Since his death in 1948, Mahatma Gandhi’s employment of civil disobedience has famously inspired some of history’s most prominent freedom fighters, including Nelson Mandela, the Dalai Lama, and Martin Luther King Jr. Gandhi’s name has even become the root of an adjective used for the principles by which he lived.
Latin America
Relentless Prudence – How Prudencia Ayala Challenged Salvadoran Gender Roles Decades Before Women Could Vote
To be prudent does not mean to be timid. While prudence is often regarded as synonymous with caution, it also signifies wisdom, thriftiness, and foresight. Prudencia Ayala possessed all three, and she was anything but timid.
Para Los Mártires (For the Martyrs) – A Lenca Woman’s Fatal Fight for Environmental Justice
From the start, she spoke with passion and a sense of urgency. She was accepting the largest award for grassroots environmental activists in the world, and yet she seemed apathetic toward the esteem. Zeroed in on her cause, she admonished the audience – “¡Despertemos! Despertemos, humanidad. Ya no hay tiempo” (Let us wake up! Let us wake up, humankind. We are out of time).
Peacemaking in the Face of Genocide – The Story of Rigoberta Menchú
On January 9, 1959, in Laj Chimel – a small indigenous community surrounded by unpaved Guatemalan mountain range — a Quiché Mayan child and future luminary for indigent natives across the Western Hemisphere was born.