Pictured: Michael Bloch and Community Day School head of school Dan Ceaser with 6 th grade students Blake Davidson and Evan Valdivia on January 28, 2022

Acclaimed civil rights litigator Michael Bloch visited Hershorin Schiff Community Day School on Friday, January 28, as part of the school’s International Holocaust Remembrance Day commemoration. As a tenacious litigator, Bloch has taken on several high-profile civil rights cases, including the federal lawsuit he led against the organizers of the deadly “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville, Va. Bloch discussed his fight for civil rights with students across all grade levels. In the process, Community Day School students considered the ongoing struggle against white supremacy and racism, both yesterday and today. Bloch gave the students a close-up look at the November 2021 trial of Richard Spencer and other white supremacists responsible for the bloody Charlottesville rally in 2017. To make the historical connection clear, the sideshow accompanying his talk contrasted archival images of Hitler and his Nazi thugs with violent scenes of modern-day white supremacists in Charlottesville. Inevitable? Only if good people do nothing. His top advice for the Community Day students? “Stand up and speak out. Join a protest march, or volunteer at an organization that supports peace and justice. Or simply speak out when someone says something inappropriate. Stand up against hatred. Stand up against racism.” The students were profoundly moved by Bloch’s words.

Pictured: Michael Bloch and Community Day School head of school Dan Ceaser with 6 th grade students Blake Davidson and Evan Valdivia on January 28, 2022