Aaron Jackson | |
|---|---|
| Born | Destin, Florida |
| Nationality | American |
| Occupation | Founder of Planting Peace |
| Known for | Equality House |
| Parent(s) | Wendy Grant, James Jackson |
Aaron Jackson is an American human rights and environmental activist. [1] Jackson was raised in Destin, Florida and attended Valencia College until 2002. [2] [3] After backpacking around the world, he interned at The Homeless Voice, an advocacy group in Davie, Florida, [2] and became director of the COSAC Homeless Shelter. [4] The first orphanages he opened in Haiti were established using money he made as a golf caddy while living in a homeless shelter in order to fund the orphanages. [1] Jackson was named a CNN Hero in 2007 after leading a campaign to deworm children in Haiti. [3] [4] [5]
Human rights are "the basic rights and freedoms to which all humans are entitled" Examples of rights and freedoms which are often thought of as human rights include civil and political rights, such as the right to life, liberty, and property, freedom of expression, pursuit of happiness and equality before the law; and social, cultural and economic rights, including the right to participate in science and culture, the right to work, and the right to education.
All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.
Environmentalism or environmental rights is a broad philosophy, ideology, and social movement regarding concerns for environmental protection and improvement of the health of the environment, particularly as the measure for this health seeks to incorporate the impact of changes to the environment on humans, animals, plants and non-living matter. While environmentalism focuses more on the environmental and nature-related aspects of green ideology and politics, ecologism combines the ideology of social ecology and environmentalism. Ecologism is more commonly used in continental European languages while ‘environmentalism’ is more commonly used in English but the words have slightly different connotations.
Destin is a city located in Okaloosa County, Florida. It is a principal city of the Crestview–Fort Walton Beach–Destin, Florida, metropolitan area.
In 2004, Jackson founded Planting Peace, a nonprofit organization that advocates for LGBT issues and runs six orphanages in Haiti and India. [2] [6] In 2012, he purchased a home across from Westboro Baptist Church after looking at the neighborhood around Westboro on Google Earth. He painted the exterior of the house with the colors of the pride flag in 2013 and it became the "Equality House." [7] [8] [9] Through Planting Peace, Jackson placed a billboard in Kim Davis' hometown after she denied marriage licenses to same sex couples in 2015. [10] In 2016, Jackson traveled to Antarctica to place a pride flag deeming it "the world's first LGBT-friendly continent." [3] [11]
Planting Peace is a nonprofit humanitarian organization founded for the purpose of "spreading peace in a hurting world". The organization specializes in diverse global causes, including orphanages in Haiti and India, international deworming efforts, rainforest preservation, and anti-bullying programs. In 2007 Planting Peace founder Aaron Jackson was honored as a CNN Hero for his relief efforts deworming millions of children in Haiti. In March 2013 Planting Peace gained international attention when they created the Equality House, a rainbow-colored home located directly across the street from Westboro Baptist Church, an anti-LGBT group. In 2016, members of Planting Peace walked across Antarctica with a Pride flag in "a symbolic effort to declare full human rights for all lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people living in or visiting Antartica."
Westboro Baptist Church (WBC) is an American church known for its use of inflammatory hate speech, especially against LGBT+ people, Catholics (anti-Catholicism), Orthodox Christians (anti-Orthodoxy), atheists (anti-atheism), Muslims (Islamophobia), Jews (antisemitism), Romani people (antiziganism), and U.S. soldiers and politicians (anti-Americanism). Multiple sources describe it as a hate group and the WBC is monitored as such by the Anti-Defamation League and the Southern Poverty Law Center. The church has been involved in actions against gay people since at least 1991, when it sought a crackdown on homosexual activity at Gage Park six blocks northwest of the church. In addition to conducting anti-gay protests at military funerals, the organization pickets celebrity funerals and public events. Protests have also been held against Jews and Catholics, and some protests have included WBC members stomping on the American flag or flying the flag upside down on a flagpole. The church also has made statements such as "thank God for dead soldiers," "God blew up the troops," "thank God for 9/11," and "God hates America." The church has faced several accusations of brainwashing and has been criticised for resembling a cult.
Google Earth is a computer program that renders a 3D representation of Earth based on satellite imagery. The program maps the Earth by superimposing satellite images, aerial photography, and GIS data onto a 3D globe, allowing users to see cities and landscapes from various angles. Users can explore the globe by entering addresses and coordinates, or by using a keyboard or mouse. The program can also be downloaded on a smartphone or tablet, using a touch screen or stylus to navigate. Users may use the program to add their own data using Keyhole Markup Language and upload them through various sources, such as forums or blogs. Google Earth is able to show various kinds of images overlaid on the surface of the earth and is also a Web Map Service client.
