Understanding to Action: Our choices, our roles, our responsibilities

 

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The Georgia Commission on the Holocaust, the British Consulate-General of Atlanta and the Center for Civil and Human Rights have partnered to present an evening connecting and examining the increased relevance of moral themes from the Holocaust in Europe and the Civil Rights Movement in the United States.

The call to action in combating injustice, prejudice, and discrimination resonates with greater significance through the exploration of these periods of history and their connections to current global issues such as the continued violation of human rights in areas throughout the world. These and other themes will be discussed by a panel of experienced academics, advocates, and activists.

England was the first European country to make teaching about the Holocaust a mandatory part of curriculum in secondary schools. Holocaust education addresses one of the central mandates of education in the United States, which is to examine what it means to be a responsible citizen. As two of the founding member countries of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance, the United Kingdom and the United States share a solemn commitment to ensuring that evils such as genocide, racism, and antisemitism are eradicated through education and legislation.

Aside from Georgia’s own unique history from the Civil War through the Civil Rights Movement, it is one of only 13 states with a secular and non-partisan Holocaust commission. It is also home to the Center for Civil and Human Rights in downtown Atlanta which inspires and empowers visitors to join the ongoing dialogue about human rights in their communities. 

Through the work of state agencies, national institutions, and international organizations the fight against prejudice and discrimination has expanded beyond combating Holocaust denial and hate speech. This call to action must be accompanied by a true understanding of our choices and our responsibilities.

The program will be preceded by a reception starting at 6pm with the panelists and Holocaust survivors. 

This event is free and open to the public.

 

The Panel

Moderated by Dina Bailey

 

Moderator: Dina Bailey is the Director of Educational Strategies for the National Center for Civil and Human Rights in Atlanta, Georgia. In fulfilling this mission, Ms. Bailey oversees three major components of the institution – interpretation/content, educational initiatives, and community programming.  Prior to working at the National Center for Civil and Human Rights, Dina was the Director of Museum Experiences for the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center where she oversaw the entire programmatic side of the institution. Dina began her career as a high school English teacher – teaching American Literature and Advanced Placement English. Her degrees include a Bachelor of Science in Middle/Secondary Education from Butler University; a Masters in Anthropology of Development and Social Transformation from the University of Sussex; and, a graduate certification in Museum Studies from the University of Cincinnati. Ms. Bailey has been published in both the formal education and museum fields. 

Abdullahi Ahmed An-Na'im

 

Abdullahi Ahmed An-Na'im (from Sudan) is the Charles Howard Candler Professor of Law at Emory Law, associated professor in the Emory College of Arts and Sciences, and Senior Fellow of the Center for the Study of Law and Religion of Emory University. An internationally recognized scholar of Islam and human rights and human rights in cross-cultural perspectives, Professor An-Na'im teaches courses in international law, comparative law, human rights, and Islamic law. His research interests include constitutionalism in Islamic and African countries, secularism, and Islam and politics. 

There are two main aspects to An-Na’im’s work, both arising from his personal experiences as a Muslim from Northern Sudan struggling to reconcile his Islamic faith and identity with his commitment to universal acceptance of and respect for human rights. First, he is striving to promote two interrelated objectives, namely, a liberal modernist understanding of Islam, and the cultural legitimacy and practical efficacy of international human rights standards. This side of his vision and commitment has resulted in a wide range of publications, particularly in relation to Islamic and African societies. Second, he is concerned with rendering scholarship in the effective service of positive social change, especially in relation to the twin objectives mentioned above. This concern is reflected in his work in human rights advocacy in general, as well as the development and implementation of several public policy-oriented projects since he joined the Faculty of Emory Law School in 1995.

Norbert Friedman

Norbert Friedman was born in Krakow, Poland, in 1922. Germany invaded Poland on September 1, 1939. Britain and France declared war two days later. Norbert was imprisoned in 11 concentration camps including Dachau and Flossenbürg. He was liberated from a death march by the U.S. Army on May 1, 1945. He worked as an interpreter for the Fourth Armored Division until the fall of 1946 when he began studying for a career in journalism at Johan Wolfgang Goethe University in Frankfurt, Germany. He immigrated to the United States in 1950. He served as a Gallery Educator and a member of the Speakers Bureau at the Museum of Jewish Heritage in New York. He moved to Atlanta in 2010 where he has shared his story to audiences at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, University of Georgia, Kennesaw State University and various religious institutions. 

M. Alexis Scott

 

M. Alexis Scott is the daughter of World War II veteran and civil rights activist William Alexander “W.A.”  Scott III. During WWII, W.A. was assigned to the 183rd Engineer Combat Battalion as a reconnaissance sergeant, photographer, camoufleur and part-time historian in the S-2 (Intelligence Section). He took photographs at the liberation of Buchenwald concentration camp in April 1945. After the war, W.A. returned to Atlanta and completed his education at Morehouse. On July 16, 1948, President Harry S. Truman issued Executive Order 9981 which abolished racial discrimination in the armed forces. That same year, W.A. became circulation manager of The Atlanta Daily World, the nation’s first black-owned daily newspaper in the 20th century which was founded by his father in 1928. W.A. served on the committee to celebrate the first official national holiday commemorating the life of Martin Luther King, Jr. W.A. served as member of the Georgia Commission on the Holocaust and was appointed by President George H.W. Bush to the United States Holocaust Memorial Council.

Alexis is a graduate of Booker T. Washington High School. She attended Barnard College in New York City and Spelman College in Atlanta. Following a 22-year career with the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Alexis joined the family business in 1997. She is publisher of The Atlanta Daily World and a regular commentator on FOX 5 Atlanta’s “The Georgia Gang” program. In 2011 she was inducted with her family into the inaugural Atlanta Press Club Hall of Fame. She received a 2013 award for column writing from the Atlanta Association of Black Journalists. She was inducted into the 2007 Business Hall of Fame of the Mack Robinson College of Business at Georgia State University. She also received a 2007 Trailblazer Award in Honor of Coretta Scott King from the Southern Christian Leadership Conference; the 2005 Millennium Pacesetter Award from the Atlanta Business League. She received an honorary doctor of humane letters from Argosy University in Atlanta in 2003.

Jeremy Pilmore-Bedford

 

Jeremy Pilmore-Bedford took up his appointment in Atlanta as Her Majesty’s Consul General in August 2013. He leads a team which works throughout the Southeast to promote UK-US trade and investment, support British nationals, conduct public diplomacy on key issues, and build scientific co-operation. He also sits on the Marshall Scholarship selection committee.

Jeremy’s previous posting was in London where he was the Head of the UK Foreign Office’s Caribbean, Central America, and Mexico Department.  In this role he helped to re-invigorate UK relations with Latin America and the Caribbean, pushed for greater trade links, and supported joint efforts to combat drugs and crime within the region. Prior to this Jeremy worked in the Foreign Office’s policy planning staff, and before that worked on supporting democratic reform in Ukraine after the 2004 Orange Revolution.

Jeremy joined the UK’s diplomatic service in 1990 as a graduate entrant. He has served overseas in Qatar, Singapore, Russia, and Malaysia.  

Jeremy was born in Sevenoaks in Kent, England.  He graduated in politics, history, and economics from Brunel University in London.  During his time there he participated in a one-year exchange programme with the State University of New York and worked as an intern for a US Congressman.

Jeremy is accompanied on his posting by his wife Amanda, a counsellor, and his two teenage children, Olivia and Alasdair. 

 

 

This project is supported by the Georgia Humanities Council and the National Endowment for the Humanities and through appropriations from the Georgia General Assembly.