Greenspon Center Community Event Hosts Stephen Smith from USC Shoah Foundation

The Charlotte Jewish News, January 2023

By Judy LaPietra

The Greenspon Center will commemorate International Holocaust Remembrance Day with a community event titled “Combatting Hate: Once Voice at a Time” on January 26 at 7 p.m. at Queens University. The evening will honor Holocaust victims and highlight the innovative trajectory of Holocaust education today.

The keynote speaker for the event will be Stephen Smith, Ph.D., executive director emeritus of the USC Shoah Foundation Institute, founded by Steven Spielberg after filming “Schindler’s List.”

Smith founded the UK Holocaust Centre in England and co-founded the Aegis Trust for the Prevention of Crimes Against Humanity and Genocide. He was also the first chairman of the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust, which runs the National Holocaust Memorial Day in the United Kingdom. Smith was the project director responsible for the creation of the Kigali Genocide Memorial Centre in Rwanda and trustee of the South Africa Holocaust and Genocide Foundation.

Smith was an early pioneer in using groundbreaking holographic technology in Holocaust education. When future generations cannot get first-hand narratives from survivors, artificial intelligence technology transforms interviews with Holocaust survivors and witnesses into an interactive experience. AI holographic recreations allow students to have lifelike conversations with survivors that establish an emotional connection and create learning that is meaningful and lasting. While such technology can never replace a live interaction with a Holocaust survivor, it allows students to explore another powerful way to engage with the past.

In addition to the keynote address from Smith, Rabbi Cytron-Walker will receive the 2023 Upstander Award and share words of reflection. Rab- bi Cytron-Walker, of Temple Emanuel in Winston-Salem, showed heroism when he and his congregants in Colleyville, Texas, were taken hostage in the midst of Bible study. Ending a standoff of nearly 11 hours, the rabbi acted by throwing a chair at the hostage taker and allowing for a safe escape. Rabbi Cytron-Walker will be celebrated with an original piece of art created by Gwen Orland of Rocky Knob Pottery, From its inception in 2016, the Stan Greenspon Holocaust and Social Justice Education Center has grown exponentially in its capacity to respond to the ever-increasing threat of prejudice and intolerance. From school programs to DEI training for business and organizations, the Center continues to respond to the growing needs of the community today. The foundational mandate that drives the Center’s work is the urgent need to maintain Holocaust memory and promote excellence in Holocaust education.

The Greenspon Center has selected International Holocaust Remembrance Day as the annual date on which to share the powerful message of the Holocaust with the community. In 2005, the United Nations selected January 27, the day on which Auschwitz was liberated, as International Holocaust Remembrance Day. Their vision included global commemoration ceremonies to promote education to prevent future genocides.

Join the Greenspon Center for this engaging evening to commemorate International Holocaust Remembrance Day, consider new directions in Holocaust education, and stand together as a community against hate. The event will be at 7 p.m. in the Sarah Belk Gambrell Center for Civic Engagement at Queens University. This event is free and open to the public. Registration is required at stangreensponcenter.org or contact Judy LaPietra, Lapietraj@ queens.edu.