The Equity & Justice Institute
Lecture Series
The Younes and Soraya Nazarian Equity & Justice Distinguished Lecture Series is a key feature of the Equity & Justice Institute.
The series helps stimulate dialogue among students, educators and community leaders committed to tackling the problems of racism, poverty, war, environmental degradation, educational inequities, religious persecution, genocide and other forms of injustice. Every year, we feature a guest speaker or film screening that specifically enhances our existing curriculum on the Holocaust and other forms of genocide and/or religious oppression.
The 2023-24 Younes and Soraya Nazarian Equity & Justice Distinguished Lecture Series theme is Coalition Building: Creating Connection and Community to Make Impactful Change. Through this lens, speakers from a wide variety of backgrounds will offer presentations on how building coalitions can be a dynamic tool to empower communities to address issues of social injustice.
These events are free and open to the public, thanks to the extraordinary generosity of the Nazarian family. If you are not a member of the Crossroads community and you would like to be notified of upcoming Speaker Series events, please click here.
Next Event In the Series
List of 1 news stories.
-
Holocaust Museum LA
In honor of Holocaust Remembrance Day, Crossroads School’s Equity & Justice Institute has partnered with Holocaust Museum LA to host an evening of docent-led tours, a reception, and a talk by Holocaust survivor Eva Nathanson. This event is part of the Institute’s 2023-24 Younes and Soraya Nazarian Equity & Justice Distinguished Lecture Series, the theme of which is coalition building.
Eva Nathanson was born in 1941 in Budapest, Hungary. When she was a young child, the Hungarian Nyilas, members of the pro-Nazi Arrow Cross Party, arrested most of her family. She was very young but remembers that this took place at her grandfather’s house. This was the last time she saw most of her family. A family friend rescued Eva and provided her and her mother with shelter. For the rest of the war, Eva hid in various homes. She remembers her fear of soldiers, weapons, and small spaces, all of which still resonate with her. As the Soviet army approached Budapest, the Nyilas tried to kill the remaining Jews as quickly as possible at the edge of the Danube River. Eva and her mother were just barely spared by a soldier. They were officially liberated in May 1945. After the war, Budapest had been completely transformed by the new Communist regime. She was able to leave with her family in 1956, just months after the revolution, and arrived in the United States in January 1957. Eva settled in Los Angeles, where she raised two children, had a successful career at Cedars-Sinai Hospital and is now a silversmith.This event is free, open to the public and recommended for ages 13 and up.
Thursday, Feb. 1, 2024
4:30-7:30 p.m.
Holocaust Museum LA, 100 The Grove Dr., Los Angeles, CA 90036
We have reached max capacity for this event. To be added to the waitlist, fill out this form: www.xrds.org/Feb1Waitlist.
Lecture Series
Event Recordings
List of 2 news stories.
-
Art & Activism in the LGBTQ+ Community
On May 11, 2023, the Crossroads School Equity & Justice Institute hosted a moderated talk with a diverse panel of LGBTQ+ activists, advocates and artists who discussed the role of art, spectacle and creative expression in the movement for LGBTQ+ rights. -
Elizabeth Ito
On April 17, 2023, the Crossroads School Equity & Justice Institute welcomed writer and director Elizabeth Ito to campus to discuss the inspiration behind her Peabody-Award winning children’s animated Netflix series, “City of Ghosts.” The show celebrates Los Angeles’ diverse neighborhoods while exploring subjects including language, Indigenous cultures, gentrification, tradition and family.
The Younes and Soraya Nazarian Equity & Justice Distinguished Lecture Series
A Highlight of Previous Speakers
-
Angela Davis
activist and scholar -
Ibram X. Kendi
historian and author of “How to Be an Anti-Racist” -
Robin DiAngelo
author of “White Fragility” -
Winona LaDuke
Native American rights activist -
Zenon Neumark
Holocaust survivor -
Nikki Giovanni
poet and educator -
Ana Navarro
political strategist and commentator -
Emiliana Guereca
founder of Women’s March LA Foundation -
Dolores Huerta
labor rights activist -
Kevin Jennings
Lambda Legal CEO
1/10
Special Thanks To
The Younes & Soraya Nazarian Family Foundation
The series is an initiative of the Younes & Soraya Nazarian Family Foundation, which supports educational causes in a broad spectrum of institutions and through a wide variety of avenues: academic, public policy, community-based, social and artistic programs in the United States and Israel.
Sadly, Younes passed away in March of 2022. Crossroads is honored that his legacy lives on through the Younes and Soraya Nazarian Equity & Justice Distinguished Lecture Series.
Sadly, Younes passed away in March of 2022. Crossroads is honored that his legacy lives on through the Younes and Soraya Nazarian Equity & Justice Distinguished Lecture Series.
-
Younes and Soraya Nazarian
