Jax State Holocaust Remembrance to Promote Education, Reflection, and Community Dialogue
02/23/2026
By Brett Buckner
For more than four decades, Jacksonville State University has gathered students, educators, and community members to remember one of history’s darkest chapters — and to ensure its lessons are not forgotten. Since 1982, Jax State’s Annual Holocaust Remembrance has stood as one of the longest-running university-led Holocaust education programs in Alabama and remains one of only three such programs hosted by a university in the state.
This year’s event is April 14, at 7 p.m. in the Merrill Hall Auditorium, room B10. The remembrance will include keynote speaker James Sedlis, who is the son of two Holocaust survivors. Sedlis will share the story of his father, who fought for the Lithuanian Jewish resistance during World War II, joining efforts to resist Nazi occupation at great personal risk.
Rachel Weiser, President of the Jax State Holocaust Remembrance Committee, emphasized that the importance of continuing to engage with one of the darkest chapters of world history has value for both present and the future generations.
“It ensures that the victims of the Holocaust and their families are remembered with dignity and intention each year,” Weiser said. “Secondly, it broadens our understanding of the Holocaust through, not just the speaker’s stories, but through education. It's through the ways we involve students, faculty, and community members to create a shared space to learn about and reflect on this.”
As part of the program, middle and high school students compete in the Imagining the Holocaust Writing Contest, with categories in commemorative poetry, creative nonfiction, and multimodal composition. Students who place in the contest receive $150 for first place, $100 for second, and $50 for third. Teachers and sponsors of the first-place winners in each category receive a $150 classroom grant to support their instructional efforts.
The winners will be recognized during the remembrance.
“Anytime we can draw contemporary relevance out of these stories, and what I think our event does really well is creating this important reminder that memory carries responsibility,” Weiser said. “My goal is that by studying and commemorating the Holocaust in this way, we help ensure that future generations understand that history in such a way that these events aren't repeated.”
Since 2023, Jax State has been offering middle and high school classroom grants totaling $1,200.
“This makes it possible for teachers to purchase materials often inaccessible due to funding shortfalls,” said April Mattox, who chairs the Imagining the Holocaust contest.
The program also includes a $1,500 teaching circle grant to promote interdisciplinary collaboration among educators in history, English, foreign languages, social studies, sociology, and science.
“This grant supports projects that help students understand the Holocaust’s enduring relevance,” Mattox said, “and ensure that future generations never forget the atrocities committed during WWII.”
Past recipients have used these funds for educational field trips to the Florida Holocaust Museum in St. Petersburg, Florida, and virtual tours of Auschwitz, and to build classroom libraries stocked with Holocaust literature.
“Teachers who receive grants guarantee that their students will submit entries for the contest the following year,” Mattox said, “thus showing they have used the funds on tangible materials to teach their students about the Holocaust and to encourage their creativity.”
The remembrance and Imagining the Holocaust events are supported in part by the Department of English’s Holocaust Education and Creative Nonfiction Initiative.
Sustaining a program of this scope requires continued partnership from the community. What has allowed this event to continuously grow and influence future generations is donations from within the community. Sponsorship ensures the Holocaust Remembrance remains accessible, impactful, and relevant. Support directly sustains education, remembrance, and thoughtful public dialogue across campus and the region.
“We couldn’t do this without the community involvement,” Weiser said. “Because this is for the broader community. I think it creates a space to process an important event and to reflect on it; to have a moment of moral clarity that has applications and an urgency today.”
- $500 - Friends of Jax State Holocaust Remembrance
- $1000 - Imagining the Holocaust Commemorative Poetry Contest Sponsor
- $1000 - Imagining the Holocaust Creative Nonfiction Contest Sponsor
- $1000 - Imagining the Holocaust Multimodal Composition Contest Sponsor
- $2,500 - Annual Holocaust Remembrance Program Speaker Sponsor
- $5,000 - Annual Holocaust Remembrance Program Presenting Sponsor