Democracies are held up as the gold standard of governments, relying on fair and just laws, basic human freedoms, and trust in the voice of the people to create a healthy and successful nation. But what is the impact on legal systems and human rights when democracies deteriorate?

 Anne Applebaum, Pulitzer Prize-winning historian, journalist, and commentator on geo-politics, discusses the recent rise of nationalism and authoritarianism around the world. Using a historical lens, Applebaum analyzes how global political trends are impacted when the value of truth is diminished and what makes people turn away from democracy. 

 The conversation will be moderated by Krys Boyd, Host and Managing Editor of KERA’s flagship midday talk show Think.




 Every day from March 13 – 17,

Holocaust Survivors, Refugees, Hidden Children, and Second Generation Survivors

will recount their stories at 1 p.m. 


There is no cost to attend this event,

but registration is required.

Click on speaker's name to register.


March 13, 2023 | 1pm

BERT ROMBERG


March 14, 2023 | 1pm

ROSIAN ZERNER


March 15, 2023 | 1pm

ANDRAS LACKO


March 16, 2023 | 1pm

MAGIE FURST




Monday, April 3  |  7 p.m. Program  |  Free  |  Virtual Via Zoom















2023  PROGRAMMING


​Near the end of World War II, as Allied troops advanced across Europe, they came across concentration camps containing thousands of survivors. The troops freed the prisoners from the camps and provided them with food and medical supplies. Among the liberators of Dachau was Texas native Private First Class Henry Lee Maxey, a member of the 42nd Infantry Division. Sara Abosch-Jacobson, Barbara Rabin Chief Education Officer, and Anne Hanisch, Project Cataloger, discuss the experiences of liberators and feature selected artifacts from the Maxey Liberator Collection in the Dallas Holocaust and Human Rights Museum’s archives. 


Funk Family Upstander Speaker Series: Masih Alinejad
Wednesday, March 22
6:30 p.m. | Reception to Immediately Follow
$10 per person | Free for Museum Members
In person



Masih Alinejad is an Iranian-American journalist and women’s rights activist

who gained worldwide attention when she removed her hijab and

posted a photo on her Facebook page standing proudly with her hair blowing

in the wind. My Stealthy Freedom, her 2014 viral social media campaign,

sparked a civil disobedience movement against compulsory hijab in Iran.

Today, My Stealthy Freedom is a nonprofit organization dedicated to

supporting Iranian women and their freedom. Iranian authorities have responded violently to ongoing activism, harassing and beating protesters, firing into crowds, making arrests, and violating the rights of those in custody.

Currently living in exile in New York, Alinejad continues to oppose Iran’s regime,

speak in defense of fellow activists, and offer valuable insights into the protests throughout her country. In recognition of her commitment to human rights,

she has received the UN Watch’s International Women’s Rights Award and the

American Jewish Committee's Moral Courage Award, among other honors. 


Partnering with the

 Dallas Holocaust and Human Rights Museum



SWJC is proud to be a community partner with the

Dallas Holocaust and Human Rights Museum on

Tuesday, February 7 | 7pm

for the Funk Family Upstander Speaker Series featuring Opal Lee. Known as the “Grandmother of Juneteenth” for her efforts

to turn Juneteenth into a federal holiday,

Ms. Lee is a retired teacher, activist, and local legend.

In 2016, at the age of 89, Ms. Lee pledged to walk from her home in Fort Worth, Texas to Washington, D.C. in support of the campaign to make Juneteenth a federal holiday. She ultimately traveled to cities around the country, walking two and a half miles each day to symbolize the two and a half years that Black Texans waited between when Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, abolishing slavery, and the day the news finally arrived in Galveston, Texas. In 2021, Lee stood alongside President Biden as he signed the bill into law. In 2022, she was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize. Today, Lee is active in the running of Opal’s Farm, an organic urban farm on the banks of Trinity River that is tackling the neighborhood's food desert. She is involved in several community groups and helped establish the Tarrant County Black Historical & Genealogical Society, which is dedicated to preserving local African American history.

​​​Southwest Jewish Congress