Let’s get organized, let’s get moving.
Our Human Rights Action Guide serves as a hub of resources to help us be productive and engaged around the critical issues facing our nation.
What are we missing? LEAVE A COMMENT and we will update the guide with the links that matter to you.
Human Rights Action Guide: School Shooting Awareness + Prevention
| Entity | Description | LINK |
|---|---|---|
| Everytown for Gun Safety | A group conducting groundbreaking original research, developing evidence-based policies, and communicating this knowledge in the courts and the court of public opinion. | LINK |
| Moms Demand Action For Gun Sense in America | National organization of mothers fighting for common sense gun reform | LINK |
| The Brady Campaign | The Brady Campaign advocates for policy but also for the government to enforce various laws already on its books. Their mission is to create a safer America by cutting gun deaths in half by 2025. | LINK |
| Giffords: Courage to Fight Gun Violence | This nonprofit and PAC aims to shift culture to create a safer and more informed America, change policy to mobilize voters and lawmakers to support safer gun laws, and challenge injustices by holding gun lobbyists and other special interests accountable. | LINK |
| Mother Jones US Mass Shootings 1982 - 2018 Data | Full data set from Mother Jones in-depth investigation into mass shootings in the United States. | LINK |
| Secret Service School Shootings report | Report done by the Secret Service and Department of Education on how to prevent school shootings | LINK |
| ASK. Asking Saves Lives | A campaign promoting a simple idea to save lives. ASK encourages parents to ask if there is a gun in the homes their children play in. | LINK |
| Safe Havens International | Nonprofit campus safety organization helping communities improve crisis preparedness | LINK |
| Voice of Change survivor video project | Ongoing video project documenting Stoneman Douglas High School shooting survivors and community members' stories | LINK |
| Gun Violence Preventative Measures | A multi-level outline of how to prevent gun violence agreed upon by hundreds of universities, mental health groups, school districts, and individual experts. | LINK |
| Safe and Sound Schools | An organization dedicated to empowering a nation of safer schools - founded by Sandy Hook parents | LINK |
| Active Shooter safety from Ready.gov | This page describes what to do if you find yourself in an active shooting event, how to recognize signs of potential violence around you, and what to expect after an active shooting takes place. | LINK |
| Coalition to Stop Gun Violence | The Coalition to Stop Gun Violence seeks to secure freedom from gun violence through research, strategic engagement and effective policy advocacy. | LINK |
| Readiness & Emergency Management for School (REMS) | REM offers a variety of federal agency partner resources related to planning for adversarial- and human-caused threats that may affect school districts, schools, institutions of higher education, community partners, and parents. | LINK |
| The Impact of Gun Violence on American Children and Teenagers | Guns are affecting today's children and teenagers. The number of gun violence is alarming. | LINK |
| Checklist of characteristics of youth who have caused school-associated violent deaths | A characteristic checklist from the National School Safety Center to serve as a starting point to identify potential school shooters | LINK |
| The Impact of Gun Violence on Communities | Victims of gun violence and school shootings are not limited to those injured or killed by the shooter. Whole communities are affected for lifetimes after the shooter has been apprehended and the funerals and memorials are over. | LINK |
| An Easy Guide to Contacting Your Representatives About Gun Control | This lays out how to find and contact your state senator or representatives. It also gives you an easy, well-written template, so you don't even need to write an email yourself! | LINK |
| How People Can Take on the NRA | Learn how the NRA's influence and political success goes beyond campaign spending | LINK |
| 12 things you can do to prep your kids against an active shooter | Teaching your children these 12 tactics could help prevent a shooting or help save their lives. | LINK |
| How many children are affected by gun violence in America? | Learn statistics about school shootings from Columbine to Majory Stoneman Douglas and hear stories from survivors in this Washington Post article. | LINK |
| Talking to Children about Terrorist Attacks and School and Community Shootings in the News | A guide on how to talk to your children about school shootings in the news | LINK |
| Why do school shootings keep happening? We need to listen. | An article explaining that to prevent gun violence in schools everyone involved needs to do a better job of listening and paying attention, especially to bullying or harmful behavior. | LINK |
| In the aftermath of a shooting | How to help your children manage distress after a school shooting | LINK |
| For Troubled Kids, Some Schools Take Time Out For Group Therapy | How school testing and all too many BS demands on the education system (compounded with insufficient funding) have deprioritized emotional learning and care that teaches young Americans how to be resilient and holistically healthy, which could get at the root causes of bullying, mental health, and maybe even gun violence. | LINK |
Human Rights Action Guide: Publications and Journalism
| Independent Journalism | Description | LINK | Independent Resources | Description | LINK | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Foreign Policy | Comparison of the Obama administration's and the Trump administration's policies on immigration restrictions | LINK | How to talk to your loved ones about a Donald Trump presidency | So you love someone who voted for Donald Trump. What are you going to do now? | LINK | |
| NPR | Has displayed both liberal and conservative bias; relatively nonbiased | LINK | Voice | Voice is a tool that creates new understandings in social situations and facilitates action to improve the quality of human experience. | URL | |
| The Atlantic | Throughout its 159-year history, The Atlantic has been reluctant to issue electoral stances. In 2016, it spoke out against Donald Trump. | LINK | The Sixty-Five | The 65 has compiled a set of scripts for over a dozen issues in the progressive agenda. The demands in these scripts aren’t radically left-leaning. That’s intentional. | LINK | |
| The Economist | Skews left | LINK | Paper Revolution | A collection of texts and resources should be seen as a starting point for understanding our current situation and how to begin to organize ourselves to act within in. | LINK | |
| The New York Times | Relatively nonbiased | LINK | re:act | A list of a few concrete things you can do to take action during the Trump presidency. Delivered via e-mail once a week. | LINK | |
| The Wall Street Journal | What does President Trump's Travel Ban Do | LINK | Sleeping Giants | Working to stop racist websites by stopping their ad dollars. Many companies don't even know it's happening. It's time to tell them. | LINK | |
| The Wall Street Journal | Has displayed liberal bias; under Rupert Murdoch (a republican), relatively nonbiased. | LINK | FactCheck.org | A Project of The Annenberg Public Policy Center | LINK | |
| The Washington Post | Skews right; has a history of endorsing both R + D candidates | LINK | How to Help if Someone Is Being Harassed | Incidents of racist, sexist and Islamophobic harrasement continue on, it's important to stand up for those who need it. | LINK | |
| Speak Up & Stay Safe(r) | A guide to protecting yourself from online harassment. | LINK | ||||
| Seven Types of Self-Care | Fortunately, there are several pathways to self-care, and none of them need be difficult or take a lot of planning. | LINK | ||||
| Thoughtful Citizen | A Guide to Laws and Regulations Likely to Change Under the Trump Administration and What You Can Do About It | LINK | ||||
| The Importance Of Self-Care | Too busy to take care of yourself? These TED talks offer simple ways to stay healthy—both emotionally and physically | LINK |
Human Rights Action Guide: Donate
| Entity | Description | LINK |
|---|---|---|
| American Civil Liberties Union | The ACLU is an organization working to defend the fundamental rights and liberties afforded Americans through the Constitution. | LINK |
| American for Immigrant Justice | AI Justice works to protect and promote the basic human rights of immigrants through a unique combination of free direct services, impact litigation, policy reform, and public education at local, state, and national levels. | LINK |
| Council on American-Islamic Relations | The nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization. | LINK |
| Funders for Justice | A national network of funders increasing resources to grassroots organizations addressing the intersection of racial justice, gender justice, community safety, and policing. | LINK |
| International Refugee Assistance Project | IRAP organizes law students and lawyers to develop and enforce a set of legal and human rights for refugees and displaced persons. Mobilizing direct legal aid and systemic policy advocacy, IRAP serves the world’s most persecuted individuals and empowers the next generation of human rights leaders. | LINK |
| Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund | The Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund works as the legal defense of the Latina community, working to advocate, educate, and politically empower Latinas across the country. | LINK |
| National Assoc. for the Advancement of Colored People | The NAACP's mission is to ensure the political, educational, social, and economic equality of rights of all persons and to eliminate race-based discrimination. | LINK |
| BakerRipley, formely Neighborhood Centers | They connect low-income families and individuals to opportunity so they can achieve the life they’ve imagined. | LINK |
| Planned Parenthood | These health centers provide a wide range of safe, reliable health care — and the majority is preventive, primary care, which helps prevent unintended pregnancies through contraception, reduce the spread of sexually transmitted infections through testing and treatment, and screen for cervical and other cancers. | LINK |
| Rape, Abuse + Incest National Network | RAINN is the nation's largest anti-sexual violence organization | LINK |
| Sacred Stone Legal Defense Fund | Funds raised on this page will only be used for the legal support for those involved in direct action to stop the pipeline. | LINK |
| Southern Poverty Law Center | They fight to wiin justice on behalf of those who have no other champion, expose and fight the hate that thrives in our country, and provide tolerance education materials free of charge to schools across our nation. | LINK |
Human Rights Action Guide: Take Action
| Call Your Representative | Script or Directions | LINK |
|---|---|---|
| Here's a sample script on the immigration ban: | Hi, my name is _______ and I’m a constituent of I’m calling to see if [If there are any questions, reiterate your concerns.] Yes, please express to Thanks for your time. | |
| Here's a sample script on our Civil Liberties/First Amendment: | Hi, my name is ______, a constituent calling to ask A free press is essential to a free society; religious freedom is America's most essential value. Please ask the | |
| Here's a sample script on climate change: | Hi, my name is ______, a constituent concerned about the President-Elect’s record of denying climate change. I ask that the I want the | |
| How to make your Congressman listen to you: | ONE: Call a state or district office first. TWO: Leave a voicemail. If voicemail is full, press ""0."" This will typically connect you to a receptionist who may be able to take your message or transfer you to a voicemail that isn't full. THREE: Call the national office, if you can't get through. Or to see if you can get a real person. FOUR: Be prepared to give your name and your location. You can refer to yourself as a constituent, as per the script, and they might not ask. FIVE: Note that the operator is likely using some kind of form to mark your call, the goal is to generate a high volume of calls that require the operator to check off individual boxes. That means it’s critical to name your issues specifically and not just say something like "oppose Trump." | |
| How to make your Congressman listen to you: | A series of viral tweets by former Congressional staff member Emily Ellsworth offered advice on how to get your representative to take notice and hear you out. | LINK |
| Who represents you? | Who Represents Me provides information about current districts and members of the Texas Senate, Texas House of Representatives, the Texas delegation to the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives, and the State Board of Education. | LINK |
| Immigration restrictions and representative opinions | LINK |
Human Rights Action Guide: Take Action > Run for Office
| Wellstone | A progressive resource to take part in any part of the political process by organizing your community using tools and technology. | LINK |
|---|---|---|
| She Should Run | Incubator providing thoughtful guidance and support to women and girls considering a future run for office. | LINK |
| Vote Run Lead | Workshops and training supporting the aspirations of women to transform our country and democracy through participation as leaders. | LINK |
| Running Start | Educating young women and girls about the significance of political participation through programs, fellowships, and summits. | LINK |
| Ignite | Encouraging young women and girls with messages which convey and compel political motivation and to declare ambition. | LINK |
| Victory Institute | Building, supporting, and advancing a diverse network of LGBT public leaders through education and professional development programs. | LINK |
| New American Leaders | Movement for an inclusive democracy by encouraging first and second generation Americans to run for office. | LINK |
| Veterans Campaign | Encouraging, mentoring and preparing veterans for a "Second Service" in civic leadership. | LINK |
| New Politics Leadership Academy | Dedicating career training, fellowships, networking events and mentorship programs to encourage service veterans to engage with policy and politics. | LINK |
| Run For Something | Platform for the progressive younger generation to run, focusing on lessor known offices such as state legislatures, mayorships, city council seats. | LINK |
| Name | Description | LINK |