ESSAYS The American Program of the Humanity in Action Fellowship in Collaboration with the National Center for Civil and Human Rights Atlanta, Georgia >> July 5 – 30, 2017 TABLE OF CONTENTS LETTER FROM CONGRESSMAN JOHN LEWIS ................................................................................................4 DIRECTOR’S INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................................5 ABOUT HUMANITY IN ACTION .........................................................................................................................6 ABOUT THE NATIONAL CENTER FOR CIVIL AND HUMAN RIGHTS ..............................................................7 1960 APPEAL FOR HUMAN RIGHTS .................................................................................................................8 ASSUMING THE VOICE OF THE GEORGIA GOVERNOR IN 1960, THE 2017 JOHN LEWIS FELLOWS RESPOND TO AN APPEAL FOR HUMAN RIGHTS ................................ 11 THE NEW APPEAL FOR HUMAN RIGHTS (2017) ........................................................................................... 14 FELLOWS’ COLLECTIVE CRITIQUES OF THE 2017 APPEAL FOR HUMAN RIGHTS ...................................22 FELLOWS’ PROGRAM ESSAYS .........................................................................................................................31 Transgressing the Colonial State: On diverse strategies, their dangers, and the power of healing Essay by Roberto Flores ..................................................................................................................... 31 Reflection Essay by Zelda Feldman .....................................................................................................................33 Restorative Justice: Knowledge, Empowerment, and Resistance Essay by Adam Flaherty Cohen .........................................................................................................37 A People’s History of Atlanta: An Appeal Essay by Alex Mabanta ...................................................................................................................... 40 How People Can Change Your Life and Make the Best Music in Your World of Silence Essay by Alma Mujanovi ................................................................................................................... 43 Filling Ditches and Lifting Burdens Essay by Arlette Hernandez .............................................................................................................. 46 Essay by Beau Revlett ........................................................................................................................ 48 1 Essay by Chandra Dikey ..................................................................................................................... 50 Essay by Darriel McBride ....................................................................................................................53 Moving on for Social Justice Essay by David Werdermann .............................................................................................................55 The (Im)Possibility of the Restorative Justice: The Example of Bosnia and Herzegovina Essay by Ehlimana Memisevic ............................................................................................................57 When ThoseConfederate Flags Rise Up High Essay by Eliza Rutynowska ............................................................................................................... 69 Countering Dominant Native American Narratives and Re-Imagining Community Development Essay by Emily McDonnell ..................................................................................................................72 Essay by Esra Karakaya .......................................................................................................................75 Chasing Transformation: Reimagining Human Rights Spaces through Relationships Essay by Hope Anderson ....................................................................................................................77 Bullhorns and Dimes Essay by Ian Fields Stewart ............................................................................................................... 80 (Un)Apologetic Essay by Jaz Buckley ..........................................................................................................................82 Inspiration Essay by Jordanos Kiros .................................................................................................................... 84 A Month of Perspectives Essay by Konstantinos Koukos ......................................................................................................... 86 Back To Earth Essay by Lila Murphy .......................................................................................................................... 88 Essay by Mairi Markaki ....................................................................................................................... 90 Parallel Realities Essay by Malgorzata Hermanowicz ...................................................................................................93 Criticism and Conversation Essay by Pedro Miguel Monque Lopez ............................................................................................ 95 Time and Justice Essay by Priyanka Menon .................................................................................................................. 98 2 The Journey Across the Atlantic Essay by Rukhsar Asif ........................................................................................................................101 How Honest Do We Want to Be? A journey through my human Essay by Sabiha Kapetanovic ..........................................................................................................104 A Change is Gonna Come: Understanding Restorative Justice Through the Past and Present Realities of Atlanta Essay by Sara A. Osman ................................................................................................................... 107 Subversive Storytelling: Meditations on Memory, Imagination, and Restorative Justice Essay by Seung Hyun Chung............................................................................................................109 Reflections on John Lewis Fellowship 2017 Essay by Simone Zalla Aumaj ........................................................................................................... 112 Essay by Trey Walk ............................................................................................................................. 115 POEM BY HOPE ANDERSON .......................................................................................................................... 117 FELLOWS’ BIOGRAPHIES AND PICTURES ................................................................................................... 120 2017 JOHN LEWIS FELLOWSHIP STAFF BIOGRAPHIES AND PICTURES.................................................. 130 3 TITLE OF BOOK 4 INTRODUCTION INTRODUCTION BY 2017 JOHN LEWIS FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM DIRECTOR, PROFESSOR TANYA WASHINGTON THE 2017 JOHN LEWIS FELLOWSHIP WAS CENTERED ON AN EXPLORATION OF CONTEMPORARY challenges facing and opportunities available to the City of Atlanta. Building on themes developed in the frst two years of the fellowship, the 2017 program adopted a restorative justice lens through which to examine both Atlanta’s rich and complex past and its promising and dynamic future. Te framework for all three years has been the 1960’s Appeal for Human Rights, authored by Dr. Roslyn Pope, which serves as both a list of demands that capture the form and substance of human rights entitlements and as a manifesto advancing an agenda marked by progressive inclusion and modes of empowerment. Tis historic document spawned a movement for human and civil rights in Atlanta and beyond, and it inspired a generation of activists in 1960 to change the status quo and to create greater opportunities and improve the quality of life for those victimized by the system of American apartheid known as Jim Crow. Te fact that the Appeal was written by Dr. Pope at the age of 21, was of particular importance because the John Lewis Fellows are in the same age range, and it refects the value and power of youth in diving and creating a more equitable path forward for all. Te Georgia Governor’s response to the 1960 Appeal to Human Rights was introduced to the John Lewis Fellows to highlight the ways in which calls and demands for justice were distorted, diminished and dismissed by those in power wishing to protect and preserve their privilege. John Lewis Fellows were also introduced to a more recent response to the 1960’s Appeal, which is the New Appeal for Human Rights, co-authored by Atlanta activist students and civil rights veterans in 2017. Tis New Appeal, which is an intergenerational charter, highlights contemporary civil and human rights challenges and opportunities for progress. Tis New Appeal and its authors provide a concrete example of how young human rights advocates, like the John Lewis Fellows, can chart the path forward for the protection and advancement in civil and human rights in today’s compelling political, economic and social environment. Te contents of this program booklet map the experience of the John Lewis Fellows in the program. It begins with Dr. Pope’s prescient