Human Rights in the District of Columbia

Students address gun violence in D.C.

Image Available on Flickr

Left to right: AFSC Human Rights Learning student Diana Chicas; Washington, D.C. Ward 3 Councilwoman Mary Cheh; student Andy Bloom; D.C. Peace & Economic Justice Program Director Jean-Louis Peta Ikambana, after speaking with Councilwoman Cheh about gun control reform.

Photo: Bryan Vana

What motivates young people to take action on their beliefs? Human rights learning, and the DC Human Rights project in particular, might be an important piece of the puzzle.

On March 28, 2013—a National Day to Demand Action on Gun Violence—Andy Bloom and Diana Chicas, 17-year-old students from Wilson High School in Washington, D.C., came to City Hall to speak with Councilwoman Mary Cheh about gun violence.

DC Right to Housing Campaign

D.C. Human Rights People's Movement gathering

When Jean-Louis Peta Ikambana arrived in the United States from his native Democratic Republic of the Congo, he didn’t expect to encounter some of the economic realities here. Settling in Washington, D.C., he became director of AFSC’s Peace and Economic Justice Program where he came face-to-face with the homeless who camped out on his office doorstep.