Speakers relating to: Civil Rights
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Dr. Terrence Roberts
Lessons from Little Rock
All the seats at the hamburger joint were reserved for white patrons, so 13 year old Terrence Roberts ordered food to go. While waiting, he impulsively sat down at the counter and then realized a hush had fallen over the place. Suddenly everyone seemed to be looking at him threateningly. He canceled his order and left. As he walked home, Roberts remembers wondering "what it would take for (him) to be treated like a real human being."
Two years later, in 1957, he volunteered to be one of the 'Little Rock Nine' who desegregated Central High School, in Little Rock, Arkansas.
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Charlene Strong
Marriage Equality and Civil Rights Advocate
Charlene's partner of many years, Kate Fleming, was hospitalized after a flash flood. Charlene was denied access to Kate's hospital room during her final moments because Washington state did not recognize their relationship. She is now a nationally respected LGBT advocate for social justice and civil rights issues including marriage equality and non-discrimination policies.
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Chaplain James Yee
Islamophobia & Guantanamo Bay
Former U.S. Army Muslim Chaplain James Yee has experienced religious discrimination first hand. He first saw it as a Muslim chaplain stationed at the Guantanamo detention center, where he observed religious abuses against the prisoners. After objecting to the abuses, he was accused of being a spy himself. Now, with his name cleared, James Yee fights the prejudices that lead to hate crimes and the violation of constitutional rights of American Muslims in our society.
