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Anne Frank Center for Mutual Respect

Coordinates: 40°42′48″N 74°00′35″W / 40.7133°N 74.0097°W / 40.7133; -74.0097
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This is an old revision of this page, as edited by TooManyBoxes (talk | contribs) at 14:23, 1 February 2017 (Added a citation regarding the film, "Freeheld."). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Anne Frank Center for Mutual Respect
Map
Established1959
Location1325 Avenue of the Americas, 28th Floor, NY 10019, U.S.
Coordinates40°42′48″N 74°00′35″W / 40.7133°N 74.0097°W / 40.7133; -74.0097
TypeSocial justice organization
DirectorSteven Goldstein
Websiteannefrank.com

Anne Frank Center for Mutual Respect, the U.S. national organization in the worldwide network of Anne Frank organizations, aims to "address civil and human rights across America." Through educational programs and grassroots organizing, the Anne Frank Center for Mutual Respect "calls out prejudice, counters discrimination and advocates for the kinder and fairer world of which Anne Frank dreamed."[1]

Anne Frank Center for Mutual Respect works to fight hatred of refugees and immigrants, anti-Semitism, sexism, racism, Islamophobia, homophobia, transphobia, bias against the differently abled and any other hate that runs counter to the American promise of freedom.[2]The organization has been vocal in its opposition to the civil and human rights policies of President Trump.[3][4][5] The organization opposes President Trump's executive orders to ban Muslim refugees and to build a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border[6], pointing out that Anne Frank and her family were refugees to whom the United States had refused entry.[7]

Anne Frank Center for Mutual Respect is headquartered in New York City, and opened an additional office in Los Angeles in 2017. The organization conducts educational programs and community organizing across the entire United States.[8]

The organization’s executive director is Steven Goldstein, a civil rights leader whose work has been the subject of two motion pictures, the 2007 Oscar-winning documentary Freeheld, and the 2015 full-length feature film of the same name.[9] Goldstein became executive director of the Anne Frank Center for Mutual Respect in 2016.[10]

History of the organization

Otto Frank, Anne’s father, founded the Anne Frank Center for Mutual Respect in the United States in 1959.[11] That was before he founded the museum, Anne Frank House in Amsterdam, in 1960; or his charitable foundation, the Anne Frank Fonds in Basel, Switzerland, in 1963.

Otto named all the organizations after Anne, the younger of his two children. From 1942 to 1944, Anne, her sister Margot and their parents Otto and Edith hid in a secret annex at the Anne Frank House in Amsterdam, along with four other Jews. The Nazis, acting on an anonymous tip, found all eight in 1944, and would kill all but Otto. Anne died in 1945 at age 15 at the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp.[12]

Earlier in his life, Otto Frank lived in the United States. At age 19, he came to New York to do an apprenticeship at Macy's before he returned home to Germany. After Anne died, he realized even more the importance of the American market in preserving Anne's legacy. The success of 1955 Broadway play, The Diary of Anne Frank had made Anne's diary – the book – an international sensation. Four years later, he established the first Anne Frank organization in the United States.

Anne Frank Center for Mutual Respect is an independent organization with its own Board of Directors. One program of the Anne Frank Center for Mutual Respect is to present exhibits across the United States about Anne’s life and legacy produced by the Anne Frank House in Amsterdam, accompanied by teachers and related programming from the Anne Frank Center for Mutual Respect to incorporate contemporary social justice issues.[13]

In 2016, the organization, previously known simply as the Anne Frank Center, renamed itself the Anne Frank Center for Mutual Respect to reflect its increased emphasis on civil and human rights today.[14] The organization's choice of "Mutual Respect" for its expanded name was inspired by Otto Frank, who founded the organization to help “build a world based on equal rights and mutual respect.[15] The organization also closed its small public gallery in lower Manhattan, which had gotten visitors mostly from New York, and replaced the gallery with an expansion of community-based programs across the United States.

References

  1. ^ Anne Frank Center for Mutual Respect: About the Center[1], accessed on January 31, 2017
  2. ^ Anne Frank Center for Mutual Respect: About the Center[2], accessed on January 31, 2017
  3. ^ Landler, Mark (2017-01-11). "Trump Under Fire for Invoking Nazis in Criticism of U.S. Intelligence". The New York Times.
  4. ^ Taylor, Adam (2017-01-26). "A charity set up by Anne Frank's father has become a fierce critic of Trump's plans for refugees". The Washington Post.
  5. ^ Bennett, Brian (2017-01-27). "Trump signs order to temporarily shut nation's door to most refugees and start 'extreme vetting'". Los Angeles Times.
  6. ^ Abbey-Lambertz, Kate (2017-01-25). "Anne Frank Center: Trump 'Is Driving Our Nation Off A Moral Cliff'". The Huffington Post.
  7. ^ Kristof, Nicholas (2016-08-25). "Anne Frank Today is a Syrian Girl". The New York Times.
  8. ^ Anne Frank Center for Mutual Respect: About the Center[3], accessed on January 31, 2017
  9. ^ "For Ellen Page, 'Freeheld' 'Freeheld' film was an emancipation - The Boston Globe". BostonGlobe.com. Retrieved 2017-02-01.
  10. ^ Sales, Ben (2016-06-14). "New head of Anne Frank Center wants a rights agenda as aggressive as he is]". Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
  11. ^ Anne Frank Center for Mutual Respect: About the Center[4], accessed on January 31, 2017
  12. ^ Anne Frank, Wikipedia[5], accessed on January 31, 2017
  13. ^ Anne Frank Center for Mutual Respect: Traveling Exhibits[url=http://annefrank.com/traveling/], accessed on January 31, 2017
  14. ^ "The Anne Frank Center USA renames itself the Anne Frank Center for Mutual Respect and names civil rights leader Steven Goldstein as new Executive Director]". Yahoo! News. 2016-06-14.
  15. ^ Anne Frank Center for Mutual Respect: Our Mission[6], accessed on January 31, 2017
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