Representatives for the Center for Civil and Human Rights (CCHR) Partnership traveled to Washington, D.C. in October for a behind-the-scenes tour of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum.

As part of an ongoing effort to interact with world-class institutions, Doug Shipman, the executive director of the CCHR Partnership; Cheryl Strickland, managing director–Tax Allocation Districts of the Atlanta Development Authority; Lisa Borders, Atlanta City Council President; and others were in attendance for this revealing look into one of the world’s most successful and culturally significant institutions.

Proactively gathering information on the set up, description and flow of exhibits, the group was given a private tour and met with the museum’s executive director and senior level staff of exhibitions and education programs.

The group left Washington with a wealth of applicable information. "The Holocaust Museum is carefully designed to allow the audience to draw their own conclusions," said Shipman, referencing the absence of adjectives in any of the museum’s display descriptions. "They trust their visitors to interpret exhibits in their own way, which they believe has a more meaningful and longer-lasting impact on the individual."

The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum is also an interactive center that works closely with many key segments of society that affect our nation as a whole. Like the future CCHR, the Holocaust museum is actively concerned with modern human rights violations including genocide.

To read additional insights gathered during the visit; please read the "From the Director" blog at www.cchrpartnership.org/blog.