Humanity has struggled a lot with discrimination for centuries.   From the Declaration of the Rights of Man in 1780 in France to today, there has been a small improvement, but the fight for an equitable society is still going on.

Why is the simple “right to be” so difficult for humankind?

The Declaration’s first article says, “Men are born and remain free and equal in rights. Social distinctions may be founded only upon the general good.”

However, it was only in the 1950’s and 1960’s with the rise of the feminist movement that women started to count in our society. 

By the end of World War II, women had entered the workforce in record numbers.  But now that the war was over, men returned to work and women were replaced.  Was this  supposed to be “equal rights”?

By the 1970’s and 1980’s, after segregation ended, black people started to have the right to move and live with the rest of society.  They fought hard for these rights.

And only recently, in the 1990’s and 2000’s, did the LGTBQ+ community begin to gain a place in the society.  It was only in 2015 that gay marriage became legal in the U.S.

Social and political movements, with bold leaders mobilizing their communities, have fought hard campaigns for human rights.  For example, the feminist movement has fought for women’s rights.   It has  convinced society and governments to make changes for equal opportunities in employment, voting rights, reproductive rights and wages.

For blacks’ rights , Martin Luther King Jr. opened the gate to ban any form of discrimination.  He led marches for blacks’ desegregation, and voting, and labor rights.  His actions, including the 1955 Montgomery bus boycott and work as the presidency of the Southern  Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), helped end decades of segregation for blacks in the U.S.

Today, the LGTBQ+ community is leading anti discrimination campaigns, and fighting for marriage equality and adoption rights, throughout the world.  Until 2017, adoption laws for LGBTQ+ couples varied by state.   LGBTQ+ couples enjoyed full adoption rights in certain states, but faced harsh restrictions or could not adopt at all in others.  That finally changed in 2017, after Supreme Court decisions made same-sex adoption legal in all U.S. states.

Equal rights could have been a reality a long time ago, but unfortunately, after centuries of struggle, we have not made enough progress.  And if the government doesn’t make the effort, and the people don’t raise their voices, the full equality will never be won.