Kit Thomason Crossman, Executive Director of the Maine Human Rights Commission, will speak on March 26 at 5:30 p.m. as part of the ’s Distinguished Lecture Series.

This hybrid presentation will take place in person at the Michael Klahr Center (46 University Drive, Augusta) and on Zoom. The event is free and open to UMA alumni, faculty and staff, students, and the general public. ; please indicate whether you will attend in person or virtually.

As Executive Director of the Maine Human Rights Commission ()—the state agency responsible for enforcing Maine’s anti-discrimination laws and promoting equal opportunity—Crossman will discuss how the Commission investigates complaints, promotes compliance, and provides resources to help prevent bias and foster inclusion.

Participants will gain practical insight into current civil rights trends in Maine and learn how schools, organizations, and individuals can support the Commission’s mission of fairness and equity. The presentation will conclude with a question-and-answer session.

On Tuesday, September 16th we will gather with community to celebrate 40 extraordinary years of the Holocaust and Human Rights Center of Maine. The experience will include cocktails, awards and recognitions, dinner, dancing, a silent auction, live music, and a master of ceremonies.

It will begin with cocktails on the patio for reconnecting and sharing memories. During a brief program, we will honor a few people who built and sustained the mission and work of the HHRC through decades of challenges and change—and hear from our 2025 Recipient of the Gerda Haas Award for Excellence in Human Rights Education and Leadership Maulian Bryant, Executive Director of the Wabanaki Alliance. Then dinner, followed by live music and dancing.

Please join us on the evening of September 16th. If you are interested in sponsoring a table for others to attend, becoming an event sponsor, or donating an item to our silent auction, please contact us at: info@hhrcmaine.org.

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The UMA community is warmly invited to join us for a thought-provoking event hosted by the on Tuesday, January 28th, at 4:00 PM in the Michael Klahr Center

Maine legislators will gather in the amphitheater for a presentation by Erica Nadelhaft, exploring how Hitler and the Nazi Party rose to power so quickly, dismantled Germany’s democracy, and initiated plans for European conquest and the Holocaust.

Following the presentation, there will be an opportunity for questions, conversation, and refreshments.

This enlightening event is organized by Portland Representative Sam Zager, and we encourage members of the UMA community to attend and engage in this important discussion.

We hope to see you there!

Parivash and Nasser Rohani founded a global education and art movement through social media entitled #OurStoryIsOne. The grass-roots, growing movement honors ten Bahá’í women who, after months of torture and imprisonment, were executed one by one in a square in Shiriaz, Iran because of their religious identities. Parivash’s personal experience fueled her desire to organize women around the world to express their anger, solidarity, courage and hope through visual and performing arts. The movement is powerful, the artwork arresting, and the demand for greater human rights in Iran and around the world clear.

Reuse, Repair, Reconsider

Maine Artist Lesia Sochor’s Reuse, Repair, Reconsider exhibit explores the healing power of restoration. Lesia writes, A humble act born of necessity, repair at one time was a common sense, commonplace task among the populace. But due to the ever increasing addiction for more, for newer, fixable goods are discarded, further threatening the environment. I use a needle and thread to investigate mending as an intervention, as metaphor, as a call to action—not only to restore material things, but to mend the fractured parts of ourselves, and the divisiveness, cruelty, and injustices of our ruptured world—one stitch at a time.

Visit the Michael Klahr Center on weekdays between 8:30 and 4:00 to see the exhibits. Learn more at

Tuesday, March 5, 2024
6:30pm – 8:00 pm
Online

Drawing on archival material, sketches the lived experiences of members of the German LGBTQ+ community under Nazi rule. In doing so, he untangles the complex motivations that convinced Nazi leaders that combating homosexuality was vital to the success of the Third Reich. The result was the destruction of the vibrant gay communities that had emerged during the Weimar years, and the targeting, torture, and murder of tens of thousands of gay Germans. And while the Holocaust ended with the defeat of Nazi Germany in May 1945, gay survivors soon learned that the era of state sanctioned persecution was not over.

Dr. Jake Newsome is an award-winning scholar of German and American LGBTQ+ history whose research and resources educate global audiences. He is the founder and director of the , which honors the memory of the Nazis’ queer victims and carries on their legacy by fighting homophobia and transphobia today through education, advocacy, and empowerment. His book, (Cornell University Press) traces the transformation of the pink triangle from a Nazi concentration camp badge into a widespread emblem of LGBTQ+liberation, pride, and community. In addition to serving as a historical advisor for film projects, exhibits, and plays, Newsome has been invited by the French, UK, and US governments to speak about the important lessons that LGBTQ+ history has for all of us today. He works as a museum professional and currently lives with his husband and son in San Diego.

This event is open to anyone who wants to attend (all students, faculty, staff, and the general public). FMI:

Born in a displaced persons camp in Lansberg Germany, Ettie has spent her life hearing, learning about, and researching the details of her family’s Holocaust experiences—from their life in Lithuania to their immigration to America. As a second generation child of Holocaust Survivors, Ettie absorbed stories from childhood as she was raised by parents who survived unspeakable trauma. How did that trauma manifest itself in her parents’ behaviors, world views, idiosyncrasies and parenting? When and how did she learn the details of their past, and how did it impact her life, thoughts, career and behavior? This presentation describes characteristics of survivors, impressions by other second generation interviewees and her own reflections.

Ettie Zilber is a consultant to schools around the world. She offers workshops, seminars and coaching in the international school community to empower educational leaders, parents and students by supporting their deeper understanding of our diverse, multicultural and multilingual world.

The Holocaust and Human Rights Center of Maine () has a longstanding and rich collection of artifacts related to the Holocaust and other civil rights issues. Historically, these artifacts have been stored away, taken out on occasion for visitors. Last year we began to archive these valuable objects, assigning them each a number and category. We have determined that obtaining preservation tools and protective display cases will help us use them more frequently in conjunction with our school and community presentations—and we have begun to display them in cases around the Michael Klahr Center for our visitors to observe without fear of causing damage to the artifacts.

We will showcase the displayed items on our website where teachers and students can see images and short descriptions for school projects and classroom learning. This will enable schools across Maine to connect with the archives, even those too far away to visit. We want to take a moment and thank those of you in the HHRC Community who entrusted us with your families’ valuable possessions. These historic treasures help us to tell the stories of your loved ones who survived the Holocaust and the civil unrest that predated many of us here in Maine.

The beautiful Michael Klahr Center is open for rentals. The space offers a large classroom for presentations and meetings, a sun-filled atrium, a 75-seat auditorium, and both rotating and permanent exhibits. We can recommend quality local food service and assist with equipment set-up and tours. This is a wonderful venue for classes, presentations, gatherings, film screenings, or celebrations. If you would like more information or want to reserve the space, email the HHRC.

The 2023 Summer Seminars are filling up fast, so if you would like to attend one of these 2-day professional training seminars, in person at the Michael Klahr Center, .

• Teaching the Holocaust will be held on July 11th and 12th, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. The seminar will include sessions on antisemitism, the rise of the Nazis, and the Holocaust itself. Limited spots remain.

• Addressing Bias and Hate at School will be held on July 19th and 20th, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. After learning about the nature of bias, we’ll reflect on ways to teach this complex subject and create welcoming classrooms and school communities. This seminar is full, but there is a waiting list; if you wish to be on it, please email us.

To help us plan for this workshop, please complete this form by Friday, April 28th to confirm your interest in attending and your preferred attendance mode.

Please also consider filling out this separate anonymous form to help us compile scenarios of bias in higher education to share at the meeting.

Photo by Tam Huynh

The Holocaust and Human Rights Center is thrilled to house a new exhibit, Reflections on Genocide. The exhibit derives from a collaboration between Casco Bay High School and the University of Southern Maine in which students express their reflections and feelings on the university course, “Art and Genocide: A Case Study of the Holocaust” through study, conversation, and art as activism.

The artwork encompasses memorials to relatives designed to put a face on this genocide and attacks against members of any community. The pieces serve as an historical reminder so we may never forget. At times, they convey a sense of loss, an awareness of what disappears when we, as a collective, are at our worst. At other times, the works express how audacious hope is—as seen through abstract art that makes concrete the intangible. The students’ work poignantly evokes the horror in every act of genocide and, equally powerfully, the forces that fight against the hatred with love.

. We are welcoming visitors to the Michael Klahr Center to experience this exhibit, as well as the permanent installations, and to enjoy some time in this light-filled, hopeful space.