Speak Truth to Power

By Desa Philadelphia

Human-rights crusaders like Tibet's Dalai Lama and South Africa's Desmond Tutu are so celebrated in the U.S. that it can be easy to forget how dangerous and lonely their work can be. Kennedy Cuomo's interviews with 50 activists, including seven Nobel laureates, tell the stories of these courageous souls in their own sometimes straightforward words. East Timor's Jose Ramos-Horta remembers when the U.S. was a foe: "My own sister Maria was killed by a plane delivered to Indonesia two weeks before by the Carter Administration." Black-and-white portraits by the Pulitzer-prizewinning photographer Eddie Adams add power to the text. An exhibit of the photos will travel around the country later this year.

--By Desa Philadelphia