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World Day of Social Justice

On World Day of Social Justice (February 20), we celebrate heroes who worked to remove barriers that people face because of gender, age, race, ethnicity, religion, culture or disability--so all people can live to their full potential with dignity.

Credit: Stephen Melkisethian [CC BY-NC-ND 2.0] via Flickr. February 2014 Moral March On Raleigh.

Congressman John Lewis (1940 - 2020) was an important figure in the civil rights movement and pushed for racial equality throughout his long career. From marching on Washington with Martin Luther King Jr. to serving on the U.S. House of Representatives in Georgia, Lewis was at the forefront of monumental change. He received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2011.

Congressman John Lewis

By: Staff

Films

 

The Space Between Us

Produced by:Phil Collis
A radical somatic dialog about race and gender.

Missing Migrants

Raj Yagnik, Kris Genjin
In the last 6 years more than 40,000 people have disappeared on migration journeys. Most of their families don’t know they're alive or dead.

Citizenship

By: Anson Schloat and John G. Young
A film about John Lewis on citizenship and character: "To be a good citizen is to obey the rules...the laws. Unless those laws conflict with your conscience.

Illegitimate Voice

Taylor Bazile, Will Casse, Uma Chatterjee,, Ashley Clark, Victoria Cruell, Pedro...
Stefie Gan recounts her experiences with culture shock, racism, and ultimately activism after moving from Malaysia to the United States.

Malala: The Story of a Hero

Produced by:Lora Batchelor Middle School
This is a video about Malala Yousafzai and how she stood up for women's rights.

Words Have Power

Produced by:Lynne Cherry
10-year-old Jaysa rallies the community with her speeches about how the power plant causes asthma and “so much suffering.” When they succeed in shutting down the plant, Jaysa concludes that “words have power."

Water Song

Produced by:Mill Valley Film Group/Will Parrinello
Máxima Acuña, a subsistence farmer in Peru’s northern highlands, stood up to Newmont Mining Corporation!

Mother of All Rivers

Produced by:Will Parrinello
Berta Cáceres rallied her indigenous Lenca people to wage a grassroots protest that successfully pressured the government of Honduras and the world's largest dam builder to withdraw from building the Agua Zarca Dam.

The Mayor of Castro Street: The Triumphs and Tragedies of Harvey Milk

Angela Kim
As a gay rights pioneer, Harvey Milk made history being the first openly gay elected official in California and one of the first in the country.

Training and a Chance: Not Your Typical Culinary Academy

Jim Tutte
More than half of young adults with autism remain unemployed two years after high school, and nearly half of all 25-year-olds on the spectrum have never held a paying job.

Women's Rights - PSA (2:35)

Produced by:Rajat Diwan

By boldly illustrating young women disguising themselves as young men, this PSA calls attention to the grave issue of women's safety and equal opportunity in India.

Additional Content on Social Justice

Curated by My Hero Staff

Stories

Yasmine Sherif: Winner of the 2020 Global Educator Award

By: Shannon Luders-Manuel

Yasmine Sherif leads Education Cannot Wait, a UN-hosted, global fund for education in emergencies.

Bryan Stevenson

By: Arthur (Trey) Carlisle
Bryan Stevenson has been recognized across the globe for the work that he has done to address poverty and racial inequality.

Desmond Tutu

By: Wendy Jewell from The MY HERO Project
Desmond Tutu worked to end apartheid in South Africa and encourages forgiveness.

Dolores Huerta

By: Rachel Parsons
Huerta began to see the need for agricultural workers to organize for labor rights as a teacher. Many of her students, who were children of migrant workers, told her stories of their parents’ working conditions, such as long days in fields with no toilets or cold drinking water.
Is the Taliban's return the end of music in Afghanistan?
Credit: Cormac O'Brien

MY HERO Project's Many Resources about the Holocaust and Jewish Culture

By: Deborah Neff, MY HERO Staff writer
THE MY HERO Project offers thousands of resources for the topic of International Holocaust Day.

Stories from MY HERO Partner, The Christian Science Monitor

Dalai Lama and Desmond Tutu
Credit: AP/Heiko Junge
Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial
Credit: AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster

Listen & Read Along

Dr. Hawa Abdi

By: Jane Wallace
Dr. Hawa Abdi is a Somali doctor, human rights activist and nominee for the Nobel Peace Prize.

Iqbal Masih

By: Attie from Anmore, Canada

Iqbal Masih was a Pakistani child laborer who fought against slave labor until his death at age 12.

Art

Robert D. Bullard

By: Joanna Barnum

Widely recognized as "The Father of Environmental Justice," Dr. Robert D. Bullard has been fighting "environmental discrimination" since the 1970s when he identified and decried the systemic practice of locating garbage dumps next to black neighborhoods in Houston.

Desmond Tutu, Global leader in advocating equality, compassion and justice for all

By: Steph Eberlein, Joe Lindley, Jake Fusilier

Pat Humphries Singer Songwriter Dedicated to promoting Social Justice

By: Robert Shetterly

Mother Teresa was canonized as a Saint for her work with the victims of extreme poverty

By: Michaelle from Laguna Beach

Nelson Mandela-Hero for Generations by D Basasira

By: David Basasira
Uncorruptable: In his fight for equality among races in South Africa, Nelson Mandela is a Hero for Generations

Related Pages

PEACE AND SOCIAL JUSTICE FILM SCREENING

By: Wendy Milette
Enjoy these inspiring short films featuring peace and social justice heroes!

Jessica Mayberry | Video Volunteers

Marc Ostrick

Jessica is the founder of Video Volunteers (VV), a human rights media organization's impact on people from India's most marginalized communities.

International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women

To raise public awareness of violence against women

Links

Our Curators

 

Short films curated by MY HERO International Film Festival director Wendy Milette

 

Hero Stories curated by MY HERO General Editor and Story Director Abigail Richardson.

 

Audio curated by MY HERO Audio director Stu Pearlman. 


Organizer created on 2/6/2014 12:43:32 PM by Becky Miller

Last edited 1/16/2024 9:07:03 AM by Abigail Richardson

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