As hate crimes rise, museum hopes to teach NYC students about the dangers of hate speech

As reports of hate and discrimination against marginalized groups are on the rise, a new Lower Manhattan museum exhibit aims to teach students about the roots of hate speech, as well as the dangerous outcomes that can occur if it is left unchecked.

And they’re hoping to get thousands of New York City public school students to see it.

The Museum of Jewish Heritage exhibit, titled “Speaking Up! Confronting Hate Speech,” opened on Wednesday, and will remain on display through the end of the school year, closing on June 29. It comes on the heels of a new partnership between the museum and the city’s public schools, with the exhibit aiming to show how language can lead to discrimination, persecution, and mass violence — providing students with historical and contemporary examples of how words can connect to harmful events, according to exhibit organizers.

“Acts of hate don’t start with violence,” said Jack Kliger, the museum’s president and CEO. “They start with words, and with thoughts, and with teaching. You have to be taught to hate.”

Organizers say the exhibit comes at a critical time for the city’s students — as statewide, hate crimes against Jewish and Muslim New Yorkers rose by 89% and 106%, respectively, in 2023, according to a report from the state Comptroller’s Office.

The exhibit will offer students a look at examples of propaganda posters from the time of the Holocaust, which sought to dehumanize Jewish people, said Sara Softness, the director of curatorial affairs at the museum. But the scope of the exhibit is global, she added, with sections devoted to other conflicts like the Rwandan genocide in 1994 and the killings of the Muslim Rohingya people in Myanmar in 2016 — including how social media contributed to the latter of these atrocities.

Read the full article here: https://www.chalkbeat.org/newyork/2024/09/18/museum-of-jewish-heritage-opens-new-exhibit-for-students-on-hate-speech/