Suggested Stories: Human Rights

CHOOSE YOUR STORY

Human Rights includes stories about racial justice, gender equality, migration and refugees, labor rights, LGBTQ+ rights, and more. Explore the stories below to find one that moves you. Then, use this worksheet to support you with writing your Fighting Words poem.

CONTEST GUIDELINES

Stories for Grades 3 and Up

Story	Media	Publication	Content Warnings
“Walking to the United States” by Chip Mitchell and Anthony Vazquez	Photo, Text	Chicago Sun-Times	N/A
“Finding Refuge in Toronto” by Elvia Malagón and Ashlee Rezin	Photo, Text	Chicago Sun-Times	N/A
“Tam's Comeback: Diary of First Visit Home After Transitioning” by Irina Werning	Photo, Text	Der Spiegel	N/A
“The Black Curriculum: Shaping Minds, Reshaping History” by Jermaine Ervin Jr.	Text	Pulitzer Center	N/A
“How the Oceti Sakowin Are Reclaiming Their Culture One School at a Time” by Jordan Rusche	Audio, Text	South Dakota Public Broadcasting	N/A

Stories for Grades 6 and Up

Story	Media	Publication	Content Warnings
“An Iranian Woman Finds Her Might, in ‘The Smallest Power’” by Andy Sarjahani, Naghmeh Farzaneh, and Robin Wright	Video	New Yorker	N/A
“‘We’ve Become an Amusement Park’: The Alaskan Town Torn Apart by Cruise Ship Tourism” by Christian Karim Chrobog	Text	The Guardian	N/A
The Lost Ancestors by Lydie Diakhaté, Susan Gray, and Linda Matchan	Video	Pulitzer Center	Descriptions of the traumas of slavery
“In a Small Eastern Shore Community Descended From Slavery, a Grassroots Affordable Housing Model Expands” by Katherine Hafner	Audio, Photo, Text	WHRO	N/A
“Afghanistan in a New Light: Women, Erased” by Rodrigo Abd and Elena Becatoros	Photo, Text	Associated Press	N/A
“‘I Just Don’t Want To Die’: Black Pregnant Women Are Turning to Midwives for Personalized Care—And a Better Chance at Survival” by Karen Kasmauski and Louis Hansen	Photo, Audio, Text	Virginia Center for Investigative Journalism	N/A
“Tracked and Traced: How Thousands of American Muslims Ended up on the Terrorist Watch List” by Nargis Rahman and David Leins	Audio, Text	WDET	N/A
“Dispossessed by Climate—Iraqi Refugees in Their Own Country” by Susan Schulman	Photo, Text	The Markaz Review	N/A
“The Right To Protest Is Under Threat in Britain, Undermining a Pillar of Democracy” by Jill Lawless	Photo, Text	Associated Press	N/A

Stories for Grades 9 and Up

Story	Media	Publication	Content Warnings
“The Venezuelan Migrant Experience — in Colombia, in Chicago” by Sasha Ann-Simmons, Chip Mitchell, Meha Ahmad, and Anthony Vazquez	Audio	WBEZ 91.5	N/A
“Retracing the Steps of My Abortion” by Dina Gachman and Brittney McNamara	Photo, Text	Teen Vogue	N/A
Renter Revolt: Housing and Human Rights in America’s Heartland by Isabel Evans, Marley Cogan, and Charlotte Alter	Video	TIME	References to domestic violence, use of expletives
“Don’t Count Them Out: The Impact of Basketball on the Youth of Cairo, Illinois” by Simeon Hardley	Photo, Text	The Daily Egyptian	N/A
“‘Time Is Water’: A Cross-Border Indigenous Alliance Works To Save the Amazon” by Francesc Badia i Dalmases	Video, Photo, Text	Open Democracy	N/A
“A Mother and Baby From Gaza Are Reunited 11 Months After Being Separated at Birth” by Elissa Nadworny, Fatima Al-Kassab and Claire Harbage	Photo, Text	NPR	Descriptions of violence, injury, and death
“Essay: Anti-Trans Myths” by Simón(e) D. Sun and Florence Ashley	Text	OpenMind Magazine	N/A
“Toxic Air, Limited Care: The Cost of Motherhood in Gary, Indiana” by Jenae Barnes	Video, Photo, Text	Capital B Gary	N/A
“The Extractive Industries Filling Public University Coffers on Stolen Land” by Tristan Ahtone, Amanda Tachine, Audrianna Goodwin, Clayton Aldern, Robert Lee, An Garagiola, and Maria Parazo Rose	Photo, Maps, Text	Grist	N/A
“How Uyghur Forced Labor Makes Seafood That Ends Up in School Lunches” by Ian Urbina	Photo, Text	POLITICO Magazine	N/A
“Deaths in Pa. Jails Are Undercounted. Our Investigation Found Dozens of Hidden Cases” by Joshua Vaughn and Brittany Hailer	Text, Maps, Database	PennLive	Discussion of suicide, homicide, and neglect
“‘There Is No Standard’: Investigation Finds AI Algorithms Objectify Women’s Bodies” by Hilke Schellmann and Gianluca Mauro	Photo, Text	The Guardian	N/A