John Lewis

By in Human Rights, Leadership

“If you’re not hopeful and optimistic, then you just give up. You have to take the long hard look and just believe that if you’re consistent, you will succeed.” John Lewis is a member of the U.S House of Representatives representing Georgia’s 5th district. He is the only living “big six” leader of the Black Civil Rights movement which consisted of Martin Luther King Jr., James Farmer, John Lewis, A. Phillip Randolph, Roy Wilkins and Whitney Young. I admire John Lewis’ courage in the civil rights movement as he was leading the SNCC movement through the freedom rides, specifically when he encouraged the SNCC students that were dropped off in Klan territory to keep going and afterwards stating “we had a mandate, a moral obligation” (Lewis, 151). John Lewis had a great impact on the conception of the American Dream by making it achievable for all races in his...

Malcolm X By: Justin Osuji

By in Human Rights

                                                                                 Quote  “There is no better than adversity. Every defeat, every heartbreak, every loss, contains its own seed, its own lesson on how to improve your performance next time.” This quote shows how Malcolm X was innovator of change. He believed that every defeat and failure made him and everyone around him a strong better person.  He preached that you learn the most from the failures and from failure comes success. Background Malcolm x was not only one of the most powerful civil rights activist, but also one of the most inivative. He used his islamic beliefs to transform the way african american citizens were misrepresented in society. He is important today because he helped blacks as a people makes strides to being a more respected group.Malcolm X fought to raise the self-esteem of black Americans and...

Gloria Steinem

By in Human Rights

By Bridget Berry, Wagner College 2017 “Without leaps of imagination or dreaming, we lose the excitement of possibilities. Dreaming, after all, is a form of  planning.” – Gloria Steinem Starting in the 1960s, Gloria Steinem took charge of the Women’s Rights Movement and changed the way society looked at feminist issues. Her work is still relevant today, as she has become a public figure, best known for founding the first feminist magazine, as well as being honored in the National Women’s Hall of Fame. Gloria Steinem is one of the most influential leaders of the past 50 years. Background Gloria Steinem was born on March 25, 1934 in Toledo, Ohio. Living with her single mother, Steinem’s views on women in society began to form at an early age. She saw her mother’s strife as a result of general hostility towards working women. She went on to attend...

Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg

By in Human Rights, Political Leaders

“My mother told me to be a lady. And for her that meant be your own person, be independent.” – Ruth Bader Ginsburg   Introduction   Ruth Bader Ginsburg, a current Associate Justice on the U.S. Supreme Court, was born on March 15, 1933. Before her time in the federal court, she was a professor of law at Rutgers and then at Columbia University. Having assumed office in 1993 under the Clinton administration and still going strong today at age 80, Ginsburg has left quite a legacy; infact, her being appointed to the Supreme Court in and of itself was a landmark moment in U.S. judicial history, what with Ginsburg being only the second female appointed to the Supreme Court (Sandra Day O’Connor being the first) and being the first Jewish female to be appointed. “I would not like to be the only woman in the court.”   Whether this was her intent...