Guest speaker Emily Bradshaw, an adjunct instructor of the Faculty of Arts & Letters, lead a discussion with audience members at the monthly BYUH Women's Organization luncheon on Nov. 18, to discover actions they could take to decrease discrimination, fight for human rights and learn to see the humanity in everyone.
Bradshaw began her speech by talking about how she had travelled to Ghana with her husband and children to teach human rights. During her time there, she said, “I thought it is so sad and terrible they don’t talk about human rights [in Ghana].
“But then I thought, how often do we talk about it here [in America]?”
Just as she did in Ghana, she showed the audience pictures on a large screen and had the audience guess which fundamental human right was depicted.
Fundamental human rights
Together, Bradshaw and the audience created a list of what Bradshaw called “the fundamental human rights.” These included freedom, equality, expression, education, religion, safety, family and work.
When she introduced the right to safety, she stopped and emphasized how this right includes emotional, mental and physical safety.
Inspiring connection within the community
Throughout her speech, Bradshaw encouraged the audience to interact with those next to them at their tables. She did so by displaying a list of questions on the screen and invited each table to discuss them, resulting in active conversation among those attending.
For example, Bradshaw asked what each person could do to decrease discrimination in their family and community.
One audience member shared how a nearby high school’s football team recently invited children with disabilities to play with them. She emphasized the importance of parents teaching children to respect others in the community, especially those who might be different from them.
Taylor Pierce, an alumna from Laie, said hearing this question inspired her to create a change in her own life. She said she is newly committed to “making sure my door is open to diversity in religion and culture as a way to learn from others.”
Becoming friends with a stranger
One audience member tearfully shared how she developed a friendship with a homeless man she saw outside of the grocery store she visits frequently.
She said her friendship with this man started when she approached him one day and asked him not to leave until she came back out of the grocery store so she could give him something to eat. It then progressed to asking him what he wanted and how he was doing, she shared.
“I see him,” she shared, and that the man appreciates her friendship. She said everyone in attendance can make a note to see others “as human beings and love them.”
Luncheon purpose
Celeste Yergenson, president of the BYUH Women’s Organization, said, “I choose speakers who have something to share that would be uplifting, inspiring and … something to help people grow and learn.”
She said the purpose of the luncheons is to fulfill the mission of the organization, which is to help raise scholarship money for BYUH students with deep financial need. She said they give out 15-20 $300 scholarships each year.