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Human Rights Center Partners With Black Leaders To Celebrate Black History Month

Keara McGraw

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A Frederick Douglass impersonator, motivational speaker Don Dowridge Jr., will give a virtual talk on human rights in celebration of Black History Month with the United for Human Rights (UHR) Florida chapter on Zoom on February 26, 2022 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Dowridge, who grew up in Baltimore, Maryland, has been a motivational speaker in the Tampa Bay area for seven years. Dowridge has performed his monologues of Frederick Douglass in schools across the Tampa Bay area to the Straz Theater for the Performing Arts and other venues along Florida’s east coast. Dowridge uses his past as a former gang member and drug dealer to motivate youth to avoid the same path and stick to their goals.

The goal of some of those youth has been racial justice and fair and equal treatment after the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis in police custody in 2020. Black Lives Matter protests across the country have brought America’s most worrisome human rights issues to the table. At least six or more people have been killed in protests despite then being largely peaceful.

“By reflecting on the mistakes and experiences of the past we can all create a better future for ourselves and others,” said Ella Rouelle, executive director of the United for Human Rights Florida chapter based in Clearwater, Florida. “The fight for equal rights in America is only still happening because we as a country did not learn from our inhumane mistakes.”

Ireneo Namboka, a former United Nations staff member of 15 years, has seen some of those mistakes first-hand around the world while working in the United Nations Department of Peacekeeping, and will also be sharing his message on human rights at the virtual event.

Since 2015, the UHR Florida chapter has educated over 1 million people in Clearwater, the Tampa Bay area and across Florida on their 30 inalienable rights in the United Nations Universal Declaration on Human Rights using their educational materials. United for Human Rights also has lesson plans for educators and teaches aspiring human rights activists how to teach others about human rights.

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