Human rights activist Juliani Dogbadzi

The recent opening reception of the "Speak Truth to Power" photography exhibit in the Low Rotunda last Wednesday night brought together some of the foremost human rights leaders in the world and attracted the likes of actor Billy Baldwin and former HUD secretary and gubernatorial candidate Andrew Cuomo.

"Speak Truth to Power" is the title of a new book by human rights activist Kerry Kennedy Cuomo, who launched the exhibit last week with a reception. The photos, shot by Pulitzer-Prize winning photojournalist Eddie Adams, are of human rights leaders from across the globe. In her speech, Kennedy Cuomo credited University Professor Emeritus Louis Henkin, Chair of the University's Center for the Study of Human Rights, and Director of the Human Rights Institute at the Law School, for coining the phrase which inspired her book's title, calling Henkin "one of the brightest stars in the human rights field."

In talking about the research for her book, Kennedy Cuomo described interviewing Digna Ochoa, a nun from Mexico, who is also one of the country's foremost human rights attorneys. Ochoa once intimidated guards into leaving a hospital room so she could speak privately with a client who had been tortured by the government. Kennedy Cuomo asked Ochoa how she had found the strength to confront these soldiers; she expected Ochoa to tell her she had found her energy in religious faith. Instead, she replied—"I just get so angry that it gives me an incredible sense of calm with which I can confront anyone."

Kennedy Cuomo said this story and the interviews she conducted for the book provided her insight. "If we gather our anger together it can be used to create revolutionary change," said Kennedy Cuomo. She also described talking to an activist from Ghana, who taught her, "We so often feel we're unable to make a difference, we've got to start thinking about the people who need us to advocate on their behalf."

Kennedy Cuomo is the daughter of Senator Robert Kennedy and the wife of Andrew Cuomo, former Housing and Urban Development Secretary. She has been working in the field of human rights for nearly 20 years, and founded the Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Center for Human Rights.

The exhibit shows 20 photos of activists. Included among them is a picture of Wei Jingsheng, former Chinese dissident and visiting scholar at SIPA. He is shown gazing upward, cigarette smoke curling over his face. Another compelling photo shows Cambodian doctor and activist Kek Galabru, surrounded by skulls.

"These photographs, both haunting and inspirational, attest to the impact that individuals can have on protecting people's most basic rights," said J. Paul Martin, executive director of Columbia's Center for the Study of Human Rights, which is sponsoring the exhibit.

Four of the activists whose pictures hang in the exhibit in the exhibit are former members of the Human Rights Advocates Training Program, the centerpiece of Columbia's Center for the Study of Human Rights. The 12-year-old Advocates Program, the only of its kind in the country, brings together human rights activists from the most diverse — and dangerous — parts of the world for four months of intensive study and dialogue with international human rights organizations.

The exhibit runs through April 3 in the Low Rotunda.