“I Am Not Standing Alone”: Hausner Class of 2024’s Tribute to Voices Silenced by History

This is not our first project with Facing History and Ourselves. In 2021, seventh and eighth graders worked with Tion Torrence, a well-established musician and graffiti artist in the Bay Area, as well as Jena Dominique, an artist and historian of street art all over the world. The week that the 8th grade class of 2021 graduated, they, along with Tion and Kufue (a Bay Area artist), collaborated to bring a mural of Gideon Hausner to life. The process was amazing to see; students spent hours painting with spray paint and going up on a scissor lift to get to the higher parts of the wall. Hausner’s dynamic figure in the mural, along with the symbolism is a teaching tool for even the younger grades at the school that bears his name so they can also learn about being a mouthpiece for justice. 
 
In the Eichmann Trial, Hausner spoke for those who could not stand and speak, as he stepped back to give a platform for survivors who needed to tell their stories, our students have learned to do the same. They have experienced the importance of perspective and the power of both the individual and community together. Their work speaks both for themselves as well as for others.