Jaqueline Rivers

Rivers Was Appointed To The Commission On Unalienable Rights In 2019 Which Has Sparked Concern Among Human Rights Activists

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo Appointed Rivers To The Newly-Formed Commission On Unalienable Rights In 2019. “The definition of human rights has ‘lost focus,’ according to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who told reporters Monday that he's launching a new advisory committee to ‘review the role of human rights in American public policy.’ He announced the new "Unalienable Rights" commission in a Wall Street Journal op-ed on Sunday… The panel will be chaired by Harvard Professor and Human Rights scholar Mary Ann Glendon and will include Russell Berman, Peter Berkowitz, Paolo Carozza, Shaykh Hamza Yusuf Hanson, Jacqueline Rivers, Kiron Skinner, Meir Soloveichik, Katrina Lantos Swett, Christopher Tollefsen and David Tse-Chien Pan, and F. Cartwrite Weiland.” [CBS News, 7/8/19]

The Commission On Unalienable Rights Was Announced In May 2019 And Launched In July 2019

In Its May 2019 Announcement Of The New Commission, The State Department Noted It Will Have Advisory Powers. “The State Department recently published a brief, enigmatic notice announcing the formation of a new Commission on Unalienable Rights. With a modest budget of $385,074 and merely advisory powers, the commission received little attention beyond head-scratching over its strange name. Yet the significance of the endeavor should not be overlooked. It puts the government’s imprimatur on an assault upon one of the cornerstones of modern liberalism: international human rights. According to the commission’s draft charter, its job will be to explore ‘reforms of human rights discourse where it has departed from our nation’s founding principles of natural law and natural rights’.” [Washington Post, 6/14/19]

The State Department Formally Launched The Commission In July 2019. “The State Department will formally launch on Monday an advisory commission on human rights that has engendered controversy since it was proposed.” [Washington Post, 7/8/19]

• Secretary Of State Mike Pompeo Coopted Human Rights-Based Language To Formally Launch State’s “Commission On Unalienable Rights.” “Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Monday unveiled a new Commission on Unalienable Rights, a panel he said is aimed at providing him with ‘an informed review of the role of human rights in American foreign policy.’… In remarks at the State Department on Monday, Pompeo noted that “words like ‘rights’ can be used by good or evil,” decrying how some have ‘hijacked’ human rights rhetoric to be used for ‘dubious or malignant purposes.’” [Politico, 7/8/19]

The Commission On Unalienable Rights Champions “Traditional Values” Using Human Rights As A Justification — Despite The Trump Administration’s Consistent Efforts To Undermine Human Rights

The Trump Administration Has Not Supported International Human Rights — Yet Tries To Use The New Commission And Rights-Based Language To Achieve Their Preferred Policies. “Donald Trump is not known as a supporter of international human rights. However, late last week, the Trump State Department announced a new Commission on Unalienable Rights to provide advice and recommendations regarding international human rights policy. Advocacy NGOs are likely to be unhappy, as the commission is likely to attack many of their preferred policies, using human rights — albeit a very different set of rights than most activists prefer — as a justification.” [Washington Post, 6/6/19]

The New Commission Will Likely Prioritize “Natural Family” And “Traditional Values” To Limit Reproductive Rights, Gun Control And Immigration. “The Trump Commission on Unalienable Rights is likely to champion the “natural family” and “traditional values.”… The United States has sought to purge all references to ‘sexual and reproductive health’ at the United Nations since 2017. This term, favored by mainstream human rights activists, is viewed by conservatives as code for abortion, gay and transgender rights, as well as other acts or identities that they see as ‘unnatural.’…Another likely commission favorite will be the right to individual self-defense as a justification for opposing international and domestic gun control… Natural rights could also be used to justify a tougher stance on immigration, as the expression of the sovereign right of a people to protect its territorial integrity and established culture. This clashes with a long-standing concern of human rights groups, the rights of immigrants and refugees. But it jibes well with the sentiments of nationalist movements in Europe and elsewhere, who often promote the rights of majorities.” [Washington Post, 6/6/19]

Human Rights Groups Focusing On LGBTQ Rights Have Decried The Commission And Its Appointees

GLAAD: The Commission Is A “Farce.” Sarah Kate Ellis, the CEO of GLAAD, called the commission a ‘farce’ and accused the Trump administration of ‘knowingly appointing activists who have made careers out of fighting against LGBTQ progress and is now providing them an opportunity to export their anti-LGBTQ activism around the world through the U.S. State Department.’ [NBC News, 7/10/19]

LGBTQ Advocacy Group GLAAD Found That The Majority Of The Commission’s Appointees, Including Rivers, Have Histories Of Fighting LGBTQ Progress. “An analysis by LGBTQ advocacy group GLAAD found that 7 of the 10 people named to the commission have a history of "fighting against LGBTQ progress." Among the members flagged by GLAAD are…Jacqueline Rivers, who in 2014 said same-sex marriages diminish straight unions.” [NBC News, 7/10/19]

Rivers Is Executive Director Of The Seymour Institute On Black And Policy Studies — A “Pro-Life, Pro-Family” Organization Committed To Defending Marriage As Between Men And Women

Rivers Believes Life Begins At Conception; Her Anti-Abortion Views Are Reflected In The Organization She Leads

Rivers, Who Has Argued That Life Begins At Conception, Is Executive Director Of The Seymour Institute, A “Pro-Life” Organization. “Jacqueline Rivers, who has cited George and Tollefsen’s book as proof that life begins at conception, is also the Executive Director of the Seymour Institute on Black and Policy Studies, an institute with the goal of creating and promoting ‘a philosophical and theological framework for a pro-poor, pro-life, pro-family movement within the ecumenical Black Church both domestically and internationally.’” [Columbia Human Rights Law Review, 12/1/19]

The Seymour Institute’s Position Is That Marriage Is Between Husband And Wife

A “Key Initiative” Of The Seymour Institute Is Defending The “Sanctity Of Human Life” And The Idea That Marriage Should Be Heterosexual. “A key initiative of the Institute is devoted to defending ‘the right of the church to pursue the practice of biblical faith and promote in society the sanctity of human life and the correct understanding of marriage as a conjugal partnership of husband and wife.’” [Columbia Human Rights Law Review, 12/1/19]

In A 2014 Colloquium Sponsored By The Vatican, Rivers Gave A Talk With Her Husband, Reverend Dr. Eugene Rivers, In Which She Warned That Marriage Between Same-Sex Couples Gives A “Profoundly False And Damaging Message” To Children

Rivers And Her Husband Spoke At A 2014 Vatican-Sponsored Humanum Colloquium “Affirming Traditional Marriage.” “The son of divorced parents who belonged to the Nation of Islam when he was growing up in Chicago, Rev. Dr. Eugene Rivers has been speaking out for the revival of Christian family values in the black community for more than 30 years. Now located in Boston, he is a nationally-known inner-city pastor of a Church of God in Christ, the largest historically-black Pentecostal denomination in the US. His wife, Dr. Jacqueline Rivers, earned her Ph.D. in African-American Studies and Sociology at Harvard University, where she met her husband. She is the Executive Director of the Seymour Institute for Black Church and Policy Studies, founded by Rev. Rivers. The couple presented the eloquent closing statement, entitled “A New Affirmation of Marriage,” at the Vatican-sponsored Humanum colloquium affirming traditional marriage in November (see our December 2014 issue for complete text).” [Inside the Vatican, 1/1/15]

Rivers Claimed Extending The Right To Marry To All Was Destroying The “Permanent Bond” Of Marriage. “Dr. Rivers called marriage a ‘permanent bond’ and a ‘divinely established order’ that ‘creates unity at every level of husband and wife: physical, emotional, volitional and spiritual.’ However, she said, ‘sexual partnerships between persons of the same sex are being legally recognized as ‘marriages,’ thus abolishing in law the principle of marriage as a conjugal union and reducing it to nothing other than sexual or romantic companionship.’” [Inside the Vatican, 1/1/15]

Rivers Claimed Marriage Equality Was Sending A “Profoundly False And Damaging” Message To Children That They Do Not Need A Mother And A Father. “Echoing Pope Francis’ statement that ‘children have a right to grow up in a family with a father and a mother,’ Dr. Rivers warned that “the unavoidable message” of same-sex marriage ‘is a profoundly false and damaging one: that children do not need a mother and father in a permanent complementary bond.’” [Inside the Vatican, 1/1/15]

Rivers, Who Is A Sociology Lecturer At Harvard, Spoke At A 2017 Event Hosted By Harvard Law Students For Life With Mary Ann Glendon, A Harvard Colleague And Chair Of The Commission On Unalienable Rights

Rivers Spoke On A 2017 Harvard Law Students For Life Panel Entitled “Why We Are Pro-Life: Dignity, Equality, Human Rights” — With Glendon 

At The Harvard Law Students For Life Panel, Rivers Discussed Her Anti-Abortion Views As A Matter Shaped By Faith, Race, And Socioeconomic Status. “Harvard Law Students for Life hosted a standing room only panel yesterday at noon, featuring Mary Ann Glendon, Robbie George, and Jacqueline Rivers. Their common topic: ‘Why We Are Pro-Life: Dignity, Equality, Human Rights.’ Jacqueline Rivers spoke next, beginning with a firm statement that her pro-life views are rooted in her Christian faith: human life is sacred, science indicates that human life begins at conception, and all lives--regardless of race, gender, social condition, stage of development--are created in the image of God. As an African American woman, she said that she had a special concern for abortion's impact upon the African American community (black women make up 14% of the female population but have 40% of the abortions). She spoke at good length about the intersection of poverty, abortion, out-of-wedlock childbearing, and the retreat from marriage. Her work seeks to challenge the ecumenical black church - the most religious ethnic group in the country - to create a movement that is pro-poor, pro-life, pro-family.” [Mirror of Justice, 10/6/17]

Rivers Signed Onto A 2016 Open Letter To Hillary Rodham Clinton Calling Her Pro-Choice Position “Reminiscent Of Totalitarianism” And A Denial Of Religious Freedom

The 2016 Open Letter Calls For “Biblical Principle And Natural Law” To Determine Abortion Laws In The United States

Rivers Signed Onto The Letter Expressing Concern Over The “Increasing Moral Complicity With Abortion.” “In a letter to Hillary Clinton, Rivers co-signed onto an argument that demonstrates how she views the right to abortion as situated in relation to natural law: ‘Biblical principle and natural law, both of which prohibit the taking of innocent human life, compel our concern about the increasing moral complicity with abortion.’” [Columbia Human Rights Law Review, 12/1/19]

The Letter Called Clinton’s Pro-Choice Position “Reminiscent Of Totalitarianism” And A Denial Of Religious Freedom

The Letter Accused Clinton Of Totalitarianism, Denying Religious Freedom Due To A Speech Calling For Reduced Stigmatization Of Abortion. “Secretary Clinton, we are also very concerned about your position regarding unborn children and the black church’s commitment to defend them. In April 2015 in a speech before the National Organization of Women you stated ‘Far too many women are still denied critical access to reproductive health care and safe childbirth… Laws have to be backed up with resources and political will. And deep-seated cultural codes, religious beliefs and structural biases have to be changed…’ For political leaders to call for changes in citizens’ beliefs is reminiscent of totalitarianism. In our view, such a proposal constitutes a denial of our religious freedom.” [Seymour Institute, Open Letter To Hillary Clinton, October 2016]

The Letter Called Abortion “The Deliberate Destruction Of Human Life In Its Most Vulnerable State”



The Letter Called Equates Opposing Abortion With Opposing Racism. “The vast majority of black churches hold biblical teaching, which is eternal, as authoritative for doctrine and practice. Abortion is the deliberate destruction of a human life in its most vulnerable state. Biblical principle and natural law, both of which prohibit the taking of innocent human life, compel our concern about the increasing moral complicity with abortion. For the same reasons that we as black Christian leaders oppose racism, unjust wars, capital punishment and euthanasia, we oppose the violent denial of life to the unborn through abortion. It is our view that human life is a gift of God that we are called upon to protect, nurture and sustain, because we are created in God’s image. Therefore, our opposition to abortion is a logical outgrowth of our view that there must be justice for all. Particularly relevant is the innocence of the unborn child. The Bible places an extremely high value on human life and particularly on the lives of the innocent who are under the special protection of God. Those who take the life of the innocent violate a key biblical principle as well as a fundamental principle of natural justice.” [Seymour Institute, Open Letter To Hillary Clinton, October 2016]


Rivers Signed A 2015 Open Letter Stating That Allowing Marriage For Same-Sex Couples Is A Threat To Religious Freedom

Shortly Before The Supreme Court Affirmed LGBTQ Couples’ Right To Marry, Rivers Signed Onto A Letter Defending Marriage As “The Union Of One Man And One Woman” 

The Letter Defended Marriage As “The Union Of One Man And One Woman.” “At this significant time in our nation’s history with the institution of marriage before the United States Supreme Court, we reaffirm our commitment to promote and defend marriage—the union of one man and one woman. As religious leaders from various faith communities, we acknowledge that marriage is the foundation of the family where children are raised by a mother and a father together. Our commitment to marriage has been expressed on previous occasions, including the Letter of Shared Commitment and Letter on Marriage and Religious Liberty. This commitment is inseparable from affirming the equal dignity of all people and the necessity of protecting their basic rights.” [Open Letter from Religious Leaders to All in Positions of Public Service, 4/23/15]

The Open Letter Falsely Insinuated That Only Children Raised By Heterosexual Couples Could Be Raised In Stable, Loving Homes

The Letter Argued That The State Has An Interest In Blocking Marriage Between Same-Sex Couples For “The Well-Being Of Children.” “The state has a compelling interest in maintaining marriage as it has been understood across faiths and cultures for millennia because it has a compelling interest in the well-being of children. Every child has a mother and a father, and every child deserves the opportunity, whenever possible, to be raised by his or her own married mother and father in a stable, loving home. Marriage as the union of a man and a woman is the only institution that encourages and safeguards the connection between children and their mother and father. Although this connection cannot always be realized and sustained—and many single parents, for example, are heroic in their efforts to raise their children—it is in the best interests of the state to encourage and uphold the family founded on marriage and to afford the union of husband and wife unique legal protection and reinforcement.” [Open Letter from Religious Leaders to All in Positions of Public Service, 4/23/15]

The Letter Fear-Mongered That Marriage Equality Has “Serious Consequences” For Religious Freedom

The Letter States That Marriage Equality Infringes Religious Freedom, And Those Opposed To Marriage Equality Must Be Protected By The Government. “The redefinition of legal marriage to include any other type of relationship has serious consequences, especially for religious freedom. It changes every law involving marital status, requiring that other such relationships be treated as if they were the same as the marital relationship of a man and a woman. No person or community, including religious organizations and individuals of faith, should be forced to accept this redefinition. For many people, accepting a redefinition of marriage would be to act against their conscience and to deny their religious beliefs and moral convictions. Government should protect the rights of those with differing views of marriage to express their beliefs and convictions without fear of intimidation, marginalization or unwarranted charges that their values imply hostility, animosity, or hatred of others.” [Open Letter from Religious Leaders to All in Positions of Public Service, 4/23/15]

Rivers Has Called Religious Freedom A “God-Given Right And Responsibility,” And Fear-Mongers That Such Freedom Is Under Attack To The Detriment Of Black Americans

In Remarks Entitled “Why Religious Freedom Matters To Me,” Rivers Called Religious Freedom A “God-Given Right And Responsibility.” “Dr. Jacqueline Rivers began the session with her remarks titled “Why Religious Freedom Matters to Me.” She labeled religious freedom as a “God-given right and responsibility,” and urged those in attendance to live consistently within their religious convictions. She expounded on the meaning of religious freedom, calling it service for the poor and citing examples of giving food to the hungry, housing to the elderly, and working with the police in Boston to turn around a huge crime wave. Dr. Rivers closed by speaking of the importance of sharing our religious beliefs, referring to Peter and John in Acts chapter 4, who were forbidden by the Sanhedrin to teach or preach: “as for us, we cannot help speaking about the things we have seen and heard.”” [International Center for Law and Religion Studies, accessed 2/17/20]

In Speaking At A 2015 Georgetown Panel, Entitled “Religious Freedom: Rising Threats To A Fundamental Human Right”, Rivers Called Out “Intolerance Of Faith” As A Threat To The Black Community

Rivers Spoke On A 2015 Panel Entitled “Religious Freedom: Rising Threats To A Fundamental Human Right.” [Georgetown University Berkeley Center For Religion, Peace & World Affairs, 7/16/15]

Rivers Called “The Rising Intolerance Of Faith” A Threat To The Black Community, Particularly Black Women. “In a society in which there is rising intolerance of faith and taking a stand against the culture, that really becomes to some extent a threat to us in the black community and in particular to black women.” [Georgetown University Berkeley Center For Religion, Peace & World Affairs, 7/16/15]

At The 2015 Georgetown Panel, Rivers Made False Claims With Regard To Black Women’s Support For Abortion 

On This Panel, Rivers Falsely Claimed That Black Women “Are More Likely To Oppose Abortion”… “Black women… we are more likely to oppose abortion.” [Georgetown University Berkeley Center For Religion, Peace & World Affairs, 7/16/15, 40:12]

…In Reality, The Majority Of Black Women Oppose Overturning Roe v. Wade. 

[Axios Poll, 9/12/18]