Operation HOPE Founder John Hope Bryant and Business Leader Chaitra Dalton-Bryant Honored with Medal of Valor by Auschwitz Jewish Center Foundation
The Bryants were honored alongside a distinguished cohort of changemakers, including Grammy-winning artist Victory Boyd, activist Malynda Hale, Pastor Carl Day, and entrepreneur Raymond Leon Roker. All were recognized for their participation in the AJCF-EXODUS Delegation to Poland, a powerful pilgrimage earlier this year commemorating the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau.
Led by Van Jones—Emmy Award-winner, CNN commentator, and founder of The Dream Machine—the January 2025 delegation journeyed through Holocaust memorial sites in Auschwitz, Kraków, and Warsaw, engaging with survivors, educators, and Jewish leaders. The experience emphasized the enduring need to fight antisemitism, anti-Black racism, and bigotry through truth-telling, education, and cross-community solidarity.
'This honor underscores the importance of our shared humanity,' said John Hope Bryant. 'In the face of rising hatred and division, we must remember the lessons of history and work together to build a world rooted in dignity, empathy, and justice.'
Chaitra Dalton-Bryant, founder and Chief Wellness Officer of The Art of Wellness and Chair, National Minority Health Association, added:
'As an African-American woman and business leader focused on healing and wellbeing, I believe deeply in the power of courageous conversations and collective healing. This award reflects a call to action for all of us to lead with love.'
John Hope Bryant founded Operation HOPE in 1992 to expand economic opportunity and financial literacy in underserved communities. Through its national network of HOPE Inside locations, the organization has served more than 4 million individuals and continues to champion what Bryant calls "Silver Rights"—economic empowerment as the civil rights issue of our time.
The Auschwitz Jewish Center Foundation's Medal of Valor is awarded to individuals who exemplify moral courage, leadership, and a steadfast commitment to fighting hatred. This year's gala also marked AJCF's 25th anniversary and celebrated 20 years of its American Service Academies Program (ASAP), an educational initiative for future U.S. military leaders focused on the lessons of the Holocaust and ethical leadership.
'We are deeply honored by this recognition and humbled to be part of a long-standing tradition of Black and Jewish partnership,' said Bryant. 'Together, we must continue to stand up, speak out, and lead forward.'
About Operation HOPE:
Since 1992, Operation HOPE has been moving America from civil rights to "silver rights" with the mission of making free enterprise and capitalism work for the underserved—disrupting poverty for millions of low and moderate-income youth and adults across the nation. Through its community uplift model, HOPE Inside, which received the 2016 Innovator of the Year recognition by American Banker magazine, Operation HOPE has served more than 4 million individuals and directed more than $4.2 billion in economic activity into disenfranchised communities—turning check-cashing customers into banking customers, renters into homeowners, small business dreamers into small business owners, minimum wage workers into living wage consumers, and uncertain disaster victims into financially empowered disaster survivors. For more information: OperationHOPE.org. Follow the HOPE conversation on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram or LinkedIn.
About the Auschwitz Jewish Center Foundation:
The Auschwitz Jewish Center Foundation is dedicated to combating antisemitism and bigotry through Holocaust education and remembrance. AJCF operates the last remaining synagogue in Oświęcim, Poland and reaches global audiences through programs that promote tolerance, ethical leadership, and historical truth.
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