TOLI STATEMENT ON RACISM AND PROTESTS IN THE US
We at TOLI, like so many others, are deeply disturbed over the senseless killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis, Breonna Taylor in Louisville, and the far too many other Black people who have died because of systemic racism. It is unacceptable that the scourge of racism, inequality before the law and social injustice are still prevalent in American society.
We support the peaceful protests that have taken place around the US and the world and hope they will provide a catalyst for long overdue change.
BRINGING LESSONS OF THE HOLOCAUST TO THE CLASSROOM
TOLI in US and Europe
United States
As a result of the coronavirus crisis, TOLI has shifted to virtual programming for much of its activities in the US and Europe. There is still the possibility of in-person programs in Europe later this year. However, in the interests of safety, TOLI has shifted most of its summer programs – 16 seminars were scheduled across the US – to online platforms.
In the US, TOLI will offer new online programs for its large network of alumni which will include lectures on antisemitism, film screenings, and conversations with Holocaust survivors. There will also be a study group for all of TOLI’s satellite leaders on the topic of systemic racism and how Holocaust education can address institutional, cultural, and personal change. Continue to US Programs in 2020.
Europe
In Europe, where seminars were planned for nine countries, programs have shifted over extended period of time online. (Programs scheduled for the fall in Italy, Greece, Lithuania, Ukraine are still to be decided) Much of the emphasis will be devoted to the hundreds of TOLI alumni,
providing support for teachers.
The highlight in 2020 for TOLI Europe is a 10-week online seminar for 40 teachers from several European countries. Coordinated by TOLI European Director Oana Nestian-Sandu, this will be TOLI’s first transnational seminar for European teachers, bringing together teachers from various countries. For more information, see International Programs in 2020.
TOLI Featured Teacher, Bettina Pope: Creating Change Agents Through Holocaust Education
Bettina Pope, a teacher in Wake Forest, NC and TOLI alumnae, sees the impact of her teaching the Holocaust has in today’s anti-racism movement.
“I believe in creating change agents,” says Bettina Pope, a teacher in Wake Forest, NC., about her students. And has long felt that her work as a Holocuast educator would lead to change in the world outside the classroom walls.
Participating in TOLI’s professional development seminar in Jackson, Mississippi had a large impact on how she goes about her teaching. And it translates today into the widespread movement for racial justice.
“The first thing that comes to mind is a quote by Elie Wiesel: ‘The opposite of love is not hate; the opposite of love is indifference.’” Bettina says when asked about the current Black Lives Matter movement. “In Holocaust education, we after talk about the role of the bystander. What I am seeing with the BLM movement is that more and more people are refusing to be bystanders. History, specifically the Holocaust, has taught us what happens when good people stand by and do nothing. This generation is the first to have had the benefit of a more comprehensive Holocaust education and I believe that they are putting what they have learned into action. They refuse to be bystanders!” Read full story here
TOLI in the News
“Stamped” Antiracist Reading Group, Mississippi—Tracei Willis, Wendy Zagray Warren
The Mississippi Satellite opened an invitation to educators who signed up for an intensive weeklong reading, reflecting, and discussing Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You, by Jason Reynolds and Ibram X. […continue]
CNN- The Portuguese diplomat who saved thousands of people and lost everything except his good name
Op-ed in CNN about Portuguese Holocaust hero Sousa Mendes by TOLI board members, Arthur Berger and Harry D. Wall. “Sousa Mendes’ actions carry an important lesson for today. In a […continue]
Mini-Grants
Graduates of TOLI Summer Seminars are eligible to apply for mini-grants to support projects in their classrooms, their schools, and their communities. Grants are awarded to support a wide variety of classroom work, visits by Holocaust survivors, field trips to Holocaust centers and other relevant sites, and extended programming and community outreach that bring Holocaust and social justice education to wider audiences.
Learn about Mini-Grants
Euro-Grants
Graduates of our summer seminars in Europe are eligible to apply for mini-grants of up to $300 for projects in their classrooms, their schools, and their communities. These grants have been used to support teaching students about the Holocaust, human rights, Jewish life in their country or community, discrimination, tolerance, and respect for diversity.
Learn about Euro-GrantsSatellite Programs
While TOLI has had to cancel or alter these programs because of coronavirus, the following indicates the many seminars scheduled in 2020 and that will take place in 2021.
The Satellite Seminars bring TOLI programs to teachers across the country. These five-day seminars are designed to provide a collaborative and safe environment in which teachers can explore the difficult subject of the Holocaust and other genocides. While each Satellite focuses on local issues, the overall goal is for teachers in all of the Satellites to leave with strategies, materials, and ideas for use in their own classrooms. One long-term goal is for teachers to become advocates for social change and to return to their classrooms with action plans that will enable them and their students to have a positive impact on their communities.
Satellite Locations
- TOLI's first online seminar,
- Phoenix, Arizona
- Ligonier, Indiana
- Baton Rouge, Louisiana
- Salisbury, Maryland
- Farmington Hills, Michigan
- Saint Cloud, Minnesota
- Jackson, Mississippi
- Billings, Montana
- Albuquerque, New Mexico
- Charlotte, North Carolina
- Tulsa, Oklahoma
- Portland, Oregon
- Sterling, Virginia
- Milwaukee (Fox Point), Wisconsin
International Programs
While TOLI has had to cancel or alter these programs because of coronavirus, the following indicates the many seminars scheduled in 2020 and that will take place in 2021.
TOLI has been steadily expanding its reach overseas after identifying a critical need to support teachers in Europe. Since 2012, TOLI has been providing important resources to European educators with limited or no access to the tools they need to engage students in the study of the Holocaust and social justice issues.