Ambassadors for Humanity Gala, Share Testimony from IWitness Activity

On Thursday, December 8, 2016, 10 teens from After School Matters attended the USC Shoah Foundation Ambassadors for Humanity Gala in Los Angeles, after piloting a new, testimony-based learning activity created by the foundation earlier this year. The Gala honored Mellody Hobson, board chair of After School Matters, and George Lucas. The teenagers, who all live and attend high school in Chicago, were able to participate in a second learning activity during the Gala. The activity focused on communication and engaged the group of teens in identifying persuasion and propaganda, and discerning the differences between audiences. Using testimony from survivors and eyewitnesses of genocide, the activity showed the danger in homogenizing entire groups of people by race or religion. “Watching testimony makes me feel powerful,” said teen Lynette L., 17 of Brighton Park. “This experience changed my life. Having the opportunity to not only meet but to hear the stories of Holocaust survivors is extremely important. They’ve taught me that words are important and we all have to work together to make America the best that it can be.” During USC Shoah Foundation’s Gala, teens from the program sat and spoke with Holocaust survivors. Two of the students, Lynette L. and Joshua S., 15 of South Deering, spoke about their experience during the Gala program, sharing their stories with hundreds of guests. The group, of whom many were visiting Los Angeles and traveling on a plane for the first time, also had the opportunity to take a college tour of the University of Southern California.