In recent months we've witnessed a series of challenges to hope and the human spirit...

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Dear AFC family,

June is a significant month from a human rights perspective:
* June 12th we commemorate Anne Frank's birthday.
* June also features the opening entries in the diary she received as a 13th birthday present — the pages of which she would fill for two years with her views on war, racism, politics, puberty, opportunity, aspirations, and the plight of her family while in hiding.
* June marks the anniversary of the Stonewall Riots of 1969 and the subsequent advances for LGBTQ rights that followed.
* On June 12, 1967 the US Supreme Court issued the Loving v. Virginia decision, striking down bans on interracial marriage.
* And today, Juneteenth, commemorates the announcement that the end of the Civil War brought the end of 400 years of slavery and the freedom of four million slaves in the United States.

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June 1942 marked Anne Frank's first entry in her diary. LISTEN to Julian Morrow ([link removed]) with Australian public radio speak with the AFC's Elisa Rapaport on the relatability and impact of Anne's insights across the decades and throughout the world, with excerpts read aloud from actress Helena Bonham Carter.
This June we have watched people unite around the world to defend the rights this history has promised for all people, with voices and actions propelled by the inextinguishable persistence of hope.
Hope
In recent months we've witnessed many challenges to the human spirit: the loss of loved ones, fears of economic instability, evidence of continuing racial injustice and conflict, and a viral contagion that threatens us all regardless of skin color or religion. Frustration mounts and protests erupt in cities throughout the world as voices come together to be the upstanders we model for future generations, to demand accountability for injustice, and to re-imagine the ways we can build our communities up from within.
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It's hard to know where to begin, sometimes, answering the tough questions that come from children or those we should be asking ourselves. We've collected a list ([link removed]) to help build a library of current resources on cultural awareness, anti-racism, and violence.
Throughout it all, the Anne Frank Center's very mission has been to confront intolerance in all its forms through empowerment and mutual understanding.
OUR VISION: Inspiring every generation to build the more compassionate world Anne Frank envisioned.
Spirit of Anne Frank Awards
Typically we host our annual Spirit of Anne Frank Awards each June as we recognize an extraordinary group of young people who understand well their power to confront challenges and create a better world. Although social distancing has prevented an in-person celebration this year, it is our honor to announce our 2020 scholarship recipients, a 24th annual tradition generously sponsored by Les and Sybil Rosenberg.

Caragan Olles
2020 SAFA Scholarship - $5000

Green Bay, Wisconsin
Through her nonprofit "Bright Young Dyslexics ([link removed]) ," Caragan has demonstrated that there can be a better way of communicating, improving education, and working to overturn a demoralizing stereotype that affects thousands of students. Next year, she brings her talents and dedication to the University of Miami with plans to study entrepreneurship.

Yousuf Khan
2020 SAFA Scholarship - $2500

Glendale Heights, Illinois
Heavily involved in creating interfaith and inter-cultural dialogue within his high school, Yousuf has worked collaboratively with fellow students to host events and present to the faculty on how to promote diversity and incorporate student identities. He will pursue marketing and pre-medicine next year at Northern Illinois University.

Julia Seay
2020 SAFA Scholarship - $1000

Atlanta, Georgia

To help identify depression and confront the stigmas associated with mental health, Julia was among a group of students who founded The Brainy Bunch peer support group at her school.

Mia Lazar
2020 SAFA Scholarship - $1000

Blacksburg, Virginia

As a documentary filmmaker, Mia recognizes the power of the arts to inspire positive change and launched the Filmshakers Festival ([link removed]) to highlight human stories of impact and connectedness.

Sita Conde
2020 SAFA Scholarship - $1000

Miami, Florida

Seeing the need for positive images, cultural understanding, and self-identity among minority youth, Sita has worked to ensure elementary libraries represent their diverse communities.

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** WATCH the videos ([link removed])
from this year's SAFA scholars as they explain the motivation behind their service projects, and learn more about past recipients of the Spirit of Anne Frank Awards.

Interested in sponsoring an award? ** Contact us. (mailto:[email protected]?subject=I'm%20interested%20in%20sponsoring%20an%20award)

For decades, we have served communities large and small throughout the US — including from the front row of classrooms in New York City's public schools — because we believe in the power of change. Anne Frank herself saw how arbitrary it was to focus hatred and blame on the Jewish people, that if them, then anyone could be a target of discrimination: any category of race, religion, or cultural identity. Our life's work is inspired by this young, brilliant Jewish girl and what she was able to share about her experience of the Holocaust. But the story doesn’t stop there; that's where our work merely begins.

We teach the past so we can recognize the problems of the present and build a more inclusive, respectful future. Anne's story offers a bridge between generations, inspiring our programs that teach empathy, compassion, and the power to overcome discrimination. We educate against hate to build the more compassionate world Anne Frank envisioned and believed with all her heart was possible.
“There's in people simply an urge to destroy, an urge to kill, to murder and rage. And until all mankind, without exception, undergoes a great change, great wars will be waged, everything that has been built up, cultivated, and grown will be destroyed and disfigured, after which mankind will have to begin all over again.”
— Anne Frank
"I want friends, not admirers.
People who respect me for my character and
my deeds, not my flattering smile."
— Anne Frank (March 7, 1944)

If we have one request, it is that you never underestimate your power to influence those around you. We each must face the challenge of looking within ourselves to ask if we are doing what we can, if we are listening — truly listening — to one another, if we are granting our neighbors the space to tell their stories, to share their world, to grieve and scream and justifiably be angry and trust they are safe to say so.

The Anne Frank Center is far from alone in condemning violence in all its forms and in praising the voices that strive to lift the opportunities for all to thrive. Please know that you are never alone in your commitment to educating against hatred. We truly believe that it is that hope more than our fear that unites us still.
With many thanks for all that you do,
Peter M. Rapaport
AFC board chair
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