WASSMUTH CENTER EXPANDS MISSION WITH NEW BUILDING IN BOISE

BY CHRIS LANGRILL

The Wassmuth Center for Human Rights was founded in 1986, and has since served as a beacon for human rights.

Most people associated the Wassmuth Center with the Idaho Anne Frank Human Rights Memorial in downtown Boise—and for good reason. The memorial has become an iconic part of the city’s landscape.

“Our core mission is educational in nature,” said Christina Bruce-Bennion, the Wassmuth Center’s executive director. “The Anne Frank memorial will continue to be a very powerful and inspirational place for learning and reflection. That won’t change.”

What has changed, however, is the Wassmuth Center’s footprint. In October, the center celebrated the grand opening of the Philip E. Batt Education Building.

“The building allows us to further our efforts and our programming,” Bruce-Bennion said. “Sometimes those programs are hard to do outside in the memorial when it’s cold in January or really hot in July.”

“Now, we have a building with a classroom that can host our programs,” she said. “So, we’ve started referring to ourselves as a mini-human rights campus right here in the heart of Boise.” The building honors the legacy of Phil Batt, who served as the governor of Idaho from 1995 to 1999 and was active in Idaho politics for 30 years. He died in March 2023 at age 96.

“One of the biggest reasons it’s named after the former governor is because—in his time—he was someone who really moved some key human rights issues forward,” Bruce-Bennion said.

She pointed to his efforts in creating the Human Rights Commission in Idaho and passing legal protections for farmworkers, among other things.

“Human rights was just one of his biggest legacy issues,” Bruce-Bennion said. “It’s something he would want to be remembered for.” The building is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. The center recently set up open tour hours on Fridays from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.

Otherwise—to avoid conflicts with programs and other events in session—the Wassmuth Center asks visitors to schedule their visits by calling the center’s staff at 208-345-0304 or visiting wassmuthcenter.org.

Bruce-Bennion said visitors will encounter a building that was intentionally designed to carry out the mission of providing human rights education.

“There are 28 unique art pieces that were created mostly by Idaho artists,” she said. “We call it our Art of Human Rights Collection.” There is also a classroom, a library, and an exhibit called Dimensions in Testimony. Developed by USC’s Shoah Foundation, the exhibit uses technology that allows people to ask questions that prompt real-time responses from prerecorded interviews with Holocaust survivors and witnesses.

“It’s really interesting,” Bruce-Bennion said. “As generations are passing on, it allows you to hear these peoples’ stories in their own words.” The building will also host regular events, speakers, and field trips.

“We work with teachers, we work with companies, we work with law enforcement,” Bruce-Bennion said. “We’re excited to invite the community in for our programs.

“Wherever you are in your learning journey, we would love to be a part of that,” she said.