The Tennessee Celebration of International Human Rights Day will take place on December 8th at 5pm.
Tennesseans gather each year around
December 10th for the Tennessee Celebration of International Human Rights
Day. During the event, leaders are
acknowledged, and awards recognize human rights champions in three categories:
Rising Advocate, Outstanding Service and Lifetime Achievement.
Muriel Nolen, director of the
Tennessee Human Rights Commission, will serve as master of ceremonies for the
affair. Rev. Davie Tucker, director of Metro Human Relations Commission, will
comment on the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and how it applies
locally. The theme, “Advancing Universal
Freedom,” will be explored by a special panel.
The Lifetime Achievement Award will
go to A.J. Starling, a past commissioner for the Tennessee Human Rights
Commission who has been an advocate for workers’ rights since 1971. Some of his
earliest work was with the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1235, and since the
early 1980s he has been with the Tennessee AFL-CIO.
Outstanding Service Awards are going
to Dr. Allison Quintanilla Plattsmier, the Executive Director of the Edgehill
Neighborhood Partnership and Robin Derryberry who served on the Tennessee Human
Rights Commission from 2015 - 2022.
Rising Advocate Awards will go to
Jacob Aparicio, the Building Bridges & WE City Program Coordinator for the
Oasis Center; Rev. Earle Fisher, the senior pastor of Abyssinian Baptist Church
in Memphis and founder of #UPTheVote901; and Stephanie Kang, the Bureau
Director of Health Equity for the Metro Public Health Department.
A committee of human rights
organizations, nonprofits, and advocates, including the Tennessee Human Rights
Commission, Metro Human Relations Commission, Tennessee United for Human Rights,
the Scarritt Bennett Center, the Nashville chapter of Amnesty International,
the Church of Scientology and others, work together each year to plan the
event.
“Human Rights Day is a day to
remember past advances in human rights, to honor those who have made our lives
better. It’s also a day to refresh and restore and be inspired for the
following year, and a sort of annual reunion of the state’s various agencies
and organizations who work daily to make human rights a fact,” says planning
committee chair Rev. Brian Fesler, pastor of the Church of Scientology in
Nashville. “The day centers around the Universal Declaration of Human Rights,
and this year we focus on how human rights advance universal freedom.”
The event will be live in person
this year, after two years of virtual events during the pandemic. To ensure the safety and health of all,
extra precautions are being taken. Temperature screenings will take place at
entry, and the committee asks that anyone who may have symptoms of illness to
please view the event later when it is posted online. The event venue this year is the Church of
Scientology, 1130 8th Ave S, Nashville TN 37203. There is no charge for admission, but
donations are being accepted to cover costs of the event. Registration is at TnUHR.org, where one can
find more information about the event and human rights.
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