Human and Civil Rights Advocacy and Awareness

Fifteen human rights activists spent three weeks examining a broad variety of issues, initiatives and policies concerning human and civil rights. The program was designed to incorporate as many aspects of human and civil rights in the United States, and how these aspects play out across the country in differing locales and environments. Traveling from Washington, DC where the focus of the program was on national policy toward the disabled, the elderly, Native Americans, Latinos and Muslims, the visitors experienced New York City, the deep South, the Midwest and finally the Southwest. The selection of cities allowed the participants to examine concerns of the LGBT community (New York), the Civil Rights Movement (Alabama), interfaith dialogue and the Arab-American diaspora (Michigan), and immigrant protections and American Indian rights (Arizona). Additional topics of concern throughout the three week program included: domestic abuse; police-community relations; public/private partnerships in the protection of human and civil rights; and the use of social media in the promotion of diversity and tolerance.