All people have the right to know our human rights
Human Rights are “the inalienable, fundamental rights to which people are inherently entitled simply because they are human.”
The Declaration on Human Rights Education and Training states that clearly. There are five categories of human rights: Civil, Political, Economic, Social and Cultural rights. Civil and Political Rights protect the people against government interference or suppression of our rights to self-determination, self-governance, civic participation in democracy and the right to dissent and protest for our rights if they are denied.
Dorothy Cotton wanted us to build Beloved Community: to champion and educate one another about the struggles to access and expand civil and political rights in the US, and the triumphs of freedom we’ve achieved. We agreed to expand our lens beyond civil rights history to focus on contemporary issues and struggles, and to highlight how people are building successful movements for liberation, self-expression, peace and justice here and around the world.
Economic, Social and Cultural Rights require our governments to provide financial resources, plan systems, offer programs, services and support for a healthy, thriving society, ensuring that our basic human needs are being met, and affording all of us pathways to education, empowerment and advancement, the preservation of our cultural heritages and expressions, and the protection and restoration of our natural environments.
Dorothy Cotton Institute’s focus is knowing and expressing our full universal human rights and responsibilities. The human rights framework is the foundation for all of our programs and our partnerships with organizations who share our values. Human Rights inform our work on civic education and community engagement, and intersectional sustainability, environmental and climate justice. To learn more about Human Rights Education programs we offer and current human rights issues and resources, please click here and contact us.