10 | JUNE 13 • 2024 

they give us a warm reception? This is a 
great thing.”
Immediately upon arrival, the group 
went straight to the U.S. Capitol for a 
meeting with an ADL staffer and staffers 
of the co-chairs of the Congressional 
Caucus on Black-Jewish Relations. The 
Caucus was formally launched in 2019 
(at a ceremony in which the Coalition 
participated) with a mission to fight 
white supremacy ideology by backing 
hate crime legislation and bringing the 
two communities together. 
The speakers gave the students a 
valuable behind-the-scenes look at the 
practicalities of converting ideas into 
legislation, and how inevitable obstacles 
can be overcome through alliances, 
creativity and persistence.

HOLOCAUST MUSEUM
From there, the group quickly bused 
off to the day’s primary destination, a 
visit to the U.S. Holocaust Museum. The 
moment the students entered the door 
the enthusiastic mood of the morning 
instantly shifted, replaced by the 
sobering reality of the darkest chapter in 
Jewish history. 

For most of the students — and some 
faculty members — this was their first 
trip to the museum. Many stated that 
their Holocaust education was scant, so 
the museum was their first immersion 
into the horrors of the Shoah. Within 
moments, the group was walking the 
somber, darkened hallways, surrounded 
by haunting videos of massive Nazi 
rally’s shouting “Sieg Heil” and 
Hitler’s ominous voice booming in the 
background. 
The exhibits trace the chronological 
descent of a modern nation that, in just 
a short number of years, transitioned 
from accepting its Jewish neighbors, 
to discriminating against them, to 

detaining them and then, ultimately, 
to exterminating as many of them as 
they could. The photos and artifacts 
spare nothing, from graphic scenes of 
the dead, to bales of human hair, to 
an actual crematorium. An authentic 
boxcar sits in a small dimly lit room, 
alongside a photo of terrified Jews 
stuffed inside as they were transported 
to their deaths.
The students who had never been 
to a Holocaust museum before were 
overwhelmed, often stopping and saying 
things like: “I’m blown away” or “How 
could this happen?” 
One student, an African American 
high school sophomore, lingered in 

OUR COMMUNITY
COVER STORY

continued from page 9

CLOCKWISE FROM ABOVE: Lilly Moss and 
Kerrington Fields-McCurdy having a good 
time. Pastor Aramis D. Hinds debriefs with 
the students on the lessons of the trip. 
The Leadership Academy visited ADL in 
Washington, D.C.