Local human rights group dedicated to equity, fairness
The first idea of all people having rights because they are human was documented in 539 BC by Cyrus the Great. The world’s first charter, written on a clay cylinder in the Akkadian language with cuneiform handwriting, is how he recorded the freedom of enslaved people and declared all people had the right to choose their religion and create racial equality. This concept proliferated to
India, Greece, and Rome, where the idea of “Natural Law” emerged.
Records affirming individual rights, including the Magna Carta (1215), the Petition of Rights (1628), the U.S. Constitution (1787) and the U.S. Bill of Rights (1791), are historical documents used as a framework for Human Rights legislations today.
The loss of millions of lives, wounded, homeless, or starving families of World War II from 1939 to 1945 brought delegates from 50 countries together in San Francisco to promote peace and avoid future conflicts. As a result of this meeting, the United Nations was formed to promote international collaboration, replacing the League of Nations on October 24, 1945.
In 1948, Eleanor Roosevelt chaired the U.N.’s new Human Rights Commission and was instrumental in developing what many call the International Magna Carta for all people. The U.N. adopted this declaration on Dec.
10, 1948, and this year marks the 75th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The declaration comprises a preamble and thirty articles written as a common standard of achievement to promote, protect, and fulfill the human rights of all people.
While we have gained momentum, we have a long way to go! Women are still fighting for equity, children are being enslaved, discrimination is at our back doors, privacy is violated by police surveillance technology.
More than 800 people are currently living in shelters in the city of Dayton, 42.5% of renters are rent-burdened, many neighborhoods have food insecurities, and there are policing issues and mass incarceration. There is disinvestment in many minority Dayton neighborhoods. According to the Ohio School Report Card, the city’s school district has an overall rating of 2 out of 5. These problems violate the Human Rights standards set by the U.N.
The government is working to improve living standards for the community through the recent Platinum LEED Certification; the Welcoming Dayton initiative; adding housing as a component of Issue 9 renewal; and working with the Coalition of Public Protection and Jail Coalition.
Dayton United for Human Rights Coalition is a grassroots organization working with the city officials to make Dayton the first Human Rights City in Ohio.
The coalition meets from 6-8 p.m. every third Thursday at the Dayton Metro Library main branch, downtown. We look forward to having a signed resolution before the end of the year to commemorate the 75th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. I believe “Community solidarity is the recipe for change.”