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Illinois students will learn about
recent atrocities in Armenia, Ukraine, Cambodia, Bosnia, Rwanda and Sudan
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[AUG. 24, 2005]
SPRINGFIELD -- Earlier this month Gov. Rod R.
Blagojevich signed
House Bill 312 into law, expanding Holocaust and genocide
education for Illinois elementary and high school students. In
addition to learning about the Nazi atrocities of the 20th century,
students will now learn about more recent acts of genocide around
the world, including those in Armenia, Ukraine, Cambodia, Bosnia,
Rwanda and Sudan. In June, the governor signed legislation making
Illinois the first state in the nation to end state investment in
Sudan, cutting all state financial ties with the oppressive and
genocidal Sudanese government.
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"As we teach our kids the important lessons of history, we have to
be sure that they understand that racial, national, ethnic and
religious hatred can lead to horrible tragedies," Blagojevich said.
"Sadly, these are not just the problems of our parents' or
grandparents' generations. We have to make sure our schools teach
the importance of embracing differences among people and encourage
students to fight intolerance and hatred wherever they see it."
Sponsored by Rep. John Fritchey, D-Chicago, and Sen. Jacqueline
Collins, D-Chicago, House Bill 312 expands the previous requirement
for Illinois public elementary schools and high schools to teach a
genocide unit focused on the events of the Nazi Holocaust of 1933 to
1945. The new unit of instruction required will include but is not
limited to the Armenian genocide, the famine-genocide in Ukraine and
more recent atrocities in Cambodia, Bosnia, Rwanda and Sudan.
"In light of the culturally diverse population in Illinois and
our increasingly global society, we must ensure that the tragedy of
the Holocaust is not painted with an isolated brush," said Fritchey,
the bill's chief sponsor. "In order to fully comprehend the
inhumanity of genocide, students need to be able to understand the
indifference that has allowed it to repeatedly occur around the
world through history and up to today."
The law states that the State Board of Education may make
available to Illinois schools instructional materials for the
development of this unit of instruction. Each local school district
will set the specifics of the instruction for each grade level in
its schools.
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"By studying these tragic lessons from history, we can help our
children understand the importance of freedom," said Collins,
sponsor in the House. "When they recognize that crimes of genocide
continue in some corners of the world, even in the 21st century, it
will raise their awareness and help them understand what can happen
when you judge people by their race, their homeland or their
beliefs."
"We applaud Governor Blagojevich for breaking new ground by
signing into law this important educational initiative, a measure
which comes 15 years after the landmark Illinois Holocaust Education
Mandate was first enacted," said Richard S. Hirschhaut, project and
executive director of the new Illinois Holocaust Museum and
Education Center. "The new law affirms the continuing relevance of
applying the universal lessons of the Holocaust to the tragedies of
genocide in our world today. We look forward to bringing these
important lessons to future generations through the facilities of
the new Illinois Holocaust Museum and Education Center."
In June, the governor signed
Senate Bill 23, making Illinois the first state in the nation to
cut all state financial ties with the oppressive and genocidal
Sudanese government. The bill, sponsored by Sen. Jacqueline Collins,
D-Chicago, and Rep Lovana Jones, D-Chicago, prohibits Illinois from
investing in foreign government bonds of Sudan, investing in
companies doing business in or with Sudan, and investing the state
pension in companies doing business in or with Sudan.
House Bill 312 goes into effect immediately.
[News release from the governor's office] |
