Go Online Activity
Civil Liberties: Protecting Individual Rights
Government
Online: Fighting Prejudice
Answering
the Question
Fighting Prejudice
You don't have to be an expert in constitutional law to look out for the rights of others. Take the case of Tristan Coffin.
The soccer teams of Franklin and Dudley, two towns south of Boston, Massachusetts, were preparing to play for their league championship one summer Sunday. As Franklin took the field, however, Coffin, 12, was pulled aside by a referee and told to remove a bandanna covering his head. Coffin respectfully declined, explaining that he was a devout Sikh, a member of an Indian religion that requires foollowers to cover their heads in public. The referee, citing tournament rules, again ordered Coffin to remove the bandanna or leave the field.
When Coffin's teammates learned that he wouldn't be allowed to play, they walked off the field. Franklin's coaches pleaded with the referee and tournament oficials, as did Dudley's coach. When the ref didn't budge, the Franklin coaches refused to send their team back on the field, thereby forfeiting the game. Afterwards, Dudley's coaches and players had misgingings about accepting their first-place trophies. So they presented one to Coffin.
Then, use the information below to answer the following question:
To
help you answer the question, try searching the Web using these key words:
·
"human rights"
·
"human rights awards"
·
"fighting prejudice"
·
"against prejudice"
·
"civil rights"
·
"protecting individual rights"
·
"human rights" AND "efforts"
The
following questions will help guide your thinking:
·
What link can you identify between popular sovereignty
and human rights?
·
How might democracy be affected if no efforts were made
to safeguard human rights?
·
What are some of the areas in which individuals have
worked to protect the rights of others or to correct abuses of human rights?
Enrichment
Conduct library or Internet research to
identify and learn more about a person who has joined in the fight against
prejudice. Then, create an exhibit for a fictional "Human Rights
Museum" that gives visitors insight into the life and motivations of that
person. Your exhibit should include some short, descriptive text about the
person, photographs, and other props that help the story come to life. For
example, if the person led a demonstration through city streets, you might
include a model of a street in the exhibit, with a short write-up about the
event centered within the model.