Tennessee Human Rights Day to Focus on Suffrage

The Tennessee Celebration of International Human Rights Day will take place on December 10^th from 5-7pm in Nashville, Tennessee.

Tennesseans will gather on December 10^th to celebrate International Human Rights Day. During the event, leaders are acknowledged, and awards will go to human rights champions in three categories: Rising Advocate, Outstanding Service and Lifetime Achievement.

The planning committee has just announced the theme of the 2019 event to be “Vote on Purpose: The Communal Impact of One Vote,” and will focus on the 100 year anniversary of the women’s suffrage movement and how voter’s rights impact all other human rights.

Past human rights award recipients have included the Rev. Bill Barnes, John Seigenthaler, Avi Poster, Remziya Suleyman, Justin Jones and others. 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, United Nations Association, 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.

The event will also have speakers, entertainment and various exhibits from human rights organizations. All information regarding the event can be found on the website www.nashvillehumanrights.org.  

Human Rights Day Planning Committee Now Accepting Nominations for Awardees

The Tennessee Celebration of International Human Rights Day will take place on December 6^th from 5-7pm in Nashville, Tennessee. The planning committee for the event is now accepting nominations for the prestigious human rights awards.

Tennesseans will gather on December 6^th to celebrate the ratification of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) by the United Nations, originally signed in 1948.

“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, who also pastors the Church of Scientology in Nashville.

The celebration centers around the three Human Rights awards: Rising Advocate, Outstanding Service and Lifetime Achievement. Fesler says that the committee has just opened the floor for nominations for this year’s awardees. Prospective names can be submitted at nashvillehumanrights.org/nominations.

The event will also have a panel discussion on child trafficking and various exhibits from human rights organizations. All information regarding the event can be found at the website nashvillehumanrights.org, and Fesler encouraged anyone interested to visit the website to find out how to get involved. 

Drug-Free Tennessee Works with Community Leaders to Spread Hope

For International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking, Drug-Free Tennessee held a roundtable discussion about ending the drug demand in Nashville.

Community leaders, police and clergy sat down together just before International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking to talk not just the facts, but solutions.

A member of the Metro Vice Unit was present to give statistics about the current “drugs of choice,” and information related to prescription drug abuse, one of the major fads of today. Clergy and community leaders led discussions of how to reach youth before dealers, and Drug-Free Tennessee shared its many educational materials that can be used by anyone to help young people.

Drug-Free Tennessee is a chapter of the Foundation for a Drug-Free World, which provides booklets, videos, brochures, and even an educational curriculum for students designed to give all of the basic facts of how drugs affect the body and mind, common street names and more. The Foundation holds events each year that tie into the International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking, which was established by the United Nations General Assembly in 1987.

The UN Office on Drugs and Crime is leading the global campaign to raise awareness about the major challenge that illicit drugs represent to society as a whole, and especially to the young. The goal of the campaign is to mobilize support and inspire people to act against drug use, according to unodc.org.

Rev. Brian Fesler who coordinates Drug-Free Tennessee said, “We are committed to bringing the truth about drugs to everyone.  When youth know what they are really getting into, they have a chance to avoid a lot of pain and suffering.” Fesler says it can’t be done in a day and his organization is committed to working continuously to curb the drug epidemic. “We will go to anyone, anywhere in the region to spread the Truth About Drugs message,” he says, referring to the educational component of the program.

To learn more, order booklets or schedule a visit to your school, group or congregation, visit drugfreetn.org. 

Church of Scientology Hosts Interreligious Forum in Honor of Friendship Day

Nashville Church of Scientology celebrates International Day of Friendship by hosting a forum dedicated to religious tolerance.

A newly released brochure, Scientology: How We Help—United for Human Rights, Making Human Rights a Global Reality, details human rights work done by the Church of Scientology to assist politicians, governments, community activists, schools and religious groups across the world. The brochure further details how communities are using the United for Human Rights program to educate young and old alike on basic rights to which everyone is entitled.

Nashville Church of Scientology Pastor, Rev. Brian Fesler says, “Education is the first step.  People have to know their rights and know that ‘human rights’ as a topic even exists before they can do anything effective about it.”  

In observance of the United Nations’ Friendship Day, The Church hosted leaders from across Tennessee for a discussion about how to create religious tolerance throughout the state. “Intolerance and discrimination are a problem in Tennessee, and it will take all of us working together to bring about change,” says Rev. Fesler.

Specific instances of religious intolerance have been directed toward the Muslim community in areas such as Murfreesboro and Columbia, Tennessee.  The group that visited the Church for Friendship Day is working on a project to combat bigotry toward that community.

The International Day of Friendship was proclaimed in 2011 by the UN General Assembly with the idea that friendship between peoples, countries, cultures and individuals can inspire peace efforts and build bridges between communities, according to un.org. It is in this spirit that group gathered to discuss ways to create peace and unity.

The Church of Scientology supports United for Human Rights, the world’s largest nongovernmental human rights educational campaign. For more information about United for Human Rights or programs supported by the Church of Scientology, visit www.scientology.org.