Student-Led 4-Month Campaign Bears Fruit — First Case in Colorado
The City of Aurora, Colorado, has officially designated December 10th as International Human Rights Day. This formal recognition as a permanent, standalone holiday by a local government is extremely rare in the United States and marks the first such designation in Colorado.
Four Months of Citizen Petition Campaign
The designation originated from a proposal by Bahnya Kim, a Colorado Times student journalist and president of the nonprofit organization 38.Freedom. For four months beginning last summer, Kim and organization members collected citizen signatures at volunteer service sites, carrying petition forms with them to each location. This grassroots effort led to approval by the Aurora City Council and Mayor Mike Coffman.
Ceremony Held at 2nd Home A commemoration ceremony was held on December 10th at the Aurora Second Home Community, attended by city officials, 38.Freedom members, supervising teachers, and families. Bahnya Kim and Elise Muhtar, a junior at Cherry Creek High School, delivered presentations explaining the significance and process of establishing International Human Rights Day.
Second Home provided the venue free of charge in support of the students’ initiative. The 38.Freedom students expressed their gratitude to Second Home staff members who stayed late to assist with event preparation and execution.
“Inalienable Rights of All Human Beings”
Although Mayor Coffman could not attend due to scheduling conflicts, he issued an official proclamation affirming the significance of the designation. The proclamation states that International Human Rights Day commemorates the anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in 1948, and emphasizes “the inalienable rights that all humans are entitled to, regardless of race, color, religion, sexuality, sex, language or other status.”
Aurora specifically noted that more than 21% of its population is foreign-born, making it Colorado’s largest international community, and stated that “the city’s Notice of Non-Discrimination aligns with the audience and purpose of the UDHR, to prohibit exclusion, prejudice, denial, and discrimination of all people of any status in any operation of the city.” The city pledged to continue fair governance that prohibits exclusion, prejudice, and discrimination while protecting all residents.
Extremely Rare Case in the U.S.
Aurora’s International Human Rights Day designation ceremony.(Photo by Hyunjin Lee)
While some U.S. cities and regions, such as Pittsburgh (designated a “Human Rights City” in 2011) and New York State, issue annual proclamations or host events to observe the day, formal recognition as a permanent holiday is extremely uncommon. Globally, only Kiribati and Namibia observe December 10th as a national public holiday.
This designation is seen as a demonstration of both the continuity of American democratic values and the potential of immigrant communities, as a third-generation immigrant youth successfully translated America’s founding principles and universal human rights values into concrete policy. Active support from the local community has also been recognized as a crucial factor enabling the students’ achievement.
