Speaking to protect, prevent and remember
By Forrest Adams
Her face was intense as her eyes recalled a room full of 6-foot-long tables with skulls on them.
Machete marks were still in the skulls, and Dr. Ellen Kennedy said she began to sob.
'I was overcome by what I saw,' her eyes focused on the present. 'There was a horrific loss of life.'
The interim director at the University of Minnesota Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies will be at the Chanhassen Library this Saturday speaking about international peace building and conflict resolution as part of the library's Great Decisions series.
Rwanda
In 2005, Kennedy traveled to Rwanda, Africa. A professor, now retired, she had been teaching and speaking about the Rwandan Genocide of 1994 since it happened. Experiencing its effects first-hand brought the harsh reality into her life in a whole different way.
'In Rwanda I met a woman named Alice,' she said. 'Alice is an orphan survivor of that genocide. One day in 1994 her mother asked her to go to the next village on an errand to her cousin's house. When Alice returned home, she was the one to discover the bodies of her grandparents, her mother and her father, her 12-year-old sister, and her 9-year-old and 2-year-old brothers. She became an orphan as a consequence of that genocide, like literally hundreds of thousands of other children.'
In that hut full of unidentified skulls, down a dirt path in the jungle, Kennedy's heart was torn. She said, Alice told her, 'You don't need to see this. This isn't your problem. It's our problem.'
The statement was an indictment of the world's response to genocide, she said. It seared into Kennedy's conscience. She returned to continue teaching at St. Thomas University, but on the topic of the Rwandan Genocide she had a renewed sense of obligation and personal responsibility to increase awareness about what had happened.
One day after class a student asked her what could be done by ordinary people. Genocides happen for many complicated reasons. Was there anything immediate that people could do to stop the massive loss of human life? The student wanted to know, and Kennedy is still responding to that question.
World Without Genocide
In 2005 she founded a not-for-profit organization called World Without Genocide (http://worldwithoutgenocide.org/). The organization has a four-fold mission: to protect, prevent, prosecute and remember. The intention is to protect innocent people, prevent genocides from happening, prosecute the perpetrators, and remember the victims.
Her efforts have been recognized locally and nationally. In 2009 Kennedy was the recipient of the Anne Frank 'Outstanding Citizen' Award. She is driven by a mission
'Genocide is a global problem. It's our problem,' she said. 'We believe that knowledge plus action equals power.'
Now retired from the classroom, she herself is like a mobile classroom. She concentrates on educating people about the crises that go on in the world and about steps they can take to make a difference.
'Ordinary citizens can do a great deal,' she said. 'Former President Clinton was president in 1994 during the Rwandan genocide. He said that he could have saved probably a few hundred thousand lives, but he did nothing because he heard nothing from senators or representatives urging him to take action.'
The reason elected officials failed to take action was because ordinary citizens failed to take action, she said.
'We encourage ordinary citizens to contact their representatives. We encourage people to call 1-800-Genocide (436-6243). All you need to know is your zip code, and you will automatically be routed to your representative or senator,' she said.
The charge now for World Without Genocide is to alert people to contact their elected officials about applying pressure to stop the ongoing conflict between Africans and Arabs in Darfur, Sudan. The United Nations puts the death toll in Sudan at roughly 300,000, while up to 2.5 million Darfuris have fled their homes and live in refugee camps throughout Darfur, in neighboring Chad and the Central African Republic.
Great Decisions Discussion
Who: Ellen Kennedy
Topic: Peace building and conflict resolution
When: 1 p.m., Saturday, May 8
Where: Chanhassen Library
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Yahoo
‘Cheers' Actor George Wendt's Cause Of Death Revealed
The cause of death for Cheers star George Wendt is now known. The actor died from cardiac arrest, according to the death certificate obtained by TMZ. The certificate, released by the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, lists cardiac arrest, congestive heart failure, coronary artery disease, and hypertension as underlying causes. Additional contributing conditions listed include end-stage renal disease or kidney failure, and hyperlipidemia (high cholesterol). More from Deadline Jason Constantine Dies: Lionsgate Motion Picture Group Co-President Was 55 Jason Sudeikis Pays Tribute To His Late Uncle George Wendt: "I Love Him Dearly" Loretta Swit Dies: 'M*A*S*H' Emmy Winner Who Played "Hot Lips" Houlihan Was 87 Wendt died peacefully in his sleep while at home on May 20, according to a family representative. He was 76. Wendt was on Cheers for the entirety of the show's epic run from 1982–1993. On a series full of beloved characters, his Norm Peterson was arguably the most beloved, with his entry into a scene announced each time as all the bar's patrons exclaimed, 'Norm!' What followed was usually a setup from one of his co-stars followed by a snappy one-liner from Norm. As a result of that performance, Wendt earned six consecutive Emmy nominations for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series, but never won. Wendt was on Cheers for the entirety of the show's epic run from 1982–1993. On a series full of beloved characters, his Norm Peterson was arguably the most beloved, with his entry into a scene announced each time as all the bar's patrons exclaimed, 'Norm!' What followed was usually a setup from one of his co-stars followed by a snappy one-liner from Norm. As a result of that performance, Wendt earned six consecutive Emmy nominations for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series, but never won. Prior to his work on Cheers, Wendt had a memorable turn on M*A*S*H, as well as appearances on Taxi, Soap and Alice. On Broadway, Wendt appeared as Yvan in Art (1998), as Edna Turnblad in Hairspray (2002), Santa in Elf (2010) and Joe Bell in Breakfast at Tiffany's (2013). Last year, Wendt joined Dan Aykroyd, Jim Belushi, Jon Lovitz, and Kevin Nealon in A History of the World in Six Glasses for Fox Nation. The show, from former Cheers EP Rob Long, chronicled the history of beer, wine, spirits, coffee, tea, soda and their respective impact on the world. Tom Tapp contributed to this report. Best of Deadline 2025 TV Series Renewals: Photo Gallery 2025 Deaths Photo Gallery: Hollywood & Media Obituaries 'Stick' Soundtrack: All The Songs You'll Hear In The Apple TV+ Golf Series
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Yahoo
Exclusive-CDC expert resigns from COVID vaccines advisory role, sources say
By Julie Steenhuysen, Michael Erman and Dan Levine (Reuters) -Pediatric infectious disease expert Dr. Lakshmi Panagiotakopoulos of the U.S. CDC resigned on Tuesday as co-leader of a working group that advises outside experts on COVID-19 vaccines and is leaving the agency, two sources familiar with the move told Reuters. Panagiotakopoulos said in an email to work group colleagues that her decision to step down was based on the belief she is "no longer able to help the most vulnerable members" of the U.S. population. In her role at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's working group of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, she co-led the gathering of information on topics for presentation. Her resignation comes one week after Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a long-time vaccine skeptic who oversees the CDC, the Food and Drug Administration and the National Institutes of Health, said the COVID vaccine for healthy children and healthy pregnant women had been removed from the CDC's recommended immunization schedule. The move was a departure from the process in which ACIP experts meet and vote on changes to the immunization schedule or recommendations on who should get vaccines before the agency's director made a final call. The committee had not voted on the changes announced by Kennedy and the CDC does not yet have a permanent director. Two days after Kennedy's announcement, the CDC published a vaccine schedule online saying that COVID-19 vaccines remain an option for healthy children aged 6 months to 17 years when parents and doctors agree that it is needed. It had previously recommended updated COVID vaccines foreveryone aged six months and older, following the guidance ofthe panel of outside experts. Two sources said Panagiotakopoulos did not include a specific reason for her departure. Panagiotakopoulos did not return requests for comment. "Unfortunately for me, this is a personal decision," Panagiotakopoulos wrote in an email to members of the working group that was read to Reuters by a source who received it. "My career in public health and vaccinology started with a deep-seated desire to help the most vulnerable members of our population, and that is not something I am able to continue doing in this role." The committee is scheduled to meet on June 25-27 and is expected to deliberate and vote on recommendations for use of COVID-19 vaccines, according to one of the sources who was not authorized to speak publicly.
Los Angeles Times
7 days ago
- Los Angeles Times
Why ‘sitcom royalty' Linda Lavin has a strong case for a posthumous Emmy
Linda Lavin has never won an Emmy. That may surprise you, particularly if you were around when Lavin headlined the long-running CBS sitcom 'Alice,' in which she played a widowed mom working as a waitress while pursuing her dream of singing. The series ran from 1976 to 1985, piling up more than 200 episodes, a spinoff for Polly Holliday (Flo, the 'kiss my grits' sass-flinger) and a lasting reputation for presenting an early, understated feminist role model. Alice wasn't nearly as brash as Bea Arthur's Maude or quite as lovable as Jean Stapleton's Edith Bunker, but like her contemporary Mary Tyler Moore, she could turn the world on with her smile. Lavin, who died in December at 87, did earn two Golden Globes for the role and, after 'Alice' ended, she won a Tony Award in 1987 for lead actress in a play for her turn as a Jewish mother navigating a changing world in Neil Simon's 'Broadway Bound.' 'It was one of the greatest stage performances I have ever seen, and I told her that the first day I met her,' says Nathan Lane, who had the opportunity to share his enthusiasm with Lavin when they worked together on the Hulu sitcom 'Mid-Century Modern.' Lane recalls watching the play and choking up when Lavin absent-mindedly wiped off a phone receiver — her character was always cleaning — right after a wrenching phone call. 'She could do anything and make it look effortless,' Lane says. 'Working with her was the happiest experience I've ever had in television.' 'Mid-Century Modern' showrunners Max Mutchnick and David Kohan had considered a few women for the role of Sybil Schneiderman, mother of Lane's character, Bunny — one of three gay friends who decide to live together, following the death of a fourth, in a Palm Springs home also occupied by Sybil. That living arrangement produces some friction and good-natured barbs, but Sybil, as played by Lavin, always leads with love and a generous spirit. And, of course, she's funny. Veteran sitcom director James Burrows calls Lavin a 'heat-seeking missile for a joke.' Anyone watching was very much in on the fun. When Lavin was revealed as Bunny's mother in the first episode, the studio audience was so happy to see her that Burrows had to stop the scene because they were cheering so loudly. 'It took a few tries to finally get it right,' Mutchnik says. 'People always referred to Linda as sitcom royalty, and we quickly found out that that was true.' Lavin had completed filming seven episodes of 'Mid-Century Modern' when, in December, she told Kohan and Mutchnik that she had lung cancer and would be undergoing radiation treatment. The prognosis, she said, was good, and she encouraged them to write her illness into the show, should she be limited. Lavin died Dec. 29. 'I had spoken to her the day after Christmas,' Lane says. 'We were supposed to be back in a week to film the last three episodes, and she was feeling very positive and optimistic.' He pauses. 'I'm getting too emotional.' Another pause. 'At least I was able to tell her how much I loved her.' Lane was afforded another chance to express his feelings when the cast and crew reconvened in January to shoot the episode addressing Lavin's demise. Titled 'Here's to You, Mrs. Schneiderman,' the half-hour finds Lane's Bunny recounting Sybil's death, using details that mirrored Lavin's own passing. On that December day, Lavin's husband, Steve Bakunas, had been driving her to the hospital, with Lavin admonishing him not to speed. After saying 'I love you,' Lavin's last words were: 'Live your life.' 'The only way we could write this and honor her was to tell the truth,' Kohan says, adding that Bakunas had given them his blessing. In a way, he notes, Lavin had too with her directive to incorporate her diagnosis into the show. Kohan says he took some solace in the fact that Lavin was able to say goodbye and was spared having to battle cancer that had metastasized in both lungs. And yet ... 'You have to understand that I had spoken to her two days before and she was so vital and so present,' he adds quietly. 'She also told us, 'Steve and I have said everything we need to say to each other' and that they had done the work,' Mutchnik says. 'She said she had a few dreams for her life. One was a work situation where she was happy, and she loved the work and the work loved her. One was to be in love with the right man — and she was — and she wanted to live in Malibu, and that is where her life ended. So she had everything she wanted.' In Emmy history, 33 actors — 22 men and 11 women — have been posthumously nominated. Most recently, Treat Williams earned a nod last year for his supporting turn in the FX limited series 'Feud: Capote vs. the Swans.' Ray Liotta was nominated in 2023 in the same category for 'Black Bird.' And in 1978, Will Geer received three posthumous nominations, including his last season on 'The Waltons.' (He lost all three.) Lavin has a legitimate case. She elevates 'Mid-Century Modern' every time she's onscreen with her vitality and comic timing. In April, she picked up a comedy supporting actress nod from the Gotham Television Awards. 'I really hope she's considered,' Mutchnik says. 'She so f— deserves it. Her work in those episodes is incredible, the best of what the medium can offer.' Adds Kohan: 'She was such a beloved figure, partly because of the way she loved other people. In our little world, for everyone in front of and behind the camera, she was the momma of the place. We were lucky to have her.'
