers who show us not how to be saints, but how emerges a sympathetic and strength-giving portrait of the to be fully human. power of personal resolve and determination in the face of In the Speak Truth to Power lessons, you will find both the injustice. These fundamental questions have a special interest stories of the most courageous people on Earth, and ways for me personally. As a mother of three girls, I deeply wished in which educators from kindergarten through university can to understand if there were steps I could take to encourage my bring those stories to life in the classroom and beyond. own daughters to develop similar attributes, or if moral courage Robert F. Kennedy once called education, “the key to human was something certain people are born with, inherently, while dignity”—the key to a more just and peaceful world.than men; the rest of us (with our own lesser sensibilities) are left to or when one person steals from another. Human rights are an muddle through. And if we are capable of less, then are we everyday issue. off the hook? Condemned to be sinners, is there any point in striving to be saints? Onward, Several defenders recalled an early moment or incident Kerry Kennedy that galvanized their social conscience forever. Some told President, Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights stories of searing childhood encounters with injustice. Many defenders are members of groups that have endured sustained 3 JOSHUA WONG Square in 1989. Throughout the city Joshua and Scholarism, in partnership with other student activists, began occupying the space outside the Hong Kong government headquarters. Other organizations and protesters soon joined, and at its peak, the Umbrella Movement, as it came to be known due to protesters’ usage of umbrellas to protect themselves from the potential use of tear gas, counted over 100,000 demonstrators among its ranks. Though the government cleared the protest sites by December 2014, the movement unleashed a new wave of student activism in Hong Kong. Joshua continued to fight at the forefront of pro-democracy campaigns, forming a new political party, Demosistō, to advocate for self-determination in Hong Kong. Though Demosistō candidates won seats on the Legislative Council of Hong Kong in 2016, the pro-Beijing government swiftly countered. In January 2017, the documentary, "Joshua: Teenager vs. Superpower", about Wong's Joshua Wong is a student activist and pro-democracy advocate brave stand against the Chinese government to preserve Hong from Hong Kong. Born in the last days of British rule, before Kong's history of autonomy from China, premiered at the Hong Kong returned to China under the “One Country, Two Sundance Film Festival to critical acclaim. Shortly after the film's Systems” policy intended to ensure the continuation of release, in August 2017, Joshua and his fellow activists, Nathan economic and political freedom in the city, Joshua developed a Law and Alex Chow, were controversially sentenced to several strong sense of justice at an early age. In 2011, when he was 14 months in prison for inciting an “illegal assembly” during the years old, Wong established "Scholarism" with his friend Ivan Umbrella Movement of 2014. Notably, though the three had Lam, joining the growing public opposition to the Hong Kong previously served community service sentences for the same government’s proposed "National and Moral Education" program charge, Hong Kong’s Minister of Justice, Rimsky Yuen, decided (NME). This nationalistic education plan lauded the to reopen the case and increase the severity of their punishment, nationalist and communist regime in mainland deliberately attempting to intimidate other activists who might China, encouraging deference to these positions. What be inspired by Joshua. On October 24, 2017, Wong and Law wassimple at advocacy first a campaign, consisting of leaflet were released on bail and plan to appeal their sentences in handouts and small public demonstrations, soon November. Joshua is defiant in the face of repression, and has blossomed into a movement that would become China's promised that pro-democracy advocates are stronger, more largest act of civil disobedience since the events of Tiananmen determined, and will win.
4 JOSHUA WONG FREEDOM OF OPINION AND INFORMATION LESSON GRADE LEVELS 9–12
UNIVERSAL DECLARATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS: CONCEPTS: • Article 9: Freedom from Arbitrary Arrest and Exile • Children’s rights • Article 10: Right to Fair and Public Hearing • Girls’ rights • Article 13: Right to Free Movement in and out of the • Human rights Country •Coercion • Article 19: Freedom of Opinion and Informations • Freedom of choice • Article 20: Right to Peaceful Assembly and Association • Article 21: Right to Participate in Government and Free MATERIALS NEEDED: Elections • Netflix movie - “Joshua: Teenager vs. Superpower”: https://www.netflix.com/title/80169348 GUIDING QUESTIONS: • Resources for organizers: • What were some of the barriers Joshua faced in his http://organizingforpower.org/organizing-resources/ advocacy? How did he overcome them or work with them? • Interviews with Joshua: How did his age factor in? http://time.com/4902751/hong-kong-joshua-wong- • What can students do in the face of oppression, at home and interview-sentencing-democracy/ ; http:// around the world? What are some steps, large or small, that time.com/4776817/joshua-wong-hong-kong- any young person could take to secure justice? democracy-teenager-superpower/ ; https:// OBJECTIVES: www.theguardian.com/world/2017/may/14/joshua- By the end of the lesson, students should: wong-the-student-who-risked-the-wrath-of-beijing-its- about-turning-the-impossible-into-the-possible • Be able to discuss how Joshua and his colleagues • Robert F. Kennedy’s “Day of Affirmation Address” text were able to build such a large and well- coordinated movement, partnering with other and audio: organizations and activists. http://www.rfksafilm.org/html/speeches/unicape.php ; • Have an idea of how youth and student https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yp81OYCjXtU movements around the world are integral to • Article on the symbology of activist movements: change, and feel emboldened to and capable of http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/12/25/protest- becoming a “ripple of hope” themselves. symbols-2014_n_6297818.html • Understand and recognize student movements to the point where they feel able to create change and act on it. • Have a broad awareness of different student movements in their own country and around the world.
5 ANTICIPATORY SET
• Prompt students to consider their roles in their own communities. Ask them how they define community. Ask them what communities they belong to (such as school, neighborhood, religious group, identity group, etc.) and have them discuss where they see their roles and responsibilities to those communities. What issues do they care about? What have they done to address those issues, and how would they hope to address them?
STUDENT ACTIVITIES
ACTIVITY 1 ACTIVITY 2 Play the Netflix movie "Joshua: Teenager vs. Superpower" for Post Video - Activism and the Arts students: https://www.netflix.com/title/80169348 • Joshua Wong and his friends worked tirelessly to • Joshua brings up many questions about how much one create a campaign that used the arts to capture the may be willing to sacrifice for freedom and democracy. attention of the public. Have students form groups of Have students stand up from their desks and divide the 2-4 to use their artistic talents to create awareness ads room into places for them to stand. Designate each corner for Joshua’s different campaigns. This can include of the room as: photography, song, recorded ad, radio ad, film, poem, - Agree poster, etc. These could promote any of the following: - The Umbrella Movement / Occupy Central - Strongly agree - Scholarism - Disagree - Demosisto - Strongly Disagree • The ads should be meaningful and focus on a younger demographic of students. Have students present their • Present several statements in order to see how their projects to the class. opinions may change before and after the video, and have them stand in the corner that is in accordance to their stance. After they have chosen their corners, have them ACTIVITY 3 discuss their reasoning for about a minute, and briefly Organizing Tactics present their opinion to the class. -Statements to discuss • Prompt students about best tactics for youth organizing. can include: A great list of resources can be found here - http:// - Students are capable of causing strong and meaningful organizingforpower.org/organizing-resources/ . Ask change students to read through a few of the documents and - Fighting for freedom and democracy should be discuss what they found. What did they agree with? prioritized over safety Disagree with? - Peaceful protest should be the only way used to promote change • Ask the students to get together with group of their - To be a leader you should have experience and age friends and pick an issue globally or in your community - You feel like you have the resources and knowledge to that they care about, and ask them try to set up meetings cause good change in your community at least once every two weeks to discuss and carry out activities that can promote change. Follow Joshua’s lead and prove that students and young people can make a difference in issues they care about. This can include an issue such as promoting voting, acceptance based on race, gender identity, sexuality, or advocating rights for people in your country or others’. Have them utilize organizing tactics and report on how effective or 6 meaningful they found them. ACTIVITY 4 • Then, ask the class to read or listen to Robert F. Kennedy’s Broader Awareness “Day of Affirmation” address, given at the University of • Have students break into small groups and assign each group Cape Town in 1966. http://www.rfksafilm.org/html/ a different student movement to research either in school or speeches/unicape.php ; https://www.youtube.com/ for homework. Have them compare and contrast their watch?v=yp81OYCjXtU movement to Joshua's movements. o Robert F. Kennedy’s rhetoric is much different from o Possibilities include: the Tiananmen Square protests, the Joshua’s, given he is older and more experienced. In Czech Velvet Revolution, the South African/British this speech, he argues that the qualities of youth are Rhodes Must Fall movements, and the Greensboro 4 and necessary for creating change in the world. Have the sit-in protests of the American Civil Rights Movement class discuss how Kennedy presents this argument. What parts of his speech are most stirring? How does • Ask students what these movements have in common, and he present and frame the main themes of the speech? how they differ. What are key similarities that emerge from What cultural or historical references does he draw each? What made them effective, and were they all on? Given that he was an American addressing a effective in the same way? What does it mean to “win” or South African audience, how did he create universal “lose” in activism? meaning in two different national contexts? • Have the class compare RFK’s language and legacy to that ACTIVITY 5 of his daughter, Kerry, who wrote Joshua a letter of support Language of Activism during his imprisonment: • Have students discuss the rhetoric and language of www.hongkongfp.com/2017/09/01/full-letter-jailed- mobilization. Ask them what leaders can say to win them activist-joshua-wong-us-rights-advocate-kerry-kennedy- over to their cause. Ask them what they find ineffective, and niece-jfk/ what they find works. Ask the class to share an example of a time that a speech or piece of writing moved them, changed ACTIVITY 6 their minds, or attracted them to a particular cause or Symbols of Movements organization. • Discuss the importance of symbols (like the Umbrellas in the • Ask the class to read two or three of Joshua’s interviews and Umbrella Movement) and having a”face” of a movement (like pay attention to the kind of language he uses: http:// Joshua and how he was a young, personable, and innocent time.com/4902751/hong-kong-joshua-wong-interview- face that many related to) Brainstorm how these can sentencing-democracy/ ; http://time.com/4776817/joshua- strengthen a movement. wong-hong-kong-democracy-teenager-superpower/ ; • Have the class break into two or three groups and have them https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/may/14/ pick and image that they would use to represent an issue. This joshua-wong-the-student-who-risked-the-wrath-of- can be for an existing movement they may want to take on or beijing-its-about-turning-the-impossible-into-the-possible for a cause of their choice. o What themes does Joshua revisit most? How does • Students may use this article to reference the symbols of other he present them? is his messaging consistent? Do movements: https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/12/25/ you find it effective? protest-symbols-2014_n_6297818.html
HUMAN RIGHTS FRAMEWORK
Since the creation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) by the United Nations (UN) in 1948, many International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) other international documents have been drafted Article 9: no arbitrary arrests, prompt trials to develop these rights further. These documents include Article 19: ability to hold opinions without interference and other declarations and resolutions, as well as treaties – express them as they wish which are also called covenants or conventions. Article 21: right to peaceful assembly Countries commit to protect the rights recognized in these Article 22: right to free association documents. Sometimes a specific institution is created within the UN to monitor countries’ compliance. 7 BECOME A DEFENDER
• The Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act, proposed by Senator Marco Rubio of Florida, has been passed to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee for consideration. Call and urge your Senator to support the bill, especially if you live in a state where your Senator is on the committee: https://www.congress.gov/bill/115th-congress/senate-bill/417 • Social media can be a powerful tool both for activists of all ages, particularly young people and students. Ask students to read this article about the future of social media and activism: https://psmag.com/social-justice/social-media-activism. Encourage students to utilize social media to promote or start a campaign on an issue of their choice.
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
HONG KONG PROTESTS IN CONTEXT: EXAMPLES OF YOUTH ACTIVISM: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/29/world/asia/hong-kong-china- https://joshuakahnrussell.wordpress.com/resources-for-activists-and- handover.html?action=click&contentCollection=Asia% organizers/ ; http://organizingforpower.org/action-resource/ 20Pacific&module=RelatedCoverage®ion=Marginalia&pgtype=article Resources for organizing History of Hong Kong, from the time of Handover until now https://www.globalcitizen.org/en/content/7-badass-youth-activists-you- didnt-know-are-changi/ http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-pacific-16526765 History of Hong Kong timeline Profiles of young activists changing the world
INTERNATIONAL STUDENT MOVEMENT: https://freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-world/2017/hong-kong https://ism-global.net/ Freedom House is a platform that measures civil and political freedoms A global platform of students, activists and workers in countries around the world https://www.hrw.org/news/2014/10/16/eight-questions-about-occupy- https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/03/opinion/stand-up-for- hong-kong democracy-in-hong-kong.html Human Rights Watch provides a quick fact sheet on the Hong Kong OpEd from Joshua Wong and Jeffrey Ngo on what the US can do for protests and their context Hong Kong http://time.com/3471366/hong-kong-umbrella-revolution-occupy- http://time.com/4776817/joshua-wong-hong-kong-democracy- central-democracy-explainer-6-questions/ teenager-superpower/ Overview of the Umbrella Revolution from TIME TIME interview with Joshua from May 2017 https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/05/world/asia/china-human-rights- united-nations.html Discussion of ongoing Chinese crackdown on dissent, including the mainland
8 “I HOPE THAT EVEN IF I GO TO JAIL, IT WILL MOTIVATE MORE AND MORE H ONGKONGERS TO COMMIT TO DETERMINE OUR FUTURE, INSTEAD OF FULLY R ELYING ON THOSE RULING CLASS WHO HAVE DOMINATED OUR FUTURE” – Joshua Wong
9 SPEAK TRUTH TO POWER HUMAN RIGHTS CURRICULUM LESSON PLANS CAN BE FOUND AT RFKHUMANRIGHTS.ORG
ABUBACAR SULTAN ISLAMOPHOBIA MARINA PISKLAKOVA Mozambique, Children’s Rights Freedom from Discrimination Russia, Domestic Violence ADOLFO PEREZ ESQUIVEL, JAMIE NABOZNY MIKHAIL GORBACHEV Argentina, Free Expression & Religion USA, Bullying Russia, Free Expression ANONYMOUS JODY WILILAMS MOHAMED ELBARADEI Sudan, Genocide USA, Non-Violent Activism Egypt, Nuclear Disarmament BETTY WILLIAMS JOHN LEWIS MUHAMMAD YUNUS Northern Ireland, Children’s Rights USA, Political Freedom Bangladesh, Combating Poverty CARLOS FILIPE XIMENES BELO JOSE RAMOS-HORTA NORTH KOREA East Timor, East Timor, Reconciliation Right to Information, Freedom from Violence Free Expression & Religion JULIANA DOGBADZI HIS HOLINESS THE DALAI LAMA Ghana, Slavery & Trafficking OSCAR ARIAS SANCHEZ Costa Rica, Non-Violent Activism Tibet, Free Expression & Religion KA HSAW WA ARCHBISHOP DESMOND TUTU Burma, Environmental Rights REFUGEE UNIT Refugee Rights South Africa, Reconciliation KAILASH SATYARTHI ELIE WIESEL India, Child Labor RIGOBERTA MENCHU TUM Guatemala, Political Participation Romania/USA, Genocide KEK GALABRU ERIN MERRYN Cambodia, Political Freedom SHIMON PERES Israel, Political Participation USA, Sexual Violence LECH WALESA ETHEL KENNEDY Poland, Labor Rights SHIRIN EBADI Iran, Free Expression & Religion USA, Political Participation LIBRADA PAZ FRANK MUGISHA USA, Labor Rights SONITA ALIZADEH Afghanistan, Child Marriage Uganda, LGBTI Rights LOUNE VIAUD FREDERIK WILLEM DE KLERK Haiti, Right to Water VACLAV HAVEL Czech Republic, Free Expression South Africa, Political Freedom LUCAS BENITEZ & Religion GABOR GOMBOS USA, Labor Rights VAN JONES Hungary, Disability Rights MAIREAD CORRIGAN MAGUIRE USA, Police Brutality HARRY WU Ireland, Non-Violent Activism WANGARI MAATHAI China, Forced Labor MALALA YOUSAFZAI Kenya, Environmental Rights Pakistan, Freedom from Persecution
@STTP_RFKennedy Copyright ©2010 by Robert F. Kennedy Human @KerryKennedyRFK Rights. All rights reserved. Essay copyright ©2010 Kerry Kennedy. All rights reserved. Essays and @RFKHumanRights play copyright © 2008 by Ariel Dorfman. All rights reserved. Photographs of the defenders copyright © 2000 by Eddie Adams, All rights reserved. All Kerry Kennedy, photographs courtesy of and copyright to the Robert F. Kennedy, individual photographers unless otherwise noted. Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights SPEAK TRUTH TO POWER RFKHumanRights.org RFKennedyEurope.org