Facing History and Ourselves - New York Feed

New Neighborhood to Neighborhood Stories Address Complex Issues for Teens

EmilyBlackie — Wed, 29 Jan 2014 22:39:27 +0000

press_type:

In the News

January 24, 2014

WNYC has released five new Radio Rookies stories reported by students from high schools in Brooklyn and Manhattan. The new stories-- “Molly & Hip Hop,” “Education Motivation,” “Teenage Pregnancy,” “Teen Talk Show: Street View,” and “Inside Colocation”--address complex issues such as teen pregnancy, drugs, and bullying, and feature interviews with students' peers, parents, and teachers.

The stories are part of the Neighborhood to Neighborhood project, a partnership between Facing History in New York and New York Public Radio (WNYC) as members of the Hive NYC Learning Network. Launched in 2011, the partnership provides tools and training for Facing History students around the city to create radio stories about themselves, their communities, and their world. The stories appear on-air and online, and are shared among Facing History's network of educators.

Hive NYC was founded through The MacArthur Foundation’s Digital Media and Learning initiative to fuel collaborations between civic and cultural organizations and to build innovative educational practices. Network members have access to funding to support their work through The Hive Digital Media Learning Fund, a collaborative donor fund in The New York Community Trust. Mozilla became the steward of Hive NYC in 2011.

Learn more about the partnership here.

Learn more about Facing History’s work in New York.

Thank You: 20th Annual New York Benefit Dinner

EmilyBlackie — Mon, 25 Nov 2013 21:15:53 +0000

November 12, 2013

For everyone to view

Board Member

Donor

We are grateful for the generosity of our supporters who helped make Facing History and Ourselves' 20th Annual New York Benefit Dinner a success, allowing Facing History to reach more people, train more teachers, and create more content. View highlights from the dinner.

A Face Off For Humanity: New York Benefit Dinner Featured in "DuJour"

EmilyBlackie — Fri, 15 Nov 2013 15:10:13 +0000

press_type:

In the News

November 15, 2013

DuJour Magazine has featured photos from Facing History and Ourselves' 20th Annual New York Benefit Dinner. The dinner was held on November 12 at Cipriani Wall Street and honored those who have fought for a prejudice-free future.

Read more on DuJour's website.

Learn more about Facing History's work in New York.

Facing History and Ourselves Inaugurates New Upstander Awards

EmilyBlackie — Fri, 08 Nov 2013 15:05:26 +0000

press_type:

Press Release

November 8, 2013

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 8, 2013
Contact: Emily Blackie
Facing History and Ourselves
216-321-9220 x226/Emily_Blackie@facing.org

Temitayo Fagbenle and Benjamin Ferencz to receive first-ever honors in recognition of Facing History’s 20th Anniversary working in New York

NEW YORK, New York – The international nonprofit education organization Facing History and Ourselves will recognize two extraordinary individuals, Benjamin Ferencz and Temitayo Fagbenle, with its inaugural Upstander Awards at its 20th Anniversary New York Benefit Dinner on November 12, 2013. Facing History and Ourselves, which is headquartered in Boston, reaches more than three million students a year worldwide through its network of more than 31,000 educators, 6,300 of whom teach in the New York area.
The Upstander Award has been created to recognize individuals who have spoken out and acted in order to make a difference their communities and their world.

Benjamin Ferencz, born in Transylvania in 1920, immigrated to America, graduated from Harvard Law School in 1943 and enlisted in the United States Army. He was sent to the newly created War Crimes Branch, and later became Chief Prosecutor for the U.S. at the Nuremburg war crimes trials, where he was responsible for the trial of the Nazi extermination unit. Twenty-two defendants were charged with murdering over a million people. All of them were convicted and 13 were sentenced to death. He was only 27 years old, and it was his first case. Ferencz was instrumental in the establishment of the International Criminal Court in 2002, and to this day advocates actively to end war and replace the rule of force with the rule of peace.

Temitayo Fagbenle, a 17-year-old senior at Vanguard High School in New York City, exposed the disturbing and dangerous effects of sexual cyberbullying as a reporter for WNYC’s Radio Rookies. Her report, “Sexual Cyberbullying: The Modern Day Letter A,” earned nationwide audiences and led her to create a Facebook page and Twitter handle, “That Could Be Your Sister,” to further educate her peers. She went on to co-host a Teen Town Hall on the topic, and eventually they won a design challenge to create a tool to support victims, educate and advocate.

“Upstanders are found throughout history and are at the core of Facing History’s work,” said Peter Nelson, Director of Facing History’s New York Office. “An Upstander speaks up in the face of injustice, asks questions, empathizes, combats bigotry, and nurtures democracy. As part of Facing History’s celebration of 20 years in New York, we are proud to honor these two modern-day upstanders: a young person who has found her powerful voice, and a man whose impact on history has been indelible.”

"The concept of Upstanders is central to Facing History," said Margot Stern Strom, Founder and Executive Director of Facing History and Ourselves. "We look forward to the day when the word “Upstander” becomes part of our lexicon and young people everywhere strive to be one."

About Facing History and Ourselves
Facing History and Ourselves was founded in 1976 by educators who believed that instilling intellectual vigor and curiosity goes hand-in-hand with teaching facts and figures. From the disturbing lessons of the Holocaust and other genocides to struggles for civil rights from Birmingham to South Africa, we trust students to wrestle with complex moments in human history, and work to help them understand the range of human behavior. These students learn to connect the dots between the ethical choices they’ll face in life and the positive outcomes they can create in their community and the world. For more information, visit facinghistory.org.

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Resources from Our Partner: 9/11 Tribute Center

EmilyBlackie — Wed, 11 Sep 2013 21:05:16 +0000

press_type:

Web Update

September 11, 2013

Facing History and Ourselves has collaborated with the 9/11 Tribute Center in New York to offer a variety of resources for bringing content about 9/11 into classrooms, including September 11: Personal Stories of Transformation.

Teachers can also use the 9/11 Tribute Center’s Video Chat Program where first responders, survivors, local residents, and family members of victims share personal experiences with students. For more information, or to schedule a live video chat session, email education@tributewtc.org.

Teachers who are planning to work on projects that relate to the impact of 9/11 may be eligible for a $500 Teacher Award. Nominations are due at the end of January.

“Wall Street Journal” Features Facing History, Commemorates Women’s Equality Day

EmilyBlackie — Tue, 27 Aug 2013 21:08:02 +0000

press_type:

In the News

August 26, 2013

Commemorating the anniversary of the passage of the 19th amendment and Women’s Equality Day, the Wall Street Journal has highlighted one of Facing History and Ourselves’ “Great Talks” events that featured a discussion about women and contemporary feminism.

“Great Talks” is a free event series that connects New York-area community members with thought-provoking speakers for meaningful conversations around important issues. This past April, Facing History hosted prominent author Amy Richards, New York City’s first woman firefighter, Brenda Berkman, and artist Faith Ringgold, in conversation with community members interested in the topic. Susan Sissman, who also attended the March on Washington on August 26, 1963, attended the event.

“It was not subversive, it wasn’t political. It was history,” Sissman told the Wall Street Journal, reflecting on how her mother had always supported women independence. “How could anything be bad about celebrating the woman getting the vote?”

Richards spoke about losing the race for class president in high school. “Eight years later, a girl won and I took full credit. If there isn’t a first attempt, there isn’t going to be a ‘first woman’ anything.”

Read “Before Leaning In, Women Marched On” by Allison Lichter in the Wall Street Journal.

Learn more about Facing History’s work in New York.

Facing History and Ourselves and WNYC Team up to Produce Student Journalists for Second Year

EmilyBlackie — Tue, 27 Aug 2013 15:15:45 +0000

press_type:

Press Release

August 27, 2013

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Press Contact: Emily Blackie
Facing History and Ourselves
216-321-9220 x226
Emily_Blackie@facing.org

NEW YORK, NY (August 27, 2013) – The international nonprofit organization Facing History and Ourselves and New York Public Radio’s Radio Rookies, as part of the Hive NYC Learning Network, have partnered to create a second round of five student-produced Neighborhood to Neighborhood stories featuring Facing History students from East Side Community High School and Essex Street Academy in New York City. The five multimedia stories cover topics important to students such as identity, race, education, and crime and violence in their communities.

“We are thrilled to continue our partnership with the WNYC and Hive NYC Learning Network,” Stacy Abramson, Director of New York Operations and Strategic Partnerships of Facing History in New York said. “This year we’ve also launched a new series of blog posts featuring connection questions to help teachers looking to use these stories in their classrooms or to help them create their own Neighborhood to Neighborhood projects.”

Radio Rookies Senior Producer Kaari Pitkin said that through reporting their stories, the 12 students “bravely explored varied and difficult subjects, including immigration, sexuality, and race in America, while learning skills in critical thinking, journalism and production. By partnering with Facing History, we are excited that these stories will be shared with teachers and their classrooms as examples of students exploring key Facing History themes, such as identity and insider/outsider status.”

About Hive NYC Learning Network
Hive NYC Learning Network is a Mozilla project that was founded through The MacArthur Foundation’s Digital Media and Learning initiative to fuel collaborations between cultural organizations to create new learning pathways and innovative education practices together. Hive NYC is composed of 56 non-profit organizations—museums, libraries, after-school clubs, and informal learning spaces—that create Connected Learning opportunities for youth. Network members have access to funding to support this work through The Hive Digital Media Learning Fund in The New York Community Trust. Hive NYC operates as a city-based learning lab, where members network with each other, share best practices and pedagogies, learn about and play with new technologies, participate in events, and most importantly, collaborate to create learning opportunities for NYC youth.

About Facing History and Ourselves
Facing History and Ourselves is an international educational and professional development organization whose mission is to engage students of diverse backgrounds in an examination of racism, prejudice and anti-Semitism in order to promote the development of a more humane and informed citizenry. By studying the historical development of the Holocaust and other examples of genocide and mass violence, students make the essential connection between history and the moral choices they confront in their own lives. Facing History has provided in-depth seminars for more than 29,000 educators, and its active teacher network reaches nearly two million students annually. For more information, visit facinghistory.org and watch a video at facinghistory.org/video/face-it.

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Facing History Hosts Student Journalists from the UK

EmilyBlackie — Tue, 06 Aug 2013 15:15:26 +0000

press_type:

In the News

August 5, 2013

This week, staff from Facing History and Ourselves in New York City hosted nine student journalists from across the United Kingdom. Facing History was one stop along a tour of the East Coast that included visits to National Public Radio, Yale University, the Wall Street Journal, BuzzFeed, and the Pew Research Center Project for Excellence in Journalism. At Facing History, the students talked with staff about the goals of Facing History and using technology and social media to engage young people and educators. “This initiative will provide ample opportunities for the group to gain a deeper understanding of American society, relations between the U.K. and U.S., and how news and media organizations disseminate information from a variety of perspectives,” according to a recent press release. The nonprofit organization Cultural Vistas arranged the trip.

Read “Cultural Vistas to Welcome U.K. Teens for Student Journalist Exchange Program” in Digital Journal.

“Like” Facing History on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.

Learn more about Facing History's work in New York.

“Fashionista” Executive Editor and Former Intern on the Impact of Facing History

EmilyBlackie — Tue, 30 Jul 2013 15:59:55 +0000

press_type:

In the News

July 26, 2013

Online fashion magazine College Fashion recently featured an interview with former Facing History and Ourselves intern and New York office staff member Leah Chernikoff, who is currently Executive Editor at the fashion news site Fashionista.

“At Facing History, I really got immersed in the program—they believe that education is the key to combating bigotry and nurturing democracy,” Chernikoff told the magazine. “They do a really good job of creating curriculum and programs for educators to back that up. I liked it so much I worked at their New York office out of college.”

Read “From Classroom to Catwalk: Fashionista’s Leah Chernikoff.”

Have you taken a Facing History course in the past 30 years? Sign up now and stay in touch!

WNYC Premieres New Radio Rookies Stories

EmilyBlackie — Thu, 11 Jul 2013 19:23:37 +0000

press_type:

In the News

June 27, 2013

Facing History and Ourselves in New York and New York Public Radio's Radio Rookies, as part of Mozilla Hive NYC Learning Network, have partnered to create a second round of student-produced Neighborhood to Neighborhood stories featuring Facing History students from East Side Community High School and Essex Street Academy in New York City. The five multimedia stories cover topics important to the students including English as a second language, sneaker culture, music and violence, and homophobia.

Launched in 2011, the partnership provides tools and training for Facing History students around the city to create multimedia stories about themselves, their communities, and their world that are published online, aired on the radio and shared back with Facing History's network of educators.

Hive NYC Learning Network is a Mozilla project that was founded through The MacArthur Foundation’s Digital Media and Learning initiative to fuel collaborations between cultural organizations to create new learning pathways and innovative education practices together. Hive NYC is composed of 56 non-profit organizations—museums, libraries, after-school clubs, and informal learning spaces—that create Connected Learning opportunities for youth. Network members have access to funding to support this work through The Hive Digital Media Learning Fund in The New York Community Trust. Hive NYC operates as a city-based learning lab, where members network with each other, share best practices and pedagogies, learn about and play with new technologies, participate in events, and most importantly, collaborate to create learning opportunities for NYC youth.

Watch and listen to “This is America, Speak English,” “Losing Language,” “Battling Homophobia at East Side Community School,” “Thirsty for Sneakers,” and “Get it Out” on the WNYC website.

Learn more about the partnership and watch and listen to last year’s stories on Facing History’s website.

Learn more about Facing History’s work in New York.