From June 2 to 4, 2025, a group of 11 administrators from Leon County Schools in Tallahassee, Florida, traveled to Washington, D.C. to visit to the National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC) and the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum (USHMM), two institutions dedicated to exploring the complexities the industrial exploitation of humans and the consequences of discrimination and genocide. The group consisted of: Kerri Anderson, Principal of Griffin Middle School, Carmen Conner, Principal of Pineview Elementary School, John Olson, Principal of Hartsfield Elementary School, Desmond Cole, Principal of Godby High School, Dr. Rhonda Flanagan, Principal of SAIL High School, Dr. April Knight, Director of Title I Programs, Candace Gautney, Assistant Principal of Riley Elementary School, Dr. Michelle Gayle, Deputy Superintendent, Leslie Moore, Assistant Principal of Sealey Elementary School, Jamie Steed, Assistant Principal of Sabal Palm Elementary School, and Melissa Sumner, Assistant Principal of Ruediger Elementary School.

The trip gave the administrators the opportunity to deepen their understanding of two of the greatest tragedies in history, the Atlantic slave trade and the Holocaust. Because principals and administrators play a central role in shaping school culture and curricula, this immersive experience aimed to strengthen their ability to foster empathy and critical thinking in their schools at levels.

At the NMAAHC, principals explored the broad arc of African American history, from the horrors of the transatlantic slave trade, the civil rights movement, and contemporary struggles for justice. Among the museum’s most emotional experiences is the Emmett Till exhibit. Emmett Till, a 14 year old African American visitor from Chicago, was murdered by a racist mob in Mississippi in August 1955 after being accused of offending a white storeowner’s wife. The exhibit includes forensic archival photos, Till’s casket, and his mother Mamie’s interview recordings. Godby principal Desmond Cole described the exhibit as “gut wrenching.” The exhibit weaves messages of hope and transformation into a tragedy of senseless suffering and sacrifice as the death of Emmett Till served as a catalyst for the Civil Rights Movement.

At the USHMM, they encountered artifacts, personal narratives, and exhibitions that explor the Holocaust’s causes, effect, and relevance today. Carmen Conner, Principal of Pineview Elementary School, noted, “What I most appreciated about the Holocaust Museum was the careful, intentional way the history was laid out…year by year, step by step. The chronological progression, combined with deeply personal artifacts, allowed me to fully grasp the complexity and horror of that time.”

A highlight of the trip was hearing directly from two Holocaust survivors: Hershel Greenblat, who survived the Holocaust as an infant and young child by hiding in a cave in Ukraine with his parents before emigrating to Atlanta after the war, and Mary Eckstein, a child survivor who lived in Budapest, Hungary and survived in hiding during Nazi occupation. After dinner, the administrators from Leon County joined teachers and administrators from Collier County and Palm Beach County to hear survivor Mary Eckstein share her story. Mary Eckstein was born in Budapest, Hungary in 1936. Mary and her mother managed to escape the deportation to Auschwitz II – Birkenau, where over 400,000 Hungarian Jews were murdered, including many of Mary’s family members. “I was very scared and always hungry. We heard the bombing and saw buildings exploding.” Mary and her mother were saved by falsified and forged documents facilitated by the Swiss diplomat Raoul Wallenberg. Eckstein and her mother were eventually saved when the Russian army liberated Budapest in 1945. Unfortunately, Eckstein’s father died of sepsis in 1945 after cutting his hand on a rusty nail. After the war, Mary met her future husband, Joe Eckstein and got married in 1955. With her mother, they eventually immigrated to the United States in 1956 where they raised their children. Joe died after 63 years of marriage and Mary now lives in South Florida.

Deputy Superintendent Dr. Michelle Gayle stated, “The exhibits at each museum reminded me of the tragedy of some important historical events. It reminded me that we must never forget these tragedies, we must teach the truth and we must make sure that it is never repeated again.” The Leon County Schools’ Washington, D.C. journey reflects an enduring commitment to courageous education and a vision of schools as places where compassion, truth, and human dignity are at the center of learning.