Student Organizing
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Empowering Change: Connor Marrott’s Mission to Improve Reentry Opportunities
Tags Share A Capstone Project to Inspire Change Connor’s passion for reentry work began during his internship at Dismas House, a reentry home in northern Indiana. There, he helped returning citizens secure jobs and navigate the barriers to reintegration. Inspired by this experience, he designed an innovative in-person simulation game that immerses participants in the…
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Steven Mukum, 2024-2025 JLYL Fellow, receives prestigious Diana Award
Tags Share Steven (Tuti) Mukum, a John Lewis Young Leaders fellow and student set to graduate Swarthmore College next year, has received the prestigious Diana Award, which celebrates and empowers students who are creating positive change around the world. Established in the memory of the late Diana, Princess of Wales, the program is rooted in…
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Pens for Press: Students Stand with Carlos Ávila
Tags Share Amidst final exams and end-of-year projects, young people across the country spent hours writing letters and sending emails on behalf of Honduran journalist, Carlos Ávila. On November 2nd, the International Day to End Impunity for Crimes Against Journalists, the RFK Human Rights’ Civic Space Case Tracker launched Pens for Press 2024, a youth…
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John Lewis Young Leaders Fellow Saanvi Arora’s California Assembly Bill 2608 Passed Into Law
Tags Share “It felt so good” to see Governor Newsom sign Assembly Bill 2608 into law on July 15, 2024, exclaimed Saanvi Arora, a 2023-2024 John Lewis Young Leaders (JLYL) Fellow. AB 2608, drafted and lobbied for by Arora and other students, is a bill which ensures that students on college campuses in California receive…
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NBC News: States consider banning legacy admissions at universities, sparking debate
Tags Share An August 30 NBC News segment—featuring former John Lewis Young Leaders fellow and Cornell University student Jonathan Lam—highlighted states’ recent moves to prohibit legacy admissions. Last year, shockwaves were sent through college campuses when the Supreme Court overturned affirmative action in admissions decisions. After the Supreme Court’s decision, Lam, along with Cornell’s ACLU chapter,…
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“Now I Am Going to Speak Out”: The Power of Youth Community Organizing Workshops
Tags Share “I want to help my community inside and outside the school,” declared Ramses Gonzalez, a student who arrived in the United States just last year and a participant in a recent youth organizing workshop series led by Karen Robinson, Program Director of Human Rights Education at Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights. This three…
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Tenth Anniversary of the Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Education Award in Partnership with Schools That Can
Tags Share Educators, administrators, and students around the country work tirelessly each year as thought leaders and advocates to innovate and improve their communities and school culture. In partnership with Schools That Can, RFK Human Rights annually recognizes and celebrates the exemplary work of those who have demonstrated moral courage and commitment to bettering their…
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A Community For Change: The 2024 John Lewis Young Leaders Retreat
Tags Share “The purpose of the John Lewis Young Leaders (JLYL) fellowship program is not just to empower youth, but also to allow youth to get their foot in the door in terms of understanding what human rights work entails,” explained Jonathan Lam, part of the 2024-2025 cohort of JLYL fellows. For these young leaders,…
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Celebrating our Human Rights Defenders: Ash-Lee Woodard Henderson & Bobby Muller
Tags Share Community organizer and social justice defender Ash-Lee Woodard Henderson advocates for social rights in northeast Tennessee and elsewhere through her work as Co-Executive Director of the influential Highlander Research and Education Center. Social Rights Social rights refer to the dynamic interdependence of individuals in their living and working conditions, encompassing fundamental necessities for…
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Student Voices Engaged for Equity
Tags Share While the longstanding impacts of racism permeate our society, discussions of race are largely absent from much of the public school curriculum and have become contentious in today’s educational environment. It’s left many educators searching for strategies to start constructive and open dialogue about race in the classroom. On March 10, we hosted…
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Centering Human Rights Through a Whole School Approach
Tags Share Education is essential to a healthy, democratic society, and informed action for social justice is the result of instruction with intention. This is why Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights partners with schools to provide education and advance a whole school approach grounded in human rights. Through this unique program, we help partner schools…
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Young human rights defenders carry on John Lewis’ lasting legacy
Tags Share For myself, and for many members of the Kennedy family, John Lewis was a continual and steady presence in our lives. He was a father figure to us, he shared a special bond with my mother, Ethel, and he was a guiding force in helping Robert F Kennedy Human Rights become the organization…
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