by: Mark Onofrio April 17, 2013 Echoes and Reflections staff traveled to a remote area of Alaska to deliver the program’s first professional development program in the state. The Echoes and Reflections program has now offered professional development in 47 US states and District of Columbia. The program has provided educational resources on the Holocaust to over 18,000 educators and community members.
Deborah Batiste, Project Director for Echoes and Reflections, traveled from…
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Literature is a powerful vehicle for helping children understand their homes, communities and the world. Even before young children can read, family members, childcare providers and teachers read them stories about people in faraway places, sometimes from the distant past and sometimes about people whose lives are similar to their own. The impressions and messages contained in these stories can last a lifetime.
Books, at their best, invite children to use their imaginations, expand their…
by: Mark Onofrio January 18, 2013 Over the past few years the media has covered many stories about cyberbullying and its detrimental effects on youth. The research, and our own experiences, make it clear that cyberbullying hurts the youth targeted and creates a negative experience for those who witness the behavior. We also know that youth are often targeted online because of their identity, including their weight, real or perceived sexual orientation, gender expression,…
by: Mark Onofrio January 11, 2013 Applications for smartphones and tablets have become an emerging segment of the online and entertainment industry. As with videos, blogs and social networking platforms which came before, Apps are now being created that some consider funny, but which actually cross the line from humorous to offensive. Recent examples include two free apps on Google called “Make Me Asian” and “Make Me Indian,” that allow users to edit…
December 17, 2012
The recent news of the shootings of 20 young children and six adults at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut has had a devastating impact on both youth and adults across the country. In the face of this senseless violence, many are at a loss to find the words to express the depth of their feelings. Despite our best efforts to protect children from the details of such incidents, they are often more aware than we imagine of what is happening in the world…
On a daily basis—in the lunchroom, at the grocery store, in school hallways, in our political rhetoric and even at home—people hear and sometimes use words and phrases that demean, ridicule, offend or show ignorance about people from different groups and backgrounds. Regardless of whether the comments are deliberately malicious, said because the person lacks knowledge, or thought to be "a joke," such words are harmful and not only impact those on the receiving end but also everyone…
May 16, 2007 Mr. Esad Rizaj President Albanian American Society Foundation 2548 Davidson Avenue Bronx, NY 10468 Dear Mr. Rizaj: Thank you for sharing your concern that some people may blame and target Muslims, including Albanian-Americans, in the aftermath of the recent arrests in the Fort Dix case.
It is vitally important that we show strength and determination in fighting terrorism, and we congratulate those law enforcement authorities responsible for uncovering and successfully…
The Civil Rights Movement of the 1950’s and 1960’s came about out of the need and desire for equality and freedom for African Americans and other people of color. Nearly one hundred years after slavery was abolished, there was widespread segregation, discrimination, disenfranchisement and racially motivated violence that permeated all personal and structural aspects of life for black people. “Jim Crow” laws at the local and state levels barred African Americans from…
Americans with disabilities are a group of approximately 40.7 million people that today lead independent, self-affirming lives and who define themselves according to their personhood—their ideas, beliefs, hopes and dreams—above and beyond their disability. Since the mid 1900s, people with disabilities have pushed for the recognition of disability as an aspect of identity that influences the experiences of an individual, not as the sole-defining feature of a person. People with…
From Bloody Sunday to the Voting Rights Act: How One Day Changed the Course of Civil Rights History
March 7, 1965 — a day that would become known as Bloody Sunday — forever changed the course of American history. That day the nation’s attention turned to Selma, Alabama, where state troopers and a sheriff’s posse brutally attacked 575 demonstrators attempting to march peacefully to Montgomery. The marchers had gathered for two purposes: to advocate for voting…
What was Kristallnacht (kris'·tahl·nockt)?
Kristallnacht, the "Night of Broken Glass," was a wave of violent pogroms against Jews throughout Germany and Austria that took place on November 9-10, 1938. On the night of November 9th, the Gestapo (Nazi State Police) informed local police by telegram about the actions against Jews and their synagogues that would be taking place throughout Germany, instructing them not to interfere with what was happening. During these two nights,…
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