HERO OF THE WEEK

Martin Luther King

Martin Luther King - Civil Rights Activist

Martin Luther King Jr. was born on January 15, 1929, in Atlanta, Georgia. King. He is both a Baptist minister and civil-rights activist. He had a seismic impact on race relations in the United States, beginning in the mid-1950s. Among many efforts, King headed the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC). Through his activism, he played a pivotal role in ending the legal segregation of African-American citizens in the South and other areas of the nation, as well as the creation of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. King received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964, among several other honors. 

 

In January 1957, Martin Luther King Jr., Ralph Abernathy, and 60 ministers and civil rights activists founded the  to harness the moral authority and organizing SCLC, power of black churches. It was to conduct non-violent protests to promote civil rights reform. His participation in the organization gave him a base of operation throughout the South, and also a national platform. This organization played an important role to give African Americans a voice was to enfranchise them in the voting process.

In 1959, with the help of the American Friends Service Committee, and inspired by Gandhi's success with non-violent activism, Martin Luther King visited Gandhi's birthplace in India. The trip affected him in a deeply profound way, increasing his commitment to America's civil rights struggle. African-American civil rights activist Bayard Rustin, who had studied Gandhi's teachings, became one of King's associates and counseled him to dedicate himself to the principles of non-violence. Rustin served as King's mentor and advisor throughout his early activism and was the main organizer of the 1963 March on Washington. But Rustin was also a controversial figure at the time, being a homosexual with alleged ties to the Communist Party, USA. Though his counsel was invaluable to King, many of his other supporters urged him to distance himself from Rustin.

In February 1960, a group of African-American students began what became known as the "sit-in" movement in Greensboro, North Carolina. The students would sit at racially segregated lunch counters in the city's stores. When asked to leave or sit in the colored section, they just remained seated, subjecting themselves to verbal and sometimes physical abuse. The movement quickly gained traction in several other cities. In April 1960, the SCLC held a conference at Shaw University in Raleigh, North Carolina with local sit-in leaders. Martin Luther King Jr. encouraged students to continue to use nonviolent methods during their protests. Out of this meeting, the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee formed and for a time, worked closely with the SCLC. By August of 1960, the sit-ins had been successful in ending segregation at lunch counters in 27 southern cities.

By 1960, Martin Luther King Jr. was gaining national notoriety. He returned to Atlanta to become co-pastor with his father at Ebenezer Baptist Church, but also continued his civil rights efforts. On October 19, 1960, King and 75 students entered a local department store and requested lunch-counter service but were denied. When they refused to leave the counter area, King and 36 others were arrested. Realizing the incident would hurt the city's reputation, Atlanta's mayor negotiated a truce and charges were eventually dropped. But soon after, King was imprisoned for violating his probation on a traffic conviction. The news of his imprisonment entered the 1960 presidential campaign, when candidate John F. Kennedy made a phone call to Coretta Scott King. Kennedy expressed his concern for King's harsh treatment for the traffic ticket and political pressure was quickly set in motion. King was soon released.

Human Rights Definition

Views from others :

1. Rhoda E. Howard ( Sociologist )

" Human rights are rights that one holds merely by virtue of being human.  Human rights are equivalent to individual rights.  All human beings hold all human rights equally (race, gender, religion...)  Deprived only under very limited and prescribed conditions (eg. criminal conviction or necessities of state power in warfare)"

2. Louis Henkin (Former president of the American Society of International Law)

" The idea of human rights is related, but not equivalent, to justice, good and democracy. It is a political idea with a moral foundation which defines the relationship that should exist between the individual and society"

3. Thomas Buergenthal (Former judge of the International Court of Justice)

  

  He defines human rights by reference to the law which governs human rights. He refers to “the law which deals with the protection of individuals and groups against violations by governments.

SURUHANJAYA HAK ASASI MANUSIA MALAYSIA

JOM MENGENALI SUHAKAM !

Suruhanjaya Hak Asasi Manusia Malaysia (SUHAKAM) merupakan sebuah badan yang ditubuhkan di Malaysia pada tahun 1999 di bawah Akta Suruhanjaya Hak Asasi Manusia Malaysia.

Fungsi SUHAKAM :

• Untuk memupuk kesedaran dan menyediakan pendidikan yang berhubung hak asasi manusia;
• Untuk menasihati dan membantu Kerajaan dalam merumuskan perundangan dan arahan dan tatacara pentadbiran dan mengesyorkan langkah-langkah yang perlu diambil;
• Untuk mengesyorkan kepada Kerajaan berkenaan dengan penandatanganan atau penyertaan dalam perjanjian dan suratcara antarabangsa yang lain dalam bidang hak asasi manusia;
• Untuk menyiasat aduan berkenaan dengan pelanggaran hak asasi manusia.

SUHAKAM memiliki laman webnya sendiri di mana warga Malaysia boleh mendapatkan maklumat yang dikehendaki dalam sekelip mata. Untuk mengenali sejarah dan aktiviti SUHAKAM, layarilah laman webnya pada http://www.suhakam.org.my/ms/.

HUMAN RIGHTS

WHAT ARE HUMAN RIGHTS?

We have been hearing so many people talking about human rights. What is human rights? How to define it? So, let's see what are the definitions proposed by different parties!
 
Human Rights Commission of New Zealand defines human rights as the basic rights and freedoms that every person in the world should have. There are two main types of human rights – civil and political rights, and social, cultural and economic rights.

Some tell that human  rights are based on the principle of respect for the individual. Their fundamental assumption is that each person is a moral and rational being who deserves to be treated with dignity. They are called human rights because they are universal. Whereas nations or specialized groups enjoy specific rights that apply only to them, human rights are the rights to which everyone is entitled—no matter who they are or where they live—simply because they are alive. 

To be simple, human rights are the rights you have simply because you are a human!