The Equity Report
April 2021
Sexual Assault Awareness Month
National Child Abuse Prevention Month
Arab-American Heritage Month
April 12: First Day of Ramadan
April 22: (Earth Day) ..... resource around environmental justice, equity
Celebrations and Acknowledgements
Holocaust Remembrance Day (April 8th)
Dear New England Educator: Holocaust Remembrance Day, known as Yom Hashoah in Jewish communities around the world, falls on April 8th this year. On this day, Jewish people commemorate the 6 million Jews who perished because of the actions carried out by Nazi Germany and their collaborators. We encourage you to embrace the somber day as a learning opportunity. In Spanish philosopher George Santayana’s words, “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it”, underscore the importance of reflecting on the lessons of the Holocaust and other genocides and connecting them to the present. Within New England and throughout the nation, incidents related to antisemitism and other forms of extremism and hate are on the rise, as evidenced by the Camp Auschwitz sweatshirt and other slogans glorifying the Holocaust at the U.S. Capitol on January 6th. This is particularly apparent in K-12 schools which have been defaced by swastikas and other hateful graffiti and online hate. Teaching about the Holocaust and genocides more broadly is a crucial step to combating this disturbing trend and can help build inclusive school communities. ADL is here as a resource and thought partner to help you create meaningful Holocaust Remembrance Day programming to fit your school community’s needs, including connecting you with a survivor for first-hand testimony. For Lesson Plans on Survivors and Liberators; Perpetrators, Collaborators, and Bystanders; Rescuers and Non-Jewish Resistance, among other important topics, visit ADL, The USC Shoah Foundation and Yad Vashem’s Echoes and Reflections website. To participate in a Virtual Field Trip to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, click here. For video testimony from Holocaust survivors who made Brookline, MA their home, watch the film Soul Witness: The Brookline Holocaust Witness Project available to rent and buy on-demand here. To engage directly with primary sources related to the Holocaust, visit Experiencing History: Holocaust Sources in Context. For curriculum guides for frequently assigned books about the Holocaust, check out the Museum of Jewish Heritage’s website. For various on-demand webinars, including a webinar on ideas for Holocaust Remembrance Day, visit the Facing History and Ourselves website. Contact the experts in our region at the Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies at Salem State University, Cohen Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies at Keene State College, and at Bristol Community College Holocaust and Genocide Center. Our greatest hope is that your school will use Holocaust Remembrance Day as an intentional space to better understand how bias and persecution escalates violent division and how this historical event can teach us to be active stewards of a more just world. Remembering the Holocaust is not just about recalling a singular global atrocity, but more an opportunity to recommit ourselves to fighting hate for good.
Here are a few resources from ADL and other organizations, including Facing History and Ourselves and the US Holocaust Memorial Museum, which provide educators with research-based strategies for teaching the Holocaust, to consider as a starting point in your planning.
ADL New England
Shout Out to Michaela Fischer from FHS
Link to Short Story
https://docs.google.com/document/d/191jL-2WLLYoXPGpXNX0qh0LECV5D39U9nEAAf8LWves/edit
Link to Follow-up Article
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1sLNaPDKe-yXhzXGZiCMPgBfSqRneNfTv7Oie4DdQFzg/edit
S/o to the Brophy Team!
S/o to Mary Bolt
S/o to Mary Bolt ( ELD Teacher/1st grade teacher) @ Brophy Elementary School for creating these informative student slides!
Take a look at Mary's PowerPoint below:
Are you a staff member interested in sitting on our DEI Task Force Committee?
We will be in touch later this week with next steps.