2nd annual commemoration of International Human Rights Day in Milwaukee
Milwaukee, WI – On Sunday, December 17, the Milwaukee Anti-war Committee co-hosted a commemoration of International Human Rights Day alongside the Freedom Road Socialist Organization . International Human Rights Day, observed annually on December 10, marks the anniversary of the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) by the United Nations in 1948. The event featured speakers and the 2nd annual Lucille Berrien Humanitarian Award, given to Janan Najeeb of the Milwaukee Muslim Women’s Coalition.
The emcee, Milwaukee Anti-war Committee (MAC) chair Sara Onitsuka, opened with a speech and spoke on the significance of this year’s International Human Rights Day:
“In 2023, we mark the 75th anniversary of the UDHR during the ongoing genocide in Gaza committed by Israel. 1948 is also the year that marks the Nakba, the violent mass displacement and ethnic cleansing of Palestine and the establishment of the settler colonial state of Israel,” they said, drawing a throughline between 1948 and the current day in both human rights and in the continuation of genocide.
Gathered together at the local Zao MKE Church, International Human Rights Day attendees were treated to a program full of lessons and takeaways from organizing. First, they heard short speeches by eight Milwaukee organizations involved in areas of work ranging from student activism, labor organizing, reproductive justice, anti-war, to Black liberation and more, and how their work connects to human rights.
Students for a Democratic Society at UW-Milwaukee highlighted their work organizing to free the Tampa 5, five activists from the University of South Florida who faced up to ten years in prison but whose charges were recently dropped due to pressure from the people.
The Milwaukee Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression talked about their work locally to pass Standard Operating Procedure 575 in April, which requires that video of critical incidents by police officers be released to families of victims within 48 hours, and to the public within 15 days.
The Coalition to March on the RNC, which many of the organizations who were present are part of, discussed their plans to protest the Republican National Convention that is being held in Milwaukee in July 2024, and encouraged local and national organizations to join the coalition.
Remi Schueler of FRSO put it simply as she tied all these struggles together and declared, “The present is the battlefield where control over the future is fought for and won. We are on the battlefield right now, and we are all playing a part in fighting for a future that sees us all free.”
Next, they heard from keynote speaker Muhammad Sankari, who drove up to Milwaukee from Chicago to speak for US Palestinian Community Network (USPCN). He moved audience members to tears when describing the ongoing genocide, and united them all in a spirit of resistance when he described how the popular Palestinian resistance was, in fact, winning.
“I don’t want to mince words about this – Israel is 100% absolutely losing in the war that they are waging against the people of Palestine,” Sankari said to a crowd full of cheers.
“This is not just me making things up”, Samkari continued. “The Israelis absolutely, after more than 70 days of horror, have not accomplished one single military goal that they have set out for themselves. And it’s because of that that we see the horrific brutality that they are unleashing against civilians.”
The speakers and keynote speaker were then all brought back up to the stage to participate in a short panel and Q&A, highlighting the connections between speakers and areas of work. When asked by a member of the audience, “How do you maintain hope in this time?” the panelists had much to say.
Alan Chavoya, who organizes with MAARPR and directly works with families who have lost loved ones to police violence, stated, “When I see that fierceness in the eyes of families who, after going through that traumatic experience, get up and fight back and say ‘I am gonna fight for justice for everyone’, I have no excuse. When I see little girls in Gaza saying ‘We will not leave – they’re trying to tell us to leave and we will not leave, we don’t care. We love our country, we love our people and we will stay here’ – I have no excuse not to get up and fight for Palestine that day.”
On that same thread of hope, the last part of the program was dedicated to honoring Janan Najeeb, President of the Milwaukee Muslim Women’s Coalition and one of the founders of the Wisconsin Coalition for Justice in Palestine which has been tirelessly organizing for the liberation of Palestine. Though Janan Najeeb was not present at the event, she recorded a video accepting the award. The award, named after beloved longtime Milwaukee community activist Lucille Berrien, felt special to Najeeb in that it bore the name of another woman of color active in local organizing.
“I wanted to thank you so much, it’s such an honor, and hopefully one day I’ll also have a park named after me,” said Najeeb, referring to the park renamed in Berrien’s honor thanks to a campaign by MAARPR in 2021.
During this time of collectively witnessing a genocide, and especially living in a country that contributes so heavily to it, truly realizing human rights may feel out of reach. But it is imperative to call attention to the injustices the U.S. perpetuates domestically and globally, as well as highlighting the organizations that are fighting back. Attendees left that day with a reinvigorated feeling of hope and commitment to the struggle.