Tag: #human-rights

End Racism, Build Peace ©Dawn Minott | International Day of Peace, 21 September

On By Dawn MinottIn Poetry23 Comments

For your needs left unmet in a world of wealth immeasurable

For all the times you were abused, your rights taken or violated

For the times when you’ve been let-down, and treated as undeserving

For all the years that’s passed your dreams unfulfilled along the way

For all the times you tried and tried, repeat, repeat but failed

For all the unrecoverable time of days and years bygone

For all the times your voice was silenced, screamed but no one heard you

For all the times like a ‘thing’ set aside, obsolete, no longer needed

You—the left-behind, the marginalized, the abused and oft forgotten

For all those times, keep up your fight, there’re others in your corner

This poem was first published July 5, 2021 under the title “Fight”. Republished today to mark International Day of Peace. The 2022 Theme: End racism. Build peace.

After-word: Each year the International Day of Peace is observed around the world on 21 September. The UN General Assembly has declared this as a day devoted to strengthening the ideals of peace, through observing 24 hours of non-violence and cease-fire.

2022 ©Dawn Minott All rights reserved

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Refugee ©Dawn Minott

On By Dawn MinottIn Poetry47 Comments

Walking for days

Days in cold, sleet and rain—away

Away from ways

Ways of life that’s changing

Changing all around

Around me faster

Faster than my mind can conceive

Conceive that war

War is raging

Raging in my homeland

Homeland no longer home

Home no longer land

Land I love, I defend

Defend to the very end

End of the road I arrive

Arrive in a new place, not home, I stand

Stand, I will not fall

Also published on Spillwords

Today marks 100 days since the invasion of Ukraine which has now displaced 8 million people within their country while 6 million refugee movements have been registered. The world’s focus is primarily on Ukraine, understandably. This piece is drawing attention to the fact that there are over 100 million refugees the world all over—a number reached for the first time on record. This is a record that never should have been set. “Let there be peace on earth.”

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In creative solidarity, Dee

Sojourner Truth: Ain’t I A Woman? Tribute to Women’s History Month

On By Dawn MinottIn Poetry, Prose24 Comments

That man over there say
a woman needs to be helped into carriages
and lifted over ditches
and to have the best place everywhere.
Nobody ever helped me into carriages
or over mud puddle
or gives me a best place…

And ain’t I a woman?

Look at me
Look at my arm!
I have plowed and planted
and gathered into barns
and no man could head me…

And ain’t I a woman?

I could work as much
and eat as much as a man—
when I could get to it—
and bear the lash as well…

And ain’t I a woman?

I have born 13 children
and seen most all sold into slavery
and when I cried out a mother’s grief
none but Jesus heard me…

And ain’t I a woman?

That little man in black there say
a woman can’t have as much rights as a man
cause Christ wasn’t a woman
Where did your Christ come from?
From God and a woman!
Man had nothing to do with him!

If the first woman God ever made
was strong enough to turn the world upside down, all alone
together women ought to be able to turn it rightside up again

“I sell the shadow to support the substance.” — Sojourner Truth. Carte de Visite, circa 1864, in the collections of the Library of Congress (http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/97513239/)

After-word: Sadje asks, what makes me feel stronger?! Answer—the strength of trailblazer women who’ve navigated the path to make my sojourn through this world a bit easier. This speech (put in poetic form above) was part of my introduction to women’s study in university and it left an indelible mark on me and influenced my career choice. I now work to defend women’s rights and advance gender equality. It’s only fitting then that Sojourner’s speech is my first post in tribute to Women’s History Month and also for Sadje’s Sunday Poser #70.

Sojourner Truth (name she chose instead of the slave name Isabella Baumfree), born into slavery in 1797, delivered this speech at the Women’s Rights Convention (Old Stone Church in Akron, Ohio.) Version of Speech as printed in Anti-Slavery Bugle, June 21 1851.

It was adapted to the poetic format above by Erelene Stetson from copy of the speech found in Sojourner, God’s Faithful Pilgrim by Arthur Huff Fauset, Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1938).

2022 ©DeeMin All rights reserved

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In creative solidarity, Dee

Celebrating Women & Girls Everywhere: International Women’s Day

On By Dawn MinottIn Poetry20 Comments

On this International Woman’s Day:

Imagine a gender equal world. A world free of bias, stereotypes and discrimination. A world that’s diverse, equitable, just and inclusive. A world where difference is valued and celebrated.

Together we can forge women’s equality. Collectively we can all #BreakTheBias.

2022 ©DeeMin All rights reserved

Thank you for journeying along. First time to the site? Welcome! Feel free to “like” or drop a comment, I love hearing from you.

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In creative solidarity, Dee

In One Fell Swoop…

On By Dawn MinottIn Prose6 Comments

In a State where anyone has the freedom and the right to openly carry guns in public without a permit or training…

In a State where everyone has the freedom and right not to wear masks, though there are well over three MILLION Covid cases and almost 58 THOUSAND deaths…

In that same State, women do NOT have the freedom or choice over their bodies.

According to law, ANY pregnancy in which a heartbeat is detected cannot be aborted.

And it goes further to effectively incentivizes the public to police abortions.

In that same State where one cannot, by law, require someone to wear a face covering to save life, you can, by law, EARN a $10,000 award for any successful lawsuit to stop an abortion.

This has led to the widening schism across religious, moral, political and practical beliefs; between Republicans and Democrats; between pro-choice (those who believe that everyone has the basic human right to decide when and whether to have children) and pro-life (those who oppose abortion).

I wonder 🤔 — how different would this be if men could get pregnant and carry babies ….

Written for Melanie’s Word of the Day Challenge, the prompt word is schism.

Thank you for reading.

First time to the site? Welcome! You may start here👈 and for more follow the blog here👈

In creative solidarity, Dee