Committee Seeks Nominations for Human Rights Day 2020

 

The Tennessee Celebration of International Human Rights Day will take place on December 10^th at 6pm virtually. The planning committee for the event is now accepting nominations for the prestigious human rights awards.

 

Tennesseans typically gather each year on December 10^th to celebrate International Human Rights Day. This year will of course be quite different, and the committee has decided to hold the event virtually.

 

Even in a virtual setting, many elements will remain the same. During the event, leaders are acknowledged, and awards will go to human rights champions. This year, many are being asked to submit nominations to www.nashvillehumanrights.org/nominations. The categories will be opened to include even more incredible people, as the committee has decided that what is needed more than anything is to celebrate everyday heroes who have done marvelous work during a chaotic year.

 

Nominations will close on October 18^th at 11:59 pm.  

 

Past award recipients have included Rev. Bill Barnes, John Seigenthaler, Rosetta Miller Perry, Avi Poster, Remziya Suleyman, Justin Jones and many more. The complete list of honorees can be found at www.nashvillehumanrights.org/past-award-recipients/

 

A committee of human rights organizations, nonprofits, and advocates, including the Tennessee Human Rights Commission, Metro Human Relations Commission, Scarritt Bennett Center, Amnesty International, Tennessee United for Human Rights, the Church of Scientology, and others, work together each year to plan the event.

 

“Human Rights Day gives the community a chance to acknowledge advocates and leaders while also learning more about what human rights really mean for all people,” says planning committee chair Rev. Brian Fesler, pastor of the Church of Scientology in Nashville.

 

For more information regarding the event, visit www.nashvillehumanrights.org.  

 

Citizens Commission on Human Rights to Celebrate World Mental Health Day Virtually

 

The Citizens Commission on Human Rights of Nashville (CCHR Nashville) continues to work to spread information to parents on their basic rights so they can help their children.

 

The Citizens Commission on Human Rights Nashville Chapter (CCHR Nashville) is working to educate parents on their basic rights as they relate to their children’s mental health and well-being. On its website, cchrnashville.org, there is a tab specifically for Parents, under which comes educational resources, helpful forms and more. 

 

In past years for World Mental Health Day, the group has hosted “lunch and learns” on topics to help people. In 2017 it was “5 Tips to Overcome Attention Issues,” and in 2018 it was “5 Tips for a Stress- Free Life.” This year, the group plans to do something virtually to spread awareness about mental health and maintaining a drug-free life.

 

CCHR has long been an advocate for human rights, especially as relates to patients’ rights in the field of mental health. At CCHRNashville.org/Report-Abuse, it states, “If you or anyone you know has been harmed or damaged by psychiatric or mental health “treatment,” please fill out the form below or download a report form (pdf) (Word doc) and mail it in.”

 

One of the many virtual resources CCHR has to offer are 30 second public service messages as well as full-length documentaries aimed at informing people of the dangers of psychiatric drugs and other methods of treatment. According to CCHR.org, “Posing as ’authorities,’ their pseudoscience now woven through our educational systems and medical institutions, psychiatrists wreak havoc across the entire social fabric, by prescribing a smorgasbord of mind-altering drugs to adults and children. These drugs are so dangerous that government authorities have issued ‘black box’ warnings of mania, hostility, suicide, stroke and sudden death. Add to that the tens of thousands of documented cases of psychiatric drug-induced violence. Think psychiatry has nothing to do with you? Think again.”

 

CCHR is a non-profit, non-political, non-religious mental health watchdog. Its mission is to eradicate abuses committed under the guise of mental health and enact patient and consumer protections. CCHR receives reports about abuses in the field of mental health and is especially interested in situations where persons experienced abuse or damage due to a false diagnosis or unwanted and harmful psychiatric treatments, such as psychiatric drugs, electroshock (ECT) and electronic or magnetic brain stimulation (TMS). CCHR is often able to assist with filing complaints, and can work with a person’s attorney to further investigate the case. To contact CCHR Nashville for more information, visit cchrnashville.org.  

 

Nashville Religion Communicators Council to Hear from Religion Media Expert

 

The Nashville Chapter of the Religion Communicators Council (RCC) meets monthly to talk about topics of interest and hear from professionals in religious communications.  

 

The Religion Communicators Council (RCC) is an interfaith association of religion communicators at work in print and electronic communication, marketing and public relations. The Nashville Chapter meets monthly at rotating locations to learn about other faith traditions, learn from fellow communicators and gain professional development opportunities.

 

Due to the onset of COVID-19, RCC members have been meeting virtually, for the most part, since March.

 

The September meeting took place over Zoom with a special guest from Room in the Inn. For October, RCC members will get to hear from David Crumm, the Co-Founder and Editor of ReadtheSpirit.com. Crumm is known nationwide to journalists and authors who cover the impact of religion and cross-cultural issues on our world today. He has nearly 40 years as a journalist, during which he has won top awards and is a senior fellow with several universities and nonprofits, including the University of Michigan Knight-Wallace Journalism Fellowship and the Washington DC-based East West Center.

 

“We alternate monthly between three types of meetings. We learn about community-based organizations, we network with other religion communicators on specific topics, and we offer professional development. This coming month is naturally professional development,” says Julie Brinker, RCC Communications Coordinator and Community Affairs Director of the Church of Scientology.

 

The RCC has members from every faith group and walk of life including Baha’is, Christians, Jews, Muslims, Scientologists, Sikhs, Hindus and more. The RCC, founded in 1929, is an association of communications professionals who work for and with a diverse group of faith-based organizations in the areas of communications, public relations, advertising and development.

 

The RCC provides opportunities for communicators to learn from each other. Together, RCC members promote excellence in the communication of faith and values in the public arena. For more information about the Religion Communicators Council, visit religioncommunicators.org/nashville-chapter.