An Inspired Life: Remembering Ken Bacon

by Michelle . · 2009-08-16 16:07:00 UTC
Topics:

The human rights and humanitarian communities lost one of their most inspirational leaders this weekend: Ken Bacon, president of Refugees International, passed away on Saturday morning after a battle with cancer.

Mr. Bacon was a life-long human rights advocate, first as a journalist and then as a Pentagon public affairs spokesman during the Clinton Administration before moving to Refugees International. He was a true leader in the field, often among the first to speak  out on new displacement crises and the neglected protection needs of refugees. He was one of the first international advocates to call attention to the plight of the displaced in Darfur, and had recently turned his attention to the impact of climate change on displacement.

Just a few weeks ago, he joined the public debate over healthcare reform, with an op-ed in the Washington Post, titled A Cancer Patient's Perspective.

For the many of us who looked up to Mr. Bacon, his passing at age 64 feels like being cheated. But even more, he leaves behind a legacy to inspire and challenge anyone who takes a look at the world around them and refuses to be satisfied with the status quo.

For more information on Mr. Bacon's life and work, contributions from those he inspired, and information on making a memorial donation, visit Refugees International, and check out the outpouring of support from the blogosphere.

Michelle . has been involved in various activist endeavors, including the Teach Against Genocide pilot campaigns.
PREVIOUS STORY:
This Week's Highlights
NEXT STORY:
Campaign about Apple Factories in China Gains Wide and Diverse Support

COMMENTS (3)

    Comment Policy

    · All fields are required to comment.

    [X]

    Comments on Change.org are meant for further exploration and evaluation of the campaign on Change.org. To that end, we welcome constructive comments. However, we reserve the right to delete comments which, as determined solely in our discretion: (1) are offensive, abusive, or off-topic; (2) include content solely intended to personally attack the campaign creator, (3) are designed to subvert or hijack comment threads rather than contribute to them; and/or (4) violate our terms of service and/or privacy policy. Repeat offenders may be permanently removed from the site at our discretion. Please also be advised that: (A) we do not actively curate and/or monitor in any manner whatsoever the comments made on the Change.org platform, and (B) the creator of each campaign on Change.org may remove any comment at her/his/its discretion.