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The holiday season is here, another year came and is soon to be gone. The sense of hustle and bustle is in the air as many are attempting to tie up “loose ends” before the clock strikes midnight on the last night of the year. It is a joyous time of year for many who experienced a realization of their goals but for far too many, and in this case just one is far too many, the holiday season and end of the year is a reminder of what they don’t have; family, prosperity, and good health. Will you join me this holiday season in giving but giving beyond how we usually define it? Giving a continual fight for rights for every human being? How macro or micro you see your fight to be, it is needed. Theodore Roosevelt said, “Do what you can, with what you have, where you are". Really, every act toward equity is a step in the right direction.
Aside from the holidays of the season and their common theme of giving that many celebrate, there is one observance held throughout the month of December that goes unmentioned in many circles; that is the International Human Rights Month. Less than three years after World War II ceased, countries around the world created a core list of inalienable rights; rights that could not be taken away from anyone (including minorities). These were codified and adopted by the United Nations on December 10th, 1948, and have been celebrated since. However, it is not enough to merely celebrate these core rights. Instead, they should be enforced and the systems that make these rights seem unattainable to so many need to be thrown out and replaced with a system that works for everyone.
In Delaware and throughout our nation, there are people who in 2022 still don’t have equitable access to healthcare, employment, education, financial stability, stable homes, and even food. Women suffered a great blow and lost their right to choose, and the LGBTQ+ community’s rights are being targeted and their lives are being taken just as we saw the weekend before Thanksgiving this year at a Colorado gay bar. People of color are treated unfairly, physically, and verbally attacked, and even murdered over race. The caliber of education that children from impoverished communities learn from is subpar, to say the least, and our country suffers the consequence. No good comes out of a lack of equity and the reservation of rights for only some.
This December, please enjoy your families and friends, your traditions and festivities, because they are indeed wonderful and worthy of celebration. On the other hand, remember and fight for those who are marginalized and unable to celebrate too because of a lack of equity and the ever-present systemic reservation of rights. You might ask, but where do I even begin to fight for my rights or the rights of others so that they can partake of these freely and without fear? First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt answered this question perfectly when she said – “Where, after all, do universal human rights begin? In small places, close to home – so close and so small that they cannot be seen on any maps of the world. Yet they are the world of the individual person; the neighborhood he lives in; the school or college he attends; the factory, farm or office where he works.” It starts with YOU and ME.
Written by: Edgard Martinez,
Equity, Diversity & Inclusion Manager
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