Our Primary Programs
Human Rights Updates
Join us for Dancing While Black!
You are cordially invited to join the Human Rights Project on the evening of May 17th—we are partnering with Angela’s Pulse and the Bronx Academy of Arts and Dance to present Dancing While Black: Voices from the Bush. This event is a fusion of dance and dialogue. It will feature an amazing show introducing new work from the most recent generation of choreographers to emerge from the acclaimed Urban Bush Women dance company. In addition, HRP director Shani Jamila will be moderating a pre-performance panel that will contextualize the work of the choreographers in a human rights frame.
We are very excited about this event, it promises to be a very special evening. If you are able to join us it would be lovely to see you there!
HRP Welcomes New Director!
HRP is delighted to announce the hire of its new Director Ms. Shani Jamila. Shani is a staunch human rights advocate, multimedia artist, and cultural critic who comes to the Urban Justice Center from the community based organization Justice for DC Youth (JDCY), where she served as director and coordinated the Prison to College Pipeline—a cutting edge, culturally grounded mentorship program that supports the education and empowerment of incarcerated teens. Over the course of her leadership, JDCY recruited and trained a corps of collegiate volunteers who joined her in tutoring and leading arts based workshops inside a juvenile detention facility. Prior to accepting this position, she designed and directed The Art of Activism seminar series at Howard University—building a model that utilized cultural work to examine domestic social justice issues in an international human rights frame. Please see full announcement and bio. Please join us at a reception on March 29th at 6:30pm held at the Vermillion restaurant - 480 Lexington Avenue to meet Shani and this year's Human Rights Institute fellows.
Celebrating Women's History Month: New Guide on the UPR and Gender Equality
In honor of Women’s History Month, HRP has released a new guide on the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) of the United States and gender equality. In this document we highlight the recommendations made to the United States that explicitly called for improving the human rights of women and transgender people. These recommendations can be used nationwide by advocates and activists working to promote gender equality. They can be used to pressure government at all levels, from lobbying the national government to meet these commitments through policy reform, to making state governments aware of the international expectation that gender equality will be advanced, to drafting city-level legislation with these recommendations as a foundation. We have included action steps at the conclusion of the guide and encourage our readers to commemorate Women’s History Month by holding their government accountable to its domestic human rights obligations.
HRP is pleased to announce the fellows for our 2012 Human Rights Institute
HRP is very pleased to announce the fellows for our 2012 Human Rights Institute. This cohort of fellows—selected from our largest and most competitive applicant pool to date—are passionate advocates and activists dedicated to promoting economic and social justice. Our 2012 fellows represent a great diversity of issue areas and geographic locations, and will join us in New York City at the end of March for an intensive three days of learning, dialogue, and skill sharing. After the 2012 Institute, the fellows will join our growing community of Institute alumnae, who have access to ongoing human rights workshops, resources, and skill shares. Please consider joining us to celebrate this year's fellows at a reception on March 29th at 6:30pm held at the Vermillion restaurant - 480 Lexington Avenue. Download flyer for more information. Meet our Fellows! This Institute is co-sponsored by the US Human Rights Network.
HRP releases issue briefs on City Council's human rights record. Commends Bronx council members for legislative record on housing. Concerns about Queens' record on housing.
The Human Rights Project is pleased to announce the release of three issue briefs on housing, access to civil legal services, and the criminal and juvenile justice system. The issue briefs are derived from information in the 2011 New York City Council Human Rights Report Card and give a detailed look at how the City Council has addressed these particular human rights concerns.
Breakfast Event Celebrating Release of 2011 NYC Council Human Rights Report Card
We cordially invite you to join us for an event celebrating the release of our 2011 NYC Council Human Rights Report Card. Please join us for breakfast and conversation, and to pick up your hard copy of the report! Event details are as follows:
Friday, December 2, 2011
9:00AM
Borough of Manhattan Community College’s Richard Harris Terrace
(Located inside the main BMCC building, at 199 Chambers Street, NYC 10007)
Click here for a map of the area.
Please RSVP to emarkman at urbanjustice.org
2011 New York City Council Human Rights Report Card Released
Today, we are pleased to announce the release of the 2011 New York City Council Human Rights Report Card. This annual report is the only report of its kind, and grades each member of the New York City Council on his or her record in promoting the human rights of New Yorkers. The analysis is based on votes and sponsorship of key legislation before the Council in the past twelve months.
Congratulations to the following Council Members for making the A-List:
Melissa Mark-Viverito. Manhattan Council District # 8 – Democrat (Score: 90%)
Helen D. Foster. Bronx Council District # 16 – Democrat (Score: 88%)
Letitia James. Brooklyn Council District # 35 – Democrat (Score: 88%)
Jumaane D. Williams. Brooklyn Council District # 45 – Democrat (Score: 86%)
Charles Barron. Brooklyn Council District # 42 – Democrat (Score: 80%)
Brad Lander. Brooklyn Council District # 39 – Democrat (Score: 74%)
Gale Brewer. Manhattan Council District # 6 – Democrat (Score: 73%)
G. Oliver Koppell. Manhattan Council District #11- Democrat (Score 65%)
Jimmy Van Bramer. Queens Council District #26- Democrat (Score 65%)
See individual Council Member Report Cards.
Please support distribution and community education of the report by donating here.
Human Rights Webinar and Policy Brief on Paid Sick Leave
Thank you for joining us for the webinar on the Human Right to Paid Sick Leave today, October 25th at 1-2pm (EST). We thank our excellent presenters: Sherry Leiwant from A Better Balance, Virgilio Aran from the Restaurant Opportunities Center of New York, and Alexander Saingchin from the Human Rights Project. Please listen to the webinar or download the full power point presentation. We also encourage you to read our new policy brief, "The Human Right to Paid Sick Leave: How the United States and New York City Fail Low-Income Women of Color."
HRP Commemorates the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty
Join HRP in commemorating the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty recognized annually on October 17th. This year's theme is on sustainable development. HRP will be participating in an interactive panel event - Sustainable Development Must Include Every Person - on Monday, October 17th at 3pm held at the Salvation Army, 221 East 52nd Street. The event is sponsored by ATD Fourth World and the UN NGO Sub-Committee for the Eradication of Poverty.
Human Rights Tribunal on NYC's Public Education System
On October 15th, HRP participated in a tribunal on the human rights violations in New York City's public education system. The tribunal was organized by the Coalition for Public Education. HRP Director, Ejim Dike, sat as one of the judges for the tribunal where over 45 students, parents, and human rights activists presented testimony on human rights violations in the system. The participants are calling for a People's Board of Education and an end to mayoral control.
HRP participates in 10th anniversary of the Global Action Plan to Fight Racism
On September 22nd, HRP joined the global community in commemorating the 10th anniversary of the Durban Declaration and Program of Action (DDPA), a global action plan to combat racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance. Please listen to HRP Director, Ejim Dike, on Free Speech Radio News, on the importance of the DDPA to local organizing for racial justice.
