On this day in 1948, the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), a groundbreaking document affirming all people’s dignity, freedom, and equality. Human Rights Day commemorates this monumental achievement and reminds us to strive for justice and compassion in our global community. In the words of Dr. Maya Angelou’s poem Human Family:
“We love and lose in China,
We weep on England’s moors,
And laugh and moan in Guinea,
And thrive on Spanish shores.
We seek success in Finland,
Are born and die in Maine.
In minor ways we differ,
In major we’re the same.
I note the obvious differences
Between each sort and type,
But we are more alike, my friends,
Than we are unalike.” Let these words remind us of our shared humanity and the importance of standing together for human rights. Today and every day, we celebrate our diversity while honoring the fundamental rights that unite us all.
