Read an excerpt from the memoir of a woman who managed to escape from one of the most repressive regimes in the world. In this passage, she helps her mother escape while her brother faces a difficult choice.
Category Archives: Hard-Won Liberty
Living under ISIS rule—and then escaping it
One of millions of refugees escaping the horrors of ISIS, a Syrian journalist shares his story.
A Ride Home from Prison
The day a long-time prisoner is released can present overwhelming challenges. Watch this short documentary to learn how one former prisoner is working to make the transition to freedom smoother for others.
How the Arab Spring Became the Arab Cataclysm
The events of the Arab Spring promised a birth of liberty in North African and Middle Eastern nations. Why did it instead lead to worse conditions than those that inspired the protests in the first place?
Ideas Cost Peace Prize Winner Freedom
An advocate of human rights and democracy in China, Liu Xiaobo was imprisoned by his government in an attempt to silence him from sharing his ideas for change. Learn about his willingness to sacrifice his own freedom in the fight for the freedom of his country.
Saudi Arabia elects up to 17 female councilors in historic election
Women in Saudi Arabia must be accompanied by a male chaperone anytime they leave the house and must be covered from head to toe; however, they recently gained the right to vote and run for municipal council seats. Read about this small step toward liberty.
Josephine Baker—A French and American Hero
Rising from poverty in St. Louis to become an entertainment superstar in her adopted home of Paris, Josephine Baker could easily have enjoyed a life of leisurely wealth. Instead, she aided the French Resistance during the Nazi occupation of World War II and later spoke out for American civil rights.
Next generation of activists confronts Mississippi’s violent past on Freedom Summer anniversary
Fifty years after the murders of three young civil rights workers shocked the nation, a group of students visited the small Mississippi town where it happened to reflect on the past and look toward the future.
Order vs. Disorder
The world may seem chaotic today, in part due to the failure of the Arab Spring to live up to its great promise. Pulitzer-winning writer Thomas Friedman notes that one cause of this disorder may be inequality of freedom: Many of those who have won freedom from oppression have yet to gain freedom to conduct their lives as they wish.
Decades Later, Photographer Searches for Gandhi’s Legacy
Recently, National Geographic gave a young photographer from Azerbaijan a daunting assignment: Create a photo essay about Indian independence leader Mohandas Gandhi, who died in 1948. Rena Effendi discusses how she tackled this task.
Barrett Brown Sentenced to 5 Years in Prison in Connection with Stratfor Hack
Some consider Barrett Brown, a journalist and activist recently sentenced to five years in prison, a political prisoner. Read the article to decide for yourself.
Saudi Arabia women defy authorities over female driving ban
In Saudi Arabia, no law bars women from driving cars, but cultural tradition does. In recent years, though, some Saudi women have defied the ban and even posted videos online of themselves driving, resulting in official punishment and harassment from neighbors.
Film Review: ‘Selma’
The Academy Award-nominated film Selma centers on a key struggle in the American civil rights movement. Read one reviewer’s appraisal of its artistic and narrative achievement.
Malala Yousafzai’s Courage
Much has been written about Malala Yousafzai, the Nobel Peace Prize-winning teen from Pakistan’s rugged mountain region who continues to push for education for girls despite death threats. Pulitzer Prize-winning opinion columnist Leonard Pitts shares his thoughts.
South Sudan
Having gained independence in 2011, South Sudan is the world’s youngest nation. Learn about who the South Sudanese people are, how they achieved independence, and what struggles they still face in this BBC News profile.
Letter from Ethiopia’s Gulag
Ethiopian journalist Eskinder Nega has been held in prison for over seven years because of his reporting on his country’s corrupt government. In this 2013 letter, he makes his case for freedom and asks the United States to take steps toward a more democratic Ethiopia.
Nelson Mandela’s ‘walk to freedom’ in 1990 after his release from prison
Before South Africa’s late president Nelson Mandela was an inspiring world leader, he was a prisoner, jailed for 27 years for his actions opposing his country’s apartheid rule. Watch dramatic video documenting his release from prison in 1990.
Mixtape of the Revolution
Protest songs often document or even fuel the desire for political change. This New York Times article examines the importance of music in the revolutions of the Arab Spring.
The War Over King’s Legacy
Martin Luther King Jr.’s life ended before his work was complete, leaving others to interpret his intentions and delineate his legacy. Vern E. Smith and Jon Meacham discuss the history and the ongoing disagreements over who King was and what his work means today.
Gene Sharp: How to Start a Revolution
What creates a more effective revolution—a gun or a book? The answer in this review of a documentary film might surprise you.