Courageous Profiles in Human Rights

At a Glance:

Anwar Sadat (1918 - 1981)

President Ford meeting with Egyptian President Anwar Sadat (right) in Salzburg, Austria. June 2, 1975.
Source: http://www.ford.utexas.edu/library/
guides/guide.htm

Anwar Sadat assumed power in Egypt after his most trusted friend and president, Gamal Nasir, died. Because Nasir was a highly popular and charismatic leader, Sadat's ascendancy to presidency faced heated opinions that he was weak and ought to be removed immediately. In the face of this, Sadat began his "Corrective Revolution." He decentralized the Egyptian economy and changed the entire political structure. He intentionally distanced Egypt from their Soviet relationships and continually hinted that he wanted to strengthen relations with the U.S. Unexpectedly, in 1973, Egypt and Syria attacked Israel. Their joint forces gained considerable ground until the U.S. began to provide aid for Israel. This move, although extremely risky and ultimately unsuccessful, put Sadat in the limelight as a prestigious Arab leader who had dared to prove that Israel was not militarily invincible. After gaining the trust of the people, however, Sadat then made shocking moves for peace with Israel. In 1978, he met with Jimmy Carter and Israeli Prime Minister Begin. The bilateral peace treaty was signed in 1979 and both Sadat and Begin received the 1978 Nobel Peace Prize.

Sadat returned home to be chastised by the entire Arab world. Although the rest of the world acknowledged his efforts for peace, the Arab countries withdrew their financial aid and broke off all ties, even relocating the capital from Cairo to Tunis. In 1981, in the midst of political chaos in Egypt, Sadat was assassinated by members of the fundamentalist Muslim organization.

Mahmood, Iftekhar, ed. Islam Beyond Terrorists and Terrorism: Biographies of the Most Influential Muslims in History. Maryland: University Press of America, 2002.


Clara Hale (1905- current)

Source:
http://www.education.uiowa.edu/
arted/images/outreach/clara.jpg

Known as "Mother Hale," Clara's life mission has been to care for young children born to addicted mothers. Clara's tumultuous beginnings led her to the triumphant life and work that she now leads. Her father died when she was an infant, and her mother provided for her by running a boarding house. Clara married soon after high school and had a job cleaning theaters until her husband died when she was twenty-seven. She was left to rear three small children on her own. Little did she know that she would be changing the lives of far more than just these three. Until retirement, Clara decided to foster over forty children, receiving only two dollars a week per child. Soon after she retired, Clara's grown daughter stumbled upon a mother addicted to heroine trying to care for her baby in Harlem's Park. At this time, Clara decided to open her home to addicted babies. Mothers would bring Clara their drug-dependent babies while they tried to complete a drug treatment program. Clara watched over and cared for hundreds of babies suffering through the symptoms of withdrawal- namely diarrhea, vomiting, and stiff legs and backs. After the mother finished her drug rehabilitation, she and the baby would be reunited. Since 1969, the Hale House and loving Mother Hale have nurtured nearly eight hundred unwanted babies.

Holley, Mary R. "Clara Hale." Epic Lives: One Hundred Black Woman Who Made a Difference. Ed. Jessica Carney Smith. Detroit: Visible Ink Press, 1993. pp 230-233.


Faye Wattleton (1943- current)

Source:
http://www.columbia.edu/cu/alumni/
Magazine/images/Fall2002/Faye.jpg

Faye Wattleton shocked many people in 1978, when she stepped in as the first black person, first woman, and youngest individual to ever be president of the PPFA (Planned Parenthood Federation of America). She had started out as an only child in a poor home and had taken bold steps to get to the position she was in. She entered nursing school when she was only sixteen years old and became a maternity-nursing instructor for two years in which she witnessed the brutal aftermath of illegal abortions. At the age of twenty-seven, Faye was asked to be the executive director of her local Planned Parenthood board. The number of clients tripled, and the budget grew from less than four hundred thousand dollars to nearly a million. Faye was in labor when she was elected to be national executive director. As president of the entire PPFA, the demands on Faye became even greater. The individuals who appointed her took heated criticism for finding "a little nurse from Dayton" with no national experience. Faye did not let the criticism faze her. The magic she worked in the field proved all her critics wrong. Faye's passion for her work drew time away from her struggling marriage and she and her husband divorced. Even through the divorce, Faye continued to work calmly for public advocacy of sex-ed with contraceptive information. Faye retired eleven years later in 1992. Her contributions to Planned Parenthood and reproductive rights activism have won numerous awards, but her powerful presence is still deeply missed by the choice community.

Cunningham, C., and A.L. Jones. "Faye Wattleton." Epic Lives: One Hundred Black Woman Who Made a Difference. Ed. Jessica Carney Smith. Detroit: Visible Ink Press, 1993. pp. 573- 578.


Marian Wright Edelman (1939 - current)

Source:
http://www.capitaloutlook.com/col
umns/Edelman_Marian_Wright.jpg

Marian Wright Edelman grew up as the youngest of five children. With her father's low income as a minister, Marian insists that she and her family never felt poor. Marian's father died when she was fourteen. After graduating from high school, Marian attended college and incorporated nearly a year and two summers of traveling in Europe. After her travels, Marian returned to America unwilling to "go back to a segregated existence." She began taking part in the civil rights movement and was arrested in1960 for her participation in an Atlanta sit-in. Immediately after, Marian decided to attend law school. Initially, the bulk of Marian's work involved getting students out of jail. Waves of opposition rose against Marian; she was threatened by dogs, thrown into jail, and refused entry into a state courthouse. In the face of all this, Marian became the first black woman to pass the bar in Mississippi. Marian then refocused her efforts on children's rights and became known as "the children's crusader." In 1973, she began the Children's Defense Fund. Based in Washington D.C, the CDF ran a major campaign to prevent teen pregnancy, provide positive life options for youth, and teach the nation about the needs of children, especially the poorest children. Marian is currently serving on several boards, among which are the US Committee for UNICEF and the Council of Foreign Relations.

Guy-Sheftall, Beverley. "Marian Wright Edelman." Epic Lives: One Hundred Black Woman Who Made a Difference. Ed. Jessica Carney Smith. Detroit: Visible Ink Press, 1993. pp. 165-171.


Carl Elliott Sr.

Source:
http://www.jfklibrary.org/
images/elliott_carl.jpg

"Education is like a religion to me. I believe totally in its ability to empower every man to explore the limits of his potential."

Carl Elliott was born in 1913 as the oldest of nine children. As an aspiring politician in college, he took a risk in his student body president campaign and threw a dance for non-sorority girls. With eight hundred and fifty girls in attendance, Carl had embarked on a long career of caring for those less noticed. In his last semester of school, Carl went before Congress to testify on behalf of federal scholarships for college students. He ended up in the Oval Office with President Franklin Roosevelt. Together they discussed the tragedy of brilliant young people whose family's low income could not support their college education.

When Carl became a congressman in 1949, he had the means to do something about it. Although he was encouraged by President Harry Truman to "get a dam built somewhere" to insure reelection, Carl kept his vision of federal aid for education close to heart. For the next ten years, Carl proposed aid for students in every congressional session. At last, in 1958, he and Senator Lister hill championed the passage of the National Defense Education Act-a $900 million first attempt by the government to help kids who wanted an education. With Brown vs. Board of Education passing soon after, Carl faced heated accusations that his education act was a "nigger-loving" bill.

Embroiled in the racial tension of the times, Carl's campaign for governor of Alabama went badly. His persistence in being "moderate" during a moderate-less time resulted in shots fired at his campaign workers and hateful Ku Klux Klan messages sprayed across his billboards. Faced with defeat, Carl opened a law partnership that fought for damages for coal miners with black lung disease. Beyond this, Carl's life was a tormented one. In 1974, a tornado ripped through his home and killed his son and wife. After sustaining a heart attack, Carl was confined to a wheelchair and began to go blind. At the age of eighty-five, Carl Elliot Sr. passed away. With all his failed ambitions, Carl Elliot Sr. was a hero for the nation's youth-his hard work and desire to improve education has helped fifteen million Americans go to college.

Sources:

Beschloss, Michael. "Carl Elliot, Sr." Profiles in Courage for Our Time. Ed. Caroline Kennedy. New York: Hyperions Books, 2002. pp. 9-29.


Henry B. Gonzalez

Source:
http://www.utexas.edu/supportut/
news_pub/images/gonzalez_
henryb.jpg

"I swore that no matter whom it offended, or anything, I would never vote out of fear again." -- on his vote for the Gulf of Tonkin resolution

From the time he was a young boy, Henry Gonzalez loved reading books about great men. Within his lifetime, Henry then became one.

Henry's illustrious career began as a member of San Antonio's City Council, where his call for desegregated swimming facilities was met with gunshots fired at his car. With his motto "Fear Not," Henry pushed harder to a victory and found success when he then entered Texas State Senate. Henry was the first Hispanic Representative from Texas, and ended up serving in Congress longer than any other Hispanic, a term of thirty-seven years. During this long tenure, Henry achieved a brilliant amount. On a national scale, Henry is best known for the leadership role he took directly after the Kennedy assassination. He was not only sitting by Jackie Kennedy's side in the hospital, but he proceeded to become Chairman of the House Assassinations Committee. The committee's purpose was to investigate the murders of John F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King, Jr. After a short time, Henry realized that powerful forces in organized crime were involved and he returned to legislative work.

Stalwart themes in Henry's legislative work were the support of public housing, the opposition of nuclear power, an improvement in the welfare of Hispanics, and the prevention and prosecution of financial crimes. Within Congress, one of Henry's crowning moments was his deliverance of a monumental filibuster intended to thwart segregationist lawmakers. It was a true testament to Henry's experience in the field that he was able to speak knowledgeably for a full 36 hours, with only cough drops and water to save him. It proved to be the longest filibuster in Texas's history. Not only was it long, but Henry's filibuster prevented the passage of eight out of the ten presented segregation bills. Had they passed, the decision at Brown vs. Board of Education would have been neatly sidestepped.

In 1992, Henry again stepped into the limelight. With a tremendous amount of gall, Henry requested an investigation of the Bush administration's involvement in loans to Iraq. Known as Iraqgate, Gonzalez then unveiled his speculations that the U.S. was issuing more than $3 billion in loans to the Iraqi government under the guise of support for agricultural products. Henry speculated what was eventually found true: in reality, the money was being spent to buy nuclear and chemical weapons. Henry was warned by the Attorney General to stop his investigation, but Henry continued to seek answers. He called publicly for the impeachment of Bush until the Democrats lost control of the House.

Although bent on retirement, Henry stayed until the end of his term in order to spare his taxpayers the costs of a special election. At a ripe old age, Henry Gonzalez laid to rest.

Sources:

Hamill, Pete. "Henry B. Gonzalez." Profiles in Courage for Our Time. Ed. Caroline Kennedy. New York: Hyperions Books, 2002. pp 89-107.
"Hispanic Americans in Congress."


Caroline F. Ware

Source:
http://www.harvardsquarelibrary.org
/unitarians/ware.html

"My constitutional rights are being violated…when I am prohibited by segregation laws from associating with my friend and am compelled to sit in a separate car!"

Although all the odds were stacked in favor of Caroline Ware having whatever life she wanted, Caroline chose to live in the minority. Growing up in an abolitionist New England family, Caroline reflected her upbringing by pursuing social justice and civil rights at the risk of her own public image. Having privileges that many other white young women her age did not even have, Caroline graduated from Harvard with a doctorate in history. After a brief time in Washington D.C. helping with the New Deal, Caroline became a teacher at Howard University, a school composed mainly of blacks. Her decision shocked many of those who expected her to attend graduate school and begin a family. Instead, Caroline found an intense passion for supporting the especially politically active students in her school. Having previously been more interested in women's rights, Caroline suddenly saw the correlation between racism and sexism. In the next years of her life, Caroline made important contributions as a white woman to the civil rights movement. She joined Howard students in pickets at neighborhood restaurants and became staunchly involved when students returning home from a picnic of hers were arrested on a public bus. Ware was the first person that the students called once in jail, and Caroline rushed to do what she could. She phoned an attorney of the NAACP to help raise bail and then picked the students up herself. As a result of the incident, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the Jim Crow law in Virginia for public transportation. Caroline continued to provide emotional and financial support for activist African-Americans.

Later she threw her efforts behind the women's movement. She was asked to serve with Eleanor Roosevelt as a member of the President's Commission on the Status of Women and in 1966, was the founding member of the National Organization for Women.

Sources:

Dublin, Thomas. "Caroline F. Ware." Forgotten Heroes. Ed. Susan Ware. New York: Free Press, 1998. pp. 251-258.


Bianca Jagger

Source:
http://worldforum98.percepticon.com
/media/bianca3.jpg

Bianca Jagger is most famously known for her failed marriage with celebrity Mick Jagger. Less known, however, is Bianca's tremendous humanitarian work. As a human rights activist, Bianca's presence has been a strong supportive force in upheavals across Latin America. In a constant fight for social justice, Bianca has worked with organizations such as Amnesty International, the Washington Office for Latin America, and the Human Rights Watch. Her care and attention is spread from people as varied as those on death row, to indigenous peoples, to those afflicted with AIDS. On one trip as part of a U.S. Congress delegation to a Honduras refugee camp, death squads entered her camp and herded the refugees into a group to be marched away and killed. Bianca and the rest of the delegation followed behind in hopes that their presence would dissuade the death squads from firing upon the refugees. Luckily, they hoped right. Bianca returned to report on the conflict. From then on, Bianca continued to write op-eds for the New York Times and testify before Congress on international conflicts. Another high-impact project Bianca embarked on was in Bosnia. In 1993, Bianca was sent there by Congress to document the mass rape and poor living conditions of women there. She visited hundreds of women and listened to their testimonies of victimization and brutality. After this experience, Bianca realized that the UN needed to be reformed. She lobbied UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan to set up a commission of inquiry on the actions of UN personnel. Although she never received credit for it, the report Bianca requested was prepared and eventually presented in censored version. In 2003, Bianca traveled with another U.S. peace delegation to Baghdad to voice her strong opposition to the impending war.

Widely varied as Bianca's works were, it is impossible to grasp her world impact without taking a look at her awards. In recognition of her efforts against the death penalty, the National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty awarded her with the Abolitionist of the Year award. Within three years of each other, Bianca was then honored for her environmentalist work with the Green Globe Award from the Rainforest Alliance and the United Nations Earth Day Award.

Currently, Bianca is not only in leadership positions in Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, but she is on the Advisory Board of the Coalition for International Justice and the Twentieth Century Task Force to Apprehend War Criminals.

Sources:

Jacobsen, Kurt. Maverick Voices: Conversations with Political and Cultural Rebels. Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 2004. pp. 121-137.


Minnie Vautrin

Source:
http://www.ch815.com/zuanti/
nankingnew/image/hero4.jpg

Minnie Vautrin led a simple, normal life prior to the Massacre of Nanking. She was born in central Illinois, graduated from the University of Illinois and then went on to join the Foreign Christian Missionary Society and moved to China. When the Massacre of Nanking occurred in late 1937, Minnie Vautrin was dean of studies at Ginling College, a women's college supported by Protestant missionaires. But when the Japanese army arrived, chaos ensued. Thousands of Chinese women and girls fled to her at Ginling College begging for a place to stay. She took them all in, providing them temporary refuge from the Japanese army, and thus saving them for the time being from rape and murder at the hands of the Japanese. By doing so, though, she put herself at risk. When the Japanese army ordered Vautrin to leave, she refused and fearlessly faced bayonets and threats.

Throughout the entire massacre, Vautrin did not flee. She remained and demonstrated her true commitment to the city and its inhabitants by helping to rebuild after the massacre. Her social work experience helped her to successfully aid the city's inhabitants to transition back to real life after such a traumatic experience. However, in devoting herself to others, Vautrin forgot to look after herself. Soon afterwards, she suffered a nervous breakdown due to physical and emotional weakness. She returned to the US for psychiatric treatment but never fully recovered. In the end, Vautrin committed suicide by opening the gas jet in her kitchen stove. According to Iris Chang, "she died both a hero and victim of the Rape of Nanking, a woman who saved thousands of lives at the eventual cost of her own."

Where to find more info?

A page containing Iris Chang's foreword to the Minnie Vautrin biography.
Also check out:

David Kuriniec

Source:
http://www.differentability.org/
images/pgwb.jpg

David Kurinec was born with cerebral palsy, a disorder usually caused by brain damage at or before birth. As a result, Kurinec has muscular impairments and poor coordination. He has difficulty walking without assistant and lacks full use of his hands. Nevertheless, he still remains optimistic toward life. "I don't consider myself limited at all," Kuriniec said in an interview with abc7 Chicago news. Inspired by golfer Casey Martin, a disabled golfer who won legal rights to use a golf cart in competition, and supported by his mom, Kurinec felt a need to show society that disabled people are like everyone else and have similar needs.

During his freshmen year in high school, Kurinec fought for accessibility improvements at his school. He achieved his goal and was also recognized by Congressman Mark Kirk for his work. Now a freshman at Lake Forest College, Kurinec continues to work toward making society more accessible to those with disabilities. His long-term goal is to make legislative changes.

Where to find more info?

David Kuriniec's website
http://abclocal.go.com/wls/news/karenmeyer/031805_disable_youth_advocate.htm