Resources for Human Rights and Civil Liberties Activists
By Tom Head, About.com Guide
Human rights is not a spectator sport, and the work of identifying, promoting, and securing our human rights and civil liberties is neither optional nor a hobby. The only thing that stands between the world we live in and George Orwell's nightmare of "a boot stamping on a human face forever" is diligence--and we live into that diligence with our voices, with our sweat, and occasionally with our blood.
Activism 101
Activism is the business of civil liberties. Here are some tips, primers, and other materials to get you started.
Famous Civil Liberties Activists
Everybody needs role models, and activists are no exception.
- The Trial and Death of Jesus Christ, Prisoner of Conscience
- Shirin Ebadi, Iranian Feminist Attorney
- Ben Jealous, NAACP President
- Barack Obama, Community Organizer and Civil Rights Attorney
- Anthony Romero, Executive Director of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU)
- Al Sharpton, Civil Rights Activist
Civil Liberties Organizations
Activists are social creatures; it's very rare to get anything useful accomplished alone.
- American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU)
- Americans United for Separation of Church and State
- Amnesty International
- Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN)
- Children's Defense Fund
- Feminist Majority Foundation
- Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD)
- Human Rights Campaign (HRC)
- Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund
- NARAL Pro-Choice America
- National Advocates for Pregnant Women (NAPW)
- National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP)
- National Council of La Raza
- National Organization for Women (NOW)
- National Rifle Association (NRA)
- Parents, Families, and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG)
- Planned Parenthood Federation of America