CALL FOR PAPERS -- A Single Struggle: The Global Convergence of Civil & Human Rights -- May 1-2, 2008 -- Birmingham, Alabama

The global convergence of civil and human rights will be the focus of a two-day conference sponsored by the Birmingham Civil Rights
Institute on May 1-2, 2008.   The American Civil Rights Movement's successful implementation of non-violent direct action has both influenced and been influenced by struggles for human rights in countries around the world.  Over the course of the 20th century, many individuals and groups have achieved profound social changes in the name of human rights.  National liberation movements drove out colonial powers; labor unions established the right to organize; women succeeded in gaining the vote.  In the United States, African Americans sought and achieved relief from oppression in many of its various forms.

While these accomplishments are the results of struggles for the 
protection of humans, civil and human rights have evolved as distinct privileges accorded to the world's people.  Many scholars consider civil rights to be those liberties bestowed by nations on citizens within their territorial borders, while human rights are rights individuals possess by virtue of membership in the human race. "A Single Struggle" will examine those societal attributes that have evolved into the accepted differences separating civil rights from human rights.  Invited scholars will address these and other issues relating to the similarities among human struggles in the
international arena.

Please submit a 1-2 page abstract and curriculum vita to Dr. Horace Huntley at hhuntley@bcri.org  by December 15, 2007. Papers should be no more than twenty minutes in length.  You can expect a response to your submission no later than January 15, 2008.