A Human Rights Journey

To honor International Women's Day (IWD), a group of us from UUSC are attending a breakfast at Simmons College, where Johanna Chao Kreilick, manager of UUSC's Economic Justice Program, will be a featured speaker. I try to take whatever opportunity I can to learn from my fellow staff members, and this event is of particular importance to me.

I am an alumna of Simmons College and the Women’s Studies and Political Science Department. It will be great to visit my alma mater, and it will be the first time I return as a human-rights worker, a dream of mine.

I entered Simmons college in my sophomore year as a 19-year-old student with idealistic dreams, an activist's zeal, and a thirst for knowledge. I found a home in the Simmons community. I met and worked with incredible women, who taught and supported me. Learning about antiracist activism, the women’s movement, and other social-justice movements, I felt empowered to make a difference in the world. I was armed with the knowledge to forge ahead and do my small part to help bring justice to the world. Now, 10 years later, I have a new family at UUSC, a group of incredibly dedicated staff and constituents who feel compelled to right some of the wrongs of this world.

On this IWD, I want to thank all of the women (and men) who brought me into their lives as a fellow human-rights defender. I want to honor their support, as on every other day, and keep all of those who do not have the privileges and opportunities I have had in my thoughts and prayers. I want to pay tribute to the women of this world who fight to overcome incredible hurdles only to live and love.

On this IWD, I think of the women surviving sexual and gender-based violence in Darfur. I pay tribute to the female street vendors in Kenya who tried to protect themselves and their children as their country erupted in civil unrest. I pray for the mother whose one-month-old baby was killed by a ricocheting bullet in the Gaza strip. I support the fight of single mothers struggling for a living wage. I also keep in mind the reason that I have the strength to grapple with all of this sadness and injustice: I have incredible people with me on this journey, who continue to lead by example. Their work compels me to continue to do my small part to fight for justice.