Human Rights, BRA-DOD
These are the rights that youâre entitled to simply for being human. The term âhuman rightsâ is relatively new, but the concept of human rights had its origins in ancient Greece and Rome. Although the principle of human rights has gained widespread acceptance over the centuries, there has been disagreement over the nature and scope of such rights and their definition. Still, the reality of popular demands for human rights in the early 21st century is undeniable, and a deepening and widening concern for the promotion and protection of human rights on all fronts is now woven into the fabric of contemporary world affairs.
Human Rights Encyclopedia Articles By Title
Bradley, Joseph P.
Joseph P. Bradley was an associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court from 1870 until his death in 1892. His vote......
Bradwell, Myra
Myra Bradwell was an American lawyer and editor who was involved in several landmark cases concerning the legal......
Brandeis, Louis
Louis Brandeis was a lawyer and associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court (1916â39) who was the first Jew to......
Breckinridge, Madeline McDowell
Madeline McDowell Breckinridge was an American social reformer whose efforts focused on child welfare, health issues,......
Brennan, William
William Brennan was an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States (1956â90). Brennan was the son......
Bridges, Ruby
Ruby Bridges is an American activist and leader who became a symbol of the civil rights movement and who was, at......
Britannica Remembers Nelson Mandela
EncyclopĂŠdia Britannicaâs first biography of Nelson Mandela appeared in print in 1965, published in the Britannica......
Brown, Bob
Bob Brown is an Australian politician who served as a member of the Australian Senate (1996â2012) and as leader......
Brown, Henry Billings
Henry Billings Brown was an associate justice of the United States Supreme Court (1890â1906). Brown was admitted......
Brown, Molly
Molly Brown was an American human-rights activist, philanthropist, and actress who survived the sinking of the......
Brown, Olympia
Olympia Brown was a minister and social reformer, an active campaigner for woman suffrage and one of the first......
Brown, Ruth Winifred
Ruth Winifred Brown was an American librarian and activist, who was dismissed from her job at an Oklahoma library......
Brown, Tony
Tony Brown was an American activist, television producer, writer, educator, and filmmaker who hosted Tony Brownâs......
Bruguera, Tania
Tania Bruguera is a Cuban performance artist and activist whose work often considers totalitarianism, immigration,......
Burger, Warren E.
Warren E. Burger was the 15th chief justice (1969â86) of the United States Supreme Court. After graduating with......
Burke, Tarana
Tarana Burke is an American activist and business executive who founded (2006) the Me Too movement, which sought......
Burns, Lucy
Lucy Burns was an American suffragist whose zealous political organizing and militant tactics helped forge support......
Bustillos GarcĂa, Edwin
Edwin Bustillos GarcĂa was a human rights activist and environmentalist who spent most of his life working to reduce......
Butler, Benjamin F.
Benjamin F. Butler was an American politician and army officer during the American Civil War (1861â65) who championed......
Butler, Judith
Judith Butler is an American academic whose theories of the performative nature of gender and sex have been influential......
Caldicott, Helen
Helen Caldicott is an Australian-born American physician and activist whose advocacy focused on the medical and......
Campus Antiwar Network
Campus Antiwar Network (CAN), college- and university-based antiwar organization in the United States that was......
Carmichael, Stokely
Stokely Carmichael was a West-Indian-born civil rights activist, leader of Black nationalism in the United States......
Cassin, René
René Cassin was a French jurist and president of the European Court of Human Rights. He won the Nobel Prize for......
Catherine the Great, Instruction of
Instruction of Catherine the Great, (Aug. 10 [July 30, old style], 1767), in Russian history, document prepared......
Catholic Emancipation
Catholic Emancipation, in British history, the freedom from discrimination and civil disabilities granted to the......
Catt, Carrie Chapman
Carrie Chapman Catt was an American feminist leader who led the womenâs rights movement for more than 25 years,......
Celebrating Elizabeth Cady Stanton at 200
Elizabeth Cady was the daughter of a New York Supreme Court judge. Her fatherâs influence and her studies at a......
Center for Civil Liberties
Center for Civil Liberties, Ukrainian organization that promotes democracy and civil society. The organization......
Center for International Policy
Center for International Policy (CIP), privately funded nongovernmental organization dedicated to promoting a U.S.......
Chafee, Zechariah, Jr.
Zechariah Chafee, Jr. was a U.S. legal scholar known for his advocacy of civil liberties. His first book, Freedom......
Chagla, M.C.
M.C. Chagla was an Indian statesman and government official, known for his dedication to Indian civil liberties.......
Charles Augustus
Charles Augustus was the Grossherzog (grand duke) of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach, an enlightened ruler, and patron of......
Chartism
Chartism, British working-class movement for parliamentary reform named after the Peopleâs Charter, a bill drafted......
Chavez, Cesar
Cesar Chavez was an organizer of migrant American farmworkers and a cofounder with Dolores Huerta of the National......
Chicago Race Riot of 1919
Chicago Race Riot of 1919, the most severe of approximately 25 race riots throughout the U.S. in the âRed Summerâ......
Chicago Seven
The Chicago Seven was a group of political activists who were arrested for their antiwar activities during the......
Chicago, Judy
Judy Chicago is an American feminist artist whose complex and focused installations created some of the visual......
Christian, Barbara
Barbara Christian was a Caribbean American educator and feminist critic who attempted to define an African American......
Churchill, Caryl
Caryl Churchill is a British playwright whose work frequently deals with feminist issues, abuses of power, and......
civil liberty
civil liberty, Freedom from arbitrary interference in oneâs pursuits by individuals or by government. The term......
Civil rights
Civil rights are guarantees of equal social opportunities and equal protection under the law, regardless of race,......
Civil Rights Act
Civil Rights Act, (1964), comprehensive U.S. legislation intended to end discrimination based on race, color, religion,......
Civil Rights Act of 1866
In early January 1866 U.S. Senate Judiciary Chairman Lyman Trumbull from Illinois introduced the first federal......
Civil Rights Act of 1875
Civil Rights Act of 1875, U.S. legislation, and the last of the major Reconstruction statutes, which guaranteed......
Civil Rights Cases
Civil Rights Cases, five legal cases that the U.S. Supreme Court consolidated (because of their similarity) into......
Civil Rights Congress
Civil Rights Congress (CRC), civil rights organization founded in Detroit in 1946 by William Patterson, a civil......
Clark, Ramsey
Ramsey Clark was a human rights lawyer and former U.S. attorney general under President Lyndon B. Johnson. Clarkâthe......
Clark, Septima Poinsette
Septima Poinsette Clark was an American educator and civil rights activist. Her own experience of racial discrimination......
Clark, Tom C.
Tom C. Clark was a U.S. attorney general (1945â49) and associate justice of the United States Supreme Court (1949â67).......
Cleghorn, Mildred
Mildred Cleghorn was a dollmaker, teacher, and tribal leader of the Fort Sill Chiricahua Apache (1976â95) who fought......
Coalition of Labor Union Women
Coalition of Labor Union Women (CLUW), organization of women trade unionists representing more than 60 American......
Code Pink
Code Pink, feminist antiwar organization founded in 2002 to protest U.S. military involvement in Afghanistan and......
Coffin, William Sloane, Jr.
William Sloane Coffin, Jr. was an American clergyman and civil rights activist who achieved national prominence......
Coleman, James S.
James S. Coleman was an American sociologist, a pioneer in mathematical sociology whose studies strongly influenced......
Colvin, Claudette
Claudette Colvin is an American woman who was arrested as a teenager in 1955 for refusing to give up her bus seat......
ColĂłn, Willie
Willie ColĂłn was an American trombonist, composer, bandleader, and activist who helped to popularize salsa music......
Common Sense
On January 10, 1776, Thomas Paineâs, Common Sense was published and became Americaâs first best-seller with some......
Commonwealth
Commonwealth, a free association of sovereign states comprising the United Kingdom and a number of its former dependencies......
Congress of Racial Equality
Congress of Racial Equality (CORE), interracial American organization established by James Farmer in 1942 to improve......
Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women
Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), human rights treaty adopted......
Cooper, Anna Julia
Anna Julia Cooper was an American educator and writer whose book A Voice From the South by a Black Woman of the......
Cooper, William
William Cooper was an Australian activist who fought for civil rights for Australian Aboriginal people. He founded......
Cotton, Samuel
Samuel Cotton was an American antislavery activist and spokesman for the eradication of contemporary slavery in......
Counts, George S.
George S. Counts was an American educator and activist who, as a leading proponent of social reconstructionism,......
Cowan, Edith
Edith Cowan was an Australian social reformer, womenâs rights activist, and politician who focused on helping women......
COYOTE
COYOTE, a prostitutesâ rights organization founded in San Francisco in 1973 by ex-prostitute Margo St. James. As......
Crockett, Jasmine
Jasmine Crockett is a Democratic congresswoman from Texas. She is an outspoken civil rights advocate, known for......
Cromwell, Oliver
Oliver Cromwell was an English soldier and statesman, who led parliamentary forces in the English Civil Wars and......
Crow Dog, Mary
Mary Crow Dog was a Sicangu Lakota activist and author who was best known for her book Lakota Woman (1990), which......
Crémieux, Adolphe
Adolphe Crémieux was a French political figure and Jewish leader active in the Revolution of 1848 and the Paris......
Cuffe, Paul
Paul Cuffe was an American shipowner, merchant, and Pan-Africanist who was an influential figure in the 19th-century......
Cuomo, Andrew
Andrew Cuomo is an American politician and attorney who served as the governor of New York from 2011 to 2021, when......
Cuza, Alexandru Ioan
Alexandru Ioan Cuza was the first prince of united Romania, architect of national rural reform and peasant emancipation.......
Dalai Lama, 14th
14th Dalai Lama is the title of the Tibetan Buddhist monk Tenzin Gyatso, the first Dalai Lama to become a global......
Daly, Mary
Mary Daly was an American theologian, philosopher, and ethicist who pioneered radical feminist theology. Daly was......
Dart, Justin, Jr.
Justin Dart, Jr. was an American advocate for the disabled who was widely recognized as the âfatherâ of the Americans......
Davis, Angela
Angela Davis is a militant American black activist who gained an international reputation during her imprisonment......
Davis, Mike
Mike Davis was an American historian, urban theorist, and political activist whose works reflected his commitment......
Davis, Paulina Kellogg Wright
Paulina Kellogg Wright Davis was an American feminist and social reformer, active in the early struggle for woman......
Davison, Emily
Emily Davison was a British activist who became a martyr to the cause of womenâs suffrage when she entered the......
Declaration of Independence
Declaration of Independence, in U.S. history, document that was approved by the Continental Congress on July 4,......
Declaration of Sentiments
Declaration of Sentiments, foundational document in U.S. womenâs rights movement history, outlining the rights......
Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen
Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen, one of the basic charters of human liberties, containing the......
Declaration of the Rights of Woman and of the Female Citizen
Declaration of the Rights of Woman and of the Female Citizen, pamphlet by French writer and social reformer Olympe......
Dees, Morris
Morris Dees is an American lawyer and civil rights activist who is known for founding the Southern Poverty Law......
Delhi Pact
Delhi Pact, pact made on April 8, 1950, following the escalation of tension between India and Pakistan in East......
Democratic Party
Democratic Party (DP), South African political party established in 1989 by the merger of the Progressive Federal......
Democratic Socialists of America
The Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) is a political organization of left-wing activists in the United States.......
Dennett, Mary Coffin Ware
Mary Coffin Ware Dennett was an American reformer, best remembered for her activism in support of the ready and......
Dershowitz, Alan
Alan Dershowitz is an American lawyer and author known for his writings and media appearances in which he strongly......
Desmond, Viola
Viola Desmond was a Canadian businesswoman and civil libertarian who built a career as a beautician and was a mentor......
Did Lucille Times Boycott Buses Before Rosa Parks?
On December 1, 1955, 42-year-old Rosa Parks, an African American woman, refused to surrender her seat to a white......
Diggs, Annie LePorte
Annie LePorte Diggs was a Canadian-born American reformer and politician, an organizer and campaigner in the Populist......
digital activism
digital activism, form of activism that uses the Internet and digital media as key platforms for mass mobilization......
Dirie, Waris
Waris Dirie is a Somalian fashion model, author, and womenâs rights activist known for her efforts to eliminate......
disability rights movement
disability rights movement, civil and social advocacy campaign that aims to ensure accessibility, equal opportunities,......
disparate impact
disparate impact, judicial theory developed in the United States that allows challenges to employment or educational......
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Programs
Diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programsâmeant to address historical and systemic disparities based on race,......
Dodge, Mary Abigail
Mary Abigail Dodge was an American essayist and editor whose writings included works both of homely wit and in......