Black Lives Matter Declaration — State of the Black Union (2015)
Editor’s Note: “We the People, committed to the declaration that Black lives matter, will fight to end the structural oppression that prevents so many from realizing their dreams. We cannot, and will not stop until America recognizes the value of Black life.” These two sentences conclude the first ‘State of the Black Union’, issued by […]
Declaration of Independence of Lower Canada (Feb. 22, 1838)
Editor’s Note: The leading insurrection Robert Nelson wrote the declaration of independence for the breakaway republic of Lower Canada (what is today Quebec) while in exile in the United States, following the rebellion of 1837, an uprising sparked by the lack of political reform. Clearly inspired in part by the July 4, 1776 Declaration of Independence of the U.S., as well […]
A Declaration of the Rights of the Inhabitants of the State of Pennsylvania (Aug. 16, 1776)
Editor’s Note: This Declaration of Rights — which includes “the enjoying and defending life and liberty, acquiring, possessing, and protecting property, and pursuing and obtaining happiness and safety” — was approved on August 16, 1776 by Pennsylvania’s House of Representatives, and became an official part of Pennsylvania’s Constitution, ratified on September 28, 1776. A […]
A Declaration of Rights and Fundamental Rules of the Delaware State (Sept. 11, 1776)
Editor’s note: This declaration of irrevocable rights and fundamental rules — essentially a bill or declaration of rights – crafted by the state of Delaware’s first general assembly was enacted in tandem with a new Constitution, the ultimate article of which states, “No article of the declaration of rights and fundamental rules of this State, agreed […]
African Declaration on Internet Rights and Freedoms (August, 28, 2014)
Editor’s Note: According to its website, this declaration represents “a Pan-African initiative to promote human rights standards and principles of openness in internet policy formulation and implementation on the continent,” with the intent of spelling out “the principles which are necessary to uphold human and people’s rights on the internet, and to cultivate an internet […]
The Black Panther Party for Self-Defense Ten-Point Platform and Program — “A combination of a Bill of Rights and a Declaration of Independence” (1967)
Editor’s note: This document is characterized by Huey P. Newton, co-founder in 1966 with Bobby Seale of the radical Black Panther Party, as a “combination of a Bill of Rights and a Declaration of Independence.” Officially called “The Black Panther Party for Self-Defense Ten-Point Platform and Program, it was crafted and then published by the […]
Declaration of Rights of the Women of the United States (July 4, 1876)
Editor’s Note: Not everything went according to the carefully planned script during our Centennial celebration of the Declaration of Independence, held at Independence Square in Philadelphia. At the proceedings, five of our nation’s most prominent women’s rights activists –Matilda Joslyn Gage, Phoebe W. Couzins, Sara Andrews Spencer, Susan B. Anthony, and Lillie Devereux Blake — interrupted the […]
Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work (1998)
Editor’s Note: This declaration was adopted in 1998 in Geneva, at the 86th session of the International Labor Conference, the declaration of the International Labor Organization — a United Nations agency that focuses on labor issues and that received in 1969 the Nobel Peace Prize for its efforts to achieve social and economic just […]
Universal Declaration of Rights of Mother Earth (April 22, 2010)
Editor’s note: The product of the 2010 World People’s Conference on Climate Change and the Rights of Mother earth, held in Cochabamba, Bolivia, and attended by progressive activists and indigenous leaders from around the world, among others, this expressive document asserts that the Earth itself is a living being has inherent rights. Universal Declaration of Rights of Mother […]
Magna Carta – a.k.a. Declaration of the Rule of Law (June 12, 1215)
Editor’s Note: Often referred to as the ‘Declaration of the rule of law,’ the Magna Carta, or ‘Great Charter,’ was enacted in 1215, the culmination of the efforts of English barons to limit monarchical rule and enumerate rights for the people (especially people like them). In one of its most-known clauses, the Magna Carta states that “No […]
