Speak Up, Speak Now! Summer Outreach Program

  Kristen Wright, The Florida Holocaust Museum’s Writer and Digital Content Manager

Speak Up, Speak Now! (formerly the Paris Project) is an outreach program of The Florida Holocaust Museum. This is an eight-week summer program currently offered at select Pinellas County recreational facilities. This summer’s program kicked-off last week at Tyrone Middle School.

Middle school age students engage in discussions, activities and field trips that examine concepts such as: identity, us and them, bystander, upstander, universe of obligation, prejudice, stereotypes and propaganda. The teens hear from guest speakers that include: crime victims, Holocaust survivors, refugees, law enforcement officers and community activists. Throughout the summer program, students create artwork that is used as part of an on-going public awareness campaign.

The eight-week summer project was conceived by a museum volunteer who wanted the museum to take its message of tolerance, respect for human life and obligation to others into the community. The program echoes The FHM’s mission, which honors the millions of men, women and children killed during the Holocaust and the people who risked their lives to help others.

Special thanks to Tyrone Middle School’s Assistant Principal Dr. Jayme Joslyn for making this summer partnership possible. Joslyn is also a graduate of our Summer Institute for Teachers program.