Amnesty International USA Introduces Benjamin Jealous:
Director of New US Domestic Human Rights Program

(AFRICAN AMERICAN NEWSWIRE)(Washington, DC) - In 1987 Benjamin Jealous was too young to drive, vote, or even play varsity sports, but his ambition to see the United States elect its first African- American president was larger than life.

The race for the Democratic presidential bid was competitive, but Jealous quickly learned the political ropes and garnered support for the Democratic candidates at the polls. He organized his new high school classmates to register, educate, and mobilize potential voters. At age14, Jealous became the youngest precinct captain in California.

Jealous' commitment to activism was sparked, propelling him through 15 years as a community organizer, journalist, and media executive. Now Jealous will bring his dedication to social justice to Amnesty International USA as he directs the organization's new US Domestic Human Rights program based in Washington, D.C.

In his new role, he will steward the organization's efforts to monitor and combat racial profiling, police brutality, voting rights abuses, and torture in America's prisons and jails. Amnesty International's 1.7 million members worldwide (including 300,000 US members) will promote this work through grassroots organizing, public awareness campaigns, letter writing, and lobbying for legislation at the state and federal levels.

"Even challenges that seem futile to many Americans can have a major impact on society," says Jealous of his first campaign in which the Reverend Jesse Jackson received more voter support than any other African-American presidential nominee to date. "Under my leadership, Amnesty International's US Domestic Human Rights Program will bridge the symbolic gap between human rights and civil rights in this country, and empower Amnesty International activists who are dedicated to fighting human rights abuses at home."

While working as a reporter for Mississippi's Jackson Advocate -- often called America's most frequently firebombed newspaper -- his articles were credited with spurring official investigations into corruption amongst Mississippi prison guards and sealing the acquittal of a Black farmer who was framed for arson.

A Rhodes scholar, Jealous' training as a social scientist has taken him from Harlem to England to Mississippi working on human rights campaigns as diverse as his surroundings. He is inspired by his former colleagues in Mississippi who are willing to risk everything-- from their reputation in the business community to their life-- to fight human rights abuses in their own backyard.

Before joining Amnesty International, Jealous served as the Executive Director of the National Newspaper Publishers Association, a federation of 200 African-American community newspapers throughout the country. Before this position he served as the Program Director of the National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty in Washington, D.C. and as editor of Mississippi's Jackson Advocate newspaper.

"By helping to expose and eradicate ongoing human rights abuses in the United States, Amnesty International's US Domestic Human Rights Program will help our nation reclaim its position as an international human rights leader," said Jealous.

Amnesty International's initiatives to combat human rights abuses in the United States culminated in its 1998 U.S. campaign, Rights for All. The organization has exposed police abuses in Prince Georges County (MD), New York City, Los Angeles, and Cincinnati, lobbied for legislations to protect female inmates from sexual abuse, and sought to protect juveniles from being sentenced as adults in the legal system, among other concerns.

"Benjamin Jealous is a dedicated social justice activist who brings a wealth of experience to Amnesty International USA," said Gerald LeMelle, Deputy Executive Director for Advocacy for Amnesty International USA. "Under Jealous' leadership, the new USA Program will expose human rights abuses in the United States and enfranchise new members to work in their communities to stop abuses in their own backyards."

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