Black Women and the Making of Human Rights

On today's episode of Justice Matters, co-host Maggie Gates speaks with Dr. Keisha Blain, Professor of Africana Studies and History at Brown University, about her new book “Without Fear: Black Women and the Making of Human Rights.”A 2022 Guggenheim Fellow and 2022 Carnegie Fellow, Dr. Blain is one of the most innovative and influential young historians of her generation. An award-winning historian of the 20th century United States with broad interests and specializations in African-American history, the modern African diaspora, and women and gender studies, she completed her PhD in history from Princeton University in 2014 and in 2020 she was a fellow at the Carr Ryan Center. A former columnist for MSNBC, Dr. Blain is now the editor-in-chief of “Global Black Thought”, a journal featuring original, innovative, and thoroughly researched essays on black ideas, theories, and intellectuals in the United States and throughout the African diaspora. In addition to her latest book, Dr. Blain is the author of the book, “Set the World on Fire: Black Nationalist Women and the Global Struggle for Freedom, “Until I Am Free: Fannie Lou Hamer's Enduring Message to America”, and “Wake Up America: Black Women on the Future of Democracy”.On today’s episode they discuss: what led her to write about the contributions of black female leaders to the foundations of human rights, how these figures understood human rights at the time, how they built networks and created what we know of as the human rights movement today, what particular strategies stood out in her research, as well as a few case studies from the founding of this international movement.

On today’s episode of Justice Matters co-host Mathias Risse speaks with Ken Roth, former Executive Director of Human Rights Watch about his new book “Righting Wrongs: Three Decades on the Front Lines Battling Abusive Governments”.Ken Roth was executive director of Human Rights Watch (HRW) from 1993 to 2022. In the three decades under his leadership, Human Rights Watch conducted investigations in over 100 countries to uncover abuses, and pressured offending governments to stop them. In his new book, Roth writes about grappling with the worst of humanity, taking on the biggest villains of our time, and persuading leaders from around the globe to stand up to their repressive counterparts. He is currently the Charles and Marie Robertson Visiting Professor at the Princeton School for Public and International Affairs.In this episode they discuss: why he wrote “Righting Wrongs”, the nature of HRW’s investigations and a few case studies from his tenure, his own German Jewish family’s exodus from Germany during Nazi rule, his personal journey that lead him to the idea of human rights, his views on China in regards to human rights, what advice he has for new people entering the field, the online trolling of HRW for its reporting on human rights abuses by the Israeli Government, his views on anti-semitism and the lessons of the Holocaust, the differences between the Biden and Trump administration’s foreign policy, as well as his perspective on what constitutes genocide and the ongoing atrocities in Gaza.Ken Roth's new book is availble here: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/739898/righting-wrongs-by-kenneth-roth/

On today’s episode of Justice Matters co-host Maggie Gates speaks with Anna Romandash about the impacts of misinformation in the global narrative around the war in Ukraine.Anna Romandash is an award-winning journalist from Ukraine and an author of “Women of Ukraine: Reportages from the War and Beyond” (2023). She has spent years documenting human rights violations, digital threats, and misinformation from her reporting on the ground in Ukraine. Currently a Technology and Human Rights Fellow at the Carr-Ryan Center, her work focuses on making technology more inclusive and digitalizing democracy to better the lives of people in developing democracies.In this episode they discuss: the use and limits of journalism in reporting, how emergency services are managing under Russian bombardment, the impact of misinformation on the funding coming into Ukraine, where to access truthful information from outside the country, the imperative of journalists being on the ground, the effect of the shifting support of the US on morale in Ukraine, whether international systems are capable of holding Russia accountable, examples of the misinformation narratives pushed by Russia, the impact of AI in the misinformation war, the battle between democratic vs authoritarian systems, and what’s at risk if this war fades from attention.

Justice Matters is celebrating its 100th episode today with co-host Mathias Risse's conversation with Jessica Stern about the state of LGBTQI+ rights around the world.Jessica Stern is one of the world’s most distinguished LGBTQI+ human rights leaders. Appointed by President Joe Biden, Stern served as the U.S. Special Envoy to Advance the Human Rights of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, and Intersex Persons, where she led U.S. foreign policy efforts to combat violence and discrimination against LGBTQI+ people globally. She is also the former Executive Director of Outright International and a co-founder of the United Nations LGBTI Core Group.In this episode they discuss: the current state of LGBTQI+ rights globally, her personal journey into activism, her role as the former US Special Envoy for LGBTQI+I Rights, her work with Outright International, the challenges and progress in the fight for equality, her response to recent criticism of LGBTQI+ Rights advocacy, the importance of allyship and the interconnectedness of human rights issues, the role of the UN independent expert on sexual orientation and gender identity, and the ongoing struggles faced by LGBTQI+  individuals globally.

On today’s episode of Justice Matters co-host Aminta Ossom speaks with Yara Sallam about the experiences of women human rights defenders in Egypt and Tunisia as well as her personal history following the Arab Spring that led her to write about burnout and well-being in human rights activism.Yara Sallam is a prominent feminist activist and human rights defender who has worked for several Egyptian and international human rights organisations. She was awarded the North Africa Shield Award in 2013 for her work with Nazra for Feminist Studies and the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights. In 2020 she published Even the Finest of Warriors a book about how feminist activists manage different aspects of their private lives and concurrently deal with the difficulties of being in the public space. The book looks at case studies of female activists in Egypt and Tunisia dealing with aspects of psychological health, general exhaustion, financial security, as well as growing old.In this episode’s conversation they discuss: what inspired her to write Even the Finest of Warriors, the impact of activism on well being, the personal and political intersections of activism, redefining resilience, building community and collective care, evolving perspectives on activism and aging, and Yara’s own resilience in this work.

On today’s episode of Justice Matters co-host Mathias Risse speaks with Lex Zard, Technology and Human Rights Fellow at the Carr-Ryan Center, about recent developments concerning the Digital Markets Act (DMA) in the Europe Union in regulating consumer data protection, how that compares to US regulatory models, and what this means for human rights in the digital space.Lex Zard is a legal scholar with expertise in the European Union digital policy regarding surveillance advertising. In 2024, Lex defended his thesis, 'Power & Dignity: The Ends of Online Behavioral Advertising', at Leiden University, where he also worked as a researcher and a teacher from 2018 to 2024 at eLaw—Center for Law and Digital Technologies. His research primarily addresses the boundaries of influencing humans in the online environment, including through interface design and artificial intelligence systems. Lex won the EURA Young Scholar award in 2019 for his work in these areas.In this episode’s conversation Mathias and Lex discuss: the EU’s April 22nd decision to fine Meta two million dollars for violating the DMA, differences in digital regulatory approaches in the US and EU, the foundation of human dignity in the EU’s regulatory framework, whether the legal mechanisms in the EU and US see data protection as a human right or not, the consent or pay model, the global struggle between human rights and surveillance capitalism, Lex’s own research on online advertising governance, and his view of the transatlantic relationship. 

On today’s episode of Justice Matters co-host Maggie Gates speaks with Lucy Ferris about the all volunteer network of professors from around the world educating women in Afghanistan.Professor Ferris is the co-founder and president of the board of Afghan Female Student Outreach (AFSO), a volunteer non-profit organization committed to helping return Afghan women to intellectual and professional life by way of real-time, synchronous distance learning in the liberal arts and sciences, engineering, and health sciences, taught by university professors from around the world. She is a novelist and Writer in Residence emerita from Trinity College, as well as the author of a dozen books of fiction and nonfiction. She did research for her work among the Pashtun area of northwest Pakistan and has been active with a number of charitable organizations, including the Authors Guild, Jewish Family Services, Planned Parenthood, the Brigid Foundation, and Women for Women International. She holds a Ph.D. from Tufts University. In addition to her work with AFSO, she teaches Afghan refugees in the United States.In this episode’s conversation they discuss: the current state of women’s education in Afghanistan, the changes that took place prior to the most recent US withdrawal from Afghanistan, the origins of AFSO, the logistics of how volunteer professors from outside the country are able to deliver online education in a country with limited internet access, why continuing women’s education is so important for Afghan society even when their employment and formal education opportunities are being restricted by the Taliban, the impact of USAID’s closure on organizations educating women in Afghanistan, the changing role of the US in global education, and the resilience of female students in Afghanistan. 

On today’s episode of Justice Matters co-host Diego Garcia Blum speaks with former Governor of Massachusetts Deval Patrick about his work as Governor fighting for LGBTQI+ rights, as well as the current state of those rights in the country.  Patrick began his career as a staff attorney at the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, then went on to serve as Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights in the Clinton administration. From 2007 to 2015, he served as the governor of Massachusetts, the first Black person to serve in the role. During his two terms, Patrick focused on health care, public schools and public infrastructure, and launched initiatives stimulating clean energy and biotechnology, he also signed into law marriage equality rights in the State, as well as protections for transgender rights. He is currently a professor of practice and co-director of the Center for Public Leadership at the Harvard Kennedy School. In this episode’s conversation they discuss: protecting marriage equality from future rollbacks, how personal relationships inform his perseverance on these issues, this moment politically for LGBTQI+ rights, engaging voters, and his thoughts on coalition building. 

On today’s episode of Justice Matters co-host Mathias Risse speaks with John Shattuck about the Trump administration’s attacks on Harvard University and the parallels to Victor Orban’s attacks on the Central European University (CEU) in Hungary.Shattuck is an international legal scholar, diplomat, human rights leader and former university president. From 1984-1993 he held the position at Harvard University of Vice President for Government, Community and Public Affairs, responsible for Harvard’s relations with government agencies, private institutions and the media. He then served as Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights and Labor under President Clinton from 1993-1998, and was later appointed as the U.S. Ambassador to the Czech Republic from 1998-2000. In 2009 became the President and Rector of CEU in Budapest, a position he held until 2016.On today’s episode they discuss: the history of CEU and it’s ties to George Soros, the circumstances under which he became President and Rector of CEU, the roots of Victor Orban’s authoritarianism and attack on CEU, similarities and differences between the Orban and Trump administrations clashes with universities, the ideological straitjacket imposed on universities by authoritarians , CEU’s current situation Austria and what remains in Budapest, and his assessment of what effect Trump’s will take on academia in the US. 

On today’s episode of Justice Matters, co-host Diego Garcia Blum speaks with Wendy Sherman about her experience speaking to global leaders about LGBTQI+ rights while serving as Under Secretary of State from 2021-2023. In addition to her work at the State Department, she is a Professor of the Practice of Public Leadership and Director of the Center for Public Leadership at the Harvard Kennedy School as well as a Senior Fellow at the School’s Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs. She is currently an MSNBC global affairs contributor and on the USA TODAY Board of Contributors. Her most recent book, “Not for the Faint of Heart: Lessons in Courage, Power and Persistence” was published by PublicAffairs in September 2018. On today’s episode they discuss: how she approached conversations with heads of state that have anti-LGBTQI+ laws in their country, what values around this issue went into the Biden administration's foreign policy agenda, how she balanced a country’s domestic cultural and religious issues in her foreign policy work, the rollback of LGBTQI+ rights worldwide, and strategies for activists and leaders working on upholding rights.