Reflections of a Guerrilla Educator by Daniel Horowitz Garcia Radical History Review 2008(102): 42-44 (2008) Human rights led me to history, and history led me to popular education. I learned about human rights from Amnesty International, but it was through independent research that I learned about the grassroots history behind the idea. Amnesty International’s view is that Eleanor Roosevelt came down from the United Nations with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, much like Moses coming down from the mountain. When I learned about human rights as a strategy to end colonialism and white supremacy I naively thought it would be a good idea to let folks know. The history of human rights is a story of an international movement challenging all of the great powers of the time and winning. I thought that if my colleagues and I studied hard enough we would find the secret plan to victory. I began using history in community work because I believed that if I could find lessons from the past, the present work would be easier. I came to the study of history because I was tired of losing. It’s been 20 years and I haven’t found a secret plan. In fact, studying history hasn’t lead to more victories. It’s made it easier to deal with the constant defeats.