RIGHTING WRONGS
20 human rights heroes around the world
Determined individuals created the human rights we now take for granted.
The phrase human rights is relatively recent, coming out of a post-World War II effort to draw nations together and prevent or lessen suffering. Righting Wrongs introduces children to the true stories of 20 real people who invented and fought for these ideas. Without them, many of the rights we take for granted would not exist.
These heroes have promoted women’s, disabled, and civil rights; action on climate change; and the rights of refugees. These advocates are American, Sierra Leonean, Norwegian, and Argentinian. Eleven are women. Two identified as queer. Twelve are people of color. One campaigned for rights as a disabled person. Two identify as Indigenous. Two are Muslim and two are Hindu, and others range from atheist to devout Christian. There are two journalists, one general, three lawyers, one Episcopal priest, one torture victim, and one Holocaust survivor.
Their stories of hope and hard work show how people working together can change the world for the better.
“Righting Wrongs offers a fresh and engaging perspective on the human rights movement. Kirk shares the stories of 20 inspiring but often unlikely heroes, showing how individuals have been able to shape history and build a powerful movement for human rights. This book is a wonderful and unique contribution to our understanding of how people can challenge injustice and make change in the world.”
“In this remarkable book, Kirk paints compelling portraits of human rights figures from across the globe. Righting Wrongs is not only for the youth: from young adults to veteran human rights advocates, everyone can learn something from the stories that Kirk has thoughtfully put down within these pages. With this book, Kirk has done something brilliant: she has expertly broken down some of the most important and complex developments in human rights into simple, clear, easy-to-understand language, and she has assembled a pantheon of inspiring human rights heroes for the next generation to admire, emulate . . . and hopefully follow in their footsteps.”
“Righting Wrongs plunges readers into not only the achievements of a group of influential human rights advocates, but also the how and why they came to undertake such daunting and complex work. This book provides thorough context about the complicated and ever-changing environments where human rights activism takes place, while also sparking curiosity. The study guides, glossary, and list of sites to visit invite readers to see the text as a jumping off point for their own engagement with human rights activism down the street and on the other side of the world.”