Starting today, the Shoah Foundation, an education group from the University of Southern California that disseminates information about the Holocaust to schools, will release a new activity, resource, or professional development opportunity, one per day, for the first 100 days of President Trump’s term of office. The initiative is called ”100 Days to Inspire Respect” and covers subjects including hate; racism; civil and human rights; community; respect; intolerance; women’s rights; immigrants and refugees; cross-cultural understanding; courage; violence and violent extremism; indifference through media; resilience; and civic responsibility. Activities range from a 15-minute writing exercise on stories that unite or divide peoples, to week-long studies that include reading testimonies from survivors of the Holocaust and the genocides that occurred in Rwanda, China, Armenia, and Guatemala.
This type of curriculum can help serve as a bulwark in the classroom against attempts by Trump and his administration to cloud the air with suspicion, hate, racism, bullying, and other attributes that are counter to America’s commitment to free speech, equality among peoples, and spirit of freedom.
