“Despite Cruelty: Why I Still Have Faith in Human Rights”
A Zoom Conversation with William Schulz ’71, Former Executive Director of Amnesty International
Dr. William Schulz, who served as Executive Director of Amnesty International USA from 1994-2006, will recount experiences and observations from his new book, Reversing the Rivers: A Memoir of History, Hope and Human Rights. During the discussion, Bill will address the question he has been asked most frequently throughout his human rights career: “Given all the viciousness and brutality in the world, how do you retain any hope at all in humanity and the human rights ideal?” Pamela Sparr ’78 will serve as moderator.
Bill Shulz ‘71 has traveled the globe advocating for a world free from human rights violations. Until his retirement in 2023, Dr. Schulz was a Senior Fellow at the Carr Center for Human Rights Policy at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. As head of Amnesty International from 1994-2006, Bill was a prominent activist who led missions to troubled regions across the globe, and also traveled tens of thousands of miles in the United States promoting human rights causes. He has authored three other books on human rights, has taught at universities, and is an ordained Unitarian Universalist minister. Bill majored in Sociology at Oberlin, holds a master's degree in Philosophy from the University of Chicago and the Doctor of Ministry degree from Meadville/Lombard Theological School (then at the University of Chicago), and is the recipient of eight honorary degrees. He lives with his wife, the Rev. Beth Graham, also a Unitarian Universalist minister, in Gloucester, Massachusetts.
Pam Sparr '78 has devoted her professional and personal life to advancing justice, human rights and our right relationship with the earth. Pam is a member of Oberlin’s EnviroAlums group. She also is the co-founder and partner for two projects: The International Feminist Popular Education and Activism Archives, and the Center for Popular Education, both at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. At Oberlin, Pam majored in Economics and Government.
