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Freedom fighters: Give unsung champions of liberty the credit they deserve
ARE you one of Yorkshire's hidden heroes?
The British Library is launching a search to find Yorkshire's undiscovered human rights revolutionaries.
To mark the new exhibition Taking Liberties – The Struggle for British Freedoms and Rights, the library is asking Yorkshire Post readers to nominate local people from the past or present who have made a difference by standing up for the rights most of us take for granted.
The organisers hope to gather a group of people from all over Britain who have fought for what they believe in but have not had the recognition they deserve.
Whether you know someone who has spoken out against racism, campaigned for the environment or if you have a relative who was involved with a historical movement like the Suffragettes, we want to hear from you.
Yorkshire Post readers are invited to email their suggestions of people they think deserve to bracketed with historical figures like William Wilberforce, who lead the movement to abolish slavery.
Yorkshire's nominated hero will be invited to the British Library in London with hidden heroes from across the country to attend an awards ceremony and see a preview of the exhibition.
If the selected hero is now dead, family members will be invited to represent them.
Heather Norman-Soderlind, exhibition project manager, wants the search to reveal local campaigners who have worked tirelessly for people's rights, expecting no glory in return.
She said: "Unlike France or the United States, Britain does not have a roll call of revolutionaries or civil rights campaigners; there are too few squares named after the men and women who down the centuries have fought to right political or civil wrongs."
She believes local heroes, both contemporary and historical, deserve to sit alongside the historical figures children learn about in school.
She added: "The Hidden Heroes and Heroines campaign seeks to recognise some of these people, together with the town or region where they lived, who have stood up for what they believed in and had an impact on social or political change in this country."
The exhibition will explore the lives of those who fought for our freedoms throughout history.
Exhibits will include the Magna Carta from 1215 and the death warrant of Charles I, signed by Oliver Cromwell.
To send us your nomination email us at yponline@ypn.co.uk
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Friday 10 February 2012
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