jrblau@email.unc.edu
Background, Fall 2007
As a background, students in my Fall courses at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill examined different aspects of the international human rights framework and its relevance. Students in Sociology 131 focused on labor law and the effects of globalization on human populations, whereas those in Sociology 273 focused on human rights treaties, including ones dealing with climate change and the environment. Students in both classes learned that the US has chosen not to participate in this international framework (opting to use a legal escape clause). They also learned that the US Constitution is the oldest in the world, and it is one of a very few that has not been recently revised to include fundamental human rights (See Constitution Finder.). They decided to hold a mock Constitutional Convention to “revise” the US Constitution. Mayor Foy of Chapel Hill and Mayor Chilton of Carrboro both spoke at the Convention and both agreed that they would back the idea of their own city becoming a Human Rights City. (The Constitutional Convention has been archived in a student blog by Cynthia Trinh)
Spring 2008
The Human Rights City Movement is relatively new in the US, but nowhere has it been spearheaded by students, and this was the challenge facing the students in Sociology 290 (“Human Rights Cities”) during Spring 2008. They are:
Lizzy Adkisson, Patricia Alessi, Sean Anderson, Meredith Austin, Tessa Bialek, Alicia Brown, Hameka Canady, Yates Creech, Beau Delapouyade, Reine Duffy, Stacey Garner, John Gray, Shilpa Hegde, Shaconda Johnson, Kaila Ramsey, Chelsea Sessoms, Amy Shaffer, Clark Woodard, and Bernard Worthy.
A Citizens’ Steering Committee was also formed. Although it continues to grow, early members include Sally Massengale and Iris Shwintzer (co-chairs), John Cooper, Marie Duke, Lucy Lewis, Pluto Richards, Carlo Robustelli, Arturo Romano, Cullen Zimmerman
A Few Major Lessons We Learned
Engaging the public in discussions about human rights is a big challenge, and we were unable to accomplish that during this term. The typical American city is segregated by race and class. Property rights and economic privilege are big obstacles. For example, the poor do not have housing rights and often cannot afford medical care. They live in enclaves, hidden from those with wealth and other resources.
Human rights practitioners (e.g., women’s advocates) and academics in applied fields (e.g., planning) both use human rights concepts but in narrow terms. Once a human rights framework is adopted, it will be much easier to bridge connections involving practitioners and academics. Furthermore, human rights advocates and academics do not need to be defensive about making a case – to give an example -- for the rights of the child. There is a human rights treaty on the Rights of the Child.
Students presenting their work to the Steering Committee was helpful for both the students and the members of the S.C.
What We Did This Term and Beyond
The students’ blog entries (below) are rich and informative (although not linearly organized) They start with brief accounts of gaps in data and information, and then summarize their projects and the many (though not all) of the meetings and public hearings they attended. This blog has been maintained by Meredith Austin.
Please also see the blog maintained by Bernard Worthy. On it are the major human rights treaties.
Students in the Fall will be building on the pioneering work carried out by students in 131, 273 and 290. This is not an academic exercise; their aim is to transform the logic of the way cities function using Chapel Hill and Carrboro as models. What is the new logic they envision? It can be summed up briefly: egalitarian, nondiscriminatory, inclusive, pluralistic, deeply democratic, equitable, where cultural and social differences are celebrated, and where each person is treated with dignity.
