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Marilyn Shuler Classroom for Human Rights set to open at the Idaho Anne Frank Memorial in Boise

Posted at 5:25 PM, Sep 18, 2018
and last updated 2018-09-18 19:33:37-04

The late Marilyn Shuler spent her life fighting for human rights in an effort to end harassment and violence, on Thursday a new classroom in her name will open at the Idaho Anne Frank Human Rights Memorial in Boise.

"Marilyn's story is one of action," said Dan Prinzing the Executive Director at the Wassmuth Center for Human Rights. "It became so fitting to name this classroom after her it is a part of her legacy but it is also a part of our legacy."

Prinzing said the Anne Frank Memorial gets 300,000 visitors every year, including 10,000 local students, he also pointed out that Trip Advisor has the memorial rated as the third best destination in Boise.

The Marilyn Shuler Classroom for Human Rights is a million dollar project funded by local people, organizations and foundations, the dedication will happen a little over a year from when the human rights tablets were vandalized in a racist and anti-semitic way.

"I think what became more important than the vandalism itself was the communities response," said Prinzing. "It was how a community came together to say not in our town, this is not who we are."

The new classroom uses technology to provide an interactive experience for people to learn the stories of people fighting for equal rights in Idaho.

An electronic kiosk shows videos showcasing the history beginning in 1800 while also showing the plight of different ethnicities with the most recent focusing on refugees in Idaho.

Display panels show the "Faces of Idaho," audio boxes powered by solar feature stories from survivors from different genocides and three different art pieces designed by Ken McCall include the spiral of justice, Anne Frank writing desk that says, "Where there's hope, there is life."

The project was funded through the generosity of the Gregory C. Carr Foundation, Dena Gray, the M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust, the Laura Moore Cunningham Foundation, A.J. and Susie Balukoff and countless others.