Mary Shaw leads Amnesty Int'l USA in the Philly area.
By: Sulaiman Abdur-Rahman
Published: 3/24/07
Section: News
PHILADELPHIA - Mary Shaw commands respect in Southeastern
Pennsylvania. Although most people may not be familiar with her
name, many recognize the organization she represents.
At 49 years old, Shaw is the Philadelphia area coordinator of
Amnesty International USA. With the Amnesty non-profit being founded
in England in 1961 as the civil rights movement was gaining steam in
the United States, Shaw wishes her birth happened a decade earlier.
"Sometimes I look at the '60s and think I was born 10 years too
late," Shaw said. "I would have loved to have done activism" back
then.
Shaw has been an Amnesty member since the 1980s and became the
coordinator of the greater Philadelphia region in 2003. It's a role
that suits Shaw well. "I'm an action-oriented person," she said.
"I'm not the kind of person who sits around and frets."
Shaw's colleagues recognize and appreciate her leadership.
"I believe Mary has been extremely effective," said Amy Wenzel,
leader of the Philadelphia Amnesty group in Center City.
"It is clear that [Shaw's] Amnesty International work is her
first priority," Wenzel said in an e-mail. "She provides tremendous
support to local group coordinators like myself. I can always count
on her for help, insight and encouragement."
Shaw oversees several local groups and student chapters of
Amnesty International USA. Among her responsibilities is to partake
in public speaking engagements and build coalitions with other
organizations, such as the American Civil Liberties Union, to
educate others on, and fight against, human rights abuses. This
coalition-building has particularly picked up with the birth of the
war on terror and the affect it has over the advancement or
regression of human rights.
Nevertheless, that level of group management is a huge deal for
the shy woman who grew up impoverished in a rural central
Pennsylvania town. "When I was young I was very shy," Shaw said,
noting that most people don't realize she still is.
"I think the work I do and making the speeches I give is helping
me to overcome" my shyness, she said. "The more I've done it, the
less shy I've become. Each time it's a confidence-building thing."
But Shaw has faced much bigger obstacles than shyness. Born the
daughter of unmarried teenage parents, Shaw was given up for
adoption not long after her birth. Shaw grew up in an Italian
household in Renovo, Pa. She described that rural locale as a
"small, depressed, coal-mining town" where "everyone was white."
Town residents were "really intolerant" of others, said Shaw, who
recalled being insulted after showing pictures of her black and
Asian friends to Renovo residents. And to the dismay of her adoptive
parents, Shaw, a Caucasian, said she briefly dated a black man when
growing up as a young adult.
To Shaw, that was a form of rebellion. However, Shaw also says
her early experience in race relations has contributed to her desire
to liberate victims of human rights abuses worldwide.
Shaw speaks out against things such as torture, the death penalty
and the detainment of prisoners of conscience - that is, people
arrested for peacefully expressing views the government opposes -
among other issues dear to human rights.
Shaw says anything concerning human rights is equally important.
"We do not rank human rights abuses," Shaw said. "Every human rights
abuse is wrong and egregious."
As for why Shaw continues her human rights activism, she says she
feels it's the right thing to do and it gives her an unparalleled
sense of personal satisfaction.
"When prisoners of conscience hug me and thank me on their
behalf," Shaw said, "how can I stop" fighting for their rights?
Even though Shaw dedicates a large chunk of her life fighting to
secure human rights for people worldwide, her position with Amnesty
is a hobby rather than a job. Shaw is volunteering to serve as the
Philadelphia area coordinator for the non-profit.
To pay the bills, Shaw works a day job as a technical writer for
a suburban software company. Shaw received a bachelor's degree in
computer science in '88 from Arcadia University, which was then
named Beaver College.
Shaw divorced her husband after a short-lived marriage and has no
children. "I probably missed out on a really cool thing by not
having kids," Shaw said, but quickly added, "I don't feel bad about
it. It just wasn't in the cards."
Shaw says growing up during the women's liberation movement in
the '60s and '70s has allowed her to feel comfortable about her
decision to not have children. The movement "made it OK to be a
strong career woman," she said.
Shaw has considered the possibility of getting a paid staff
position for Amnesty International USA, but the thought of doing
activism for a job and having to relocate near the nation's capital
or New York has deterred Shaw from pursuing an Amnesty staff
position. She's content with her current situation living in the
Philadelphia region.
But as the Philadelphia area's top contact person for Amnesty,
Shaw receives dozens of e-mails and phone calls a week from Amnesty
members, political activists and news media outlets.
In addition to being quoted by the press, Shaw gets her own
writings published in the media. Shaw uses her status as a
syndicated columnist to spread her human rights messages around the
region in newspapers and the world via the Internet.
Occasionally Shaw will have a column in the Philadelphia Daily
News, and her work appears on Web sites such as OpEdNews.com.
Furthermore, Shaw maintains her own blog, phillyfreedom.blogspot.com, which she usually
updates a few days every week.
Shaw has received lots of praise for her opinion articles, but
she also received her fair share of hate mail, too. But Shaw doesn't
let the nasty messages bother her. "You can't take it personal,"
Shaw said. When taking a stand on a controversial issue, "You're
going to strike a nerve," she added.
Shaw's writing prowess may also be a reflection of her roots in
journalism. Before Arcadia, Shaw attended what's now known as Lock
Haven University as a journalism and information technology double
major.
Shaw says her background in computers and journalism has
complemented her as an advocate of global change on behalf of human
rights. As for her roots in rural life, Shaw prefers the bustling
urban environment of the city. Shaw says she fell in love with city
life in her youth when she left Renovo, Pa., to visit family in
Philadelphia and Washington, D.C.
In rural settings, "There wasn't a lot to offer an inquisitive,
intellectual person like me," Shaw said, noting the enterprising and
multicultural aspect prevalent in U.S. cities. "I'm not a laid-back
person."
Indeed, Shaw's high energy has captivated the Amnesty volunteers
she works with. "She has reinvigorated AI's presence and work in the
Philly area," said Kathleen Lucas, the York, Pa., area coordinator
for Amnesty International USA.
"Even though [Shaw] is a relative newcomer to AI, it feels like
she's been with us forever because she's so well-informed and
connected," Lucas said in an e-mail. "I love working with her. She
inspires me."
When Shaw isn't preoccupied with her duties for Amnesty, she
likes to use her leisure time to watch movies or cook. Having been
raised in an Italian household, "Cooking became a big, important
part of my life," Shaw said. "In Italian homes everything centers
around food."
As a vegetarian, Shaw will sometimes cook vegetarian gourmet
meals for her friends "just to prove to them that a satisfying meal
doesn't need to include meat."
But when all is said and done, Shaw wants to leave behind a
humanitarian legacy for people worldwide to acknowledge.
"I would like to be remembered," Shaw said, "as someone who never
gave up the fight for human rights."
Sulaiman
Abdur-Rahman can be reached at Sabdurr@gmail.com.
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Mary
Shaw's Web site
Mary
Shaw's blog
Philadelphia area Amnesty Web site
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