civic equality

Learn more about the first woman to serve as secretary of labor and hold a Cabinet position in the United States.

Judith Heumann, who died March 4, spent more than five decades working for the rights of people with disabilities.

Meet Carolyn McCaskill, a deaf American who educates the world about Black American Sign Language and the people who use it.

Labor and women's rights activists, a journalist and a surgeon are among recipients of the 2023 Human Rights Defender Awards.

Learn more about what President Biden and other North American leaders discussed in terms of shared solutions to multiple challenges.

Martin Luther King Jr.'s legacy lives on in the U.S. in part through thousands of things named after him. Learn how that tradition began.

Learn how the Emancipation Proclamation paved the way for abolishing slavery and why President Lincoln considered it his finest achievement.

Human rights defenders face dangers for their efforts to protect universally recognized rights. Learn the State Department's role

City leaders from around the world, from Argentina to South Africa, exchanged ideas about strengthening democracy.