Rena's Promise Book

Welcome to The Rena's Promise Foundation

Created to further the vision of Holocaust survivor Rena Kornreich Gelissen and in honor of her memory, Rena's promise is a promise to create a more ecumenical world unhindered by prejudice, racism or hatred.

We are achieving that mission by bringing young people together from all walks of life and providing them with a place to develop the cultural and creative voices of Generation NEXT.

Journalism professor, Robert Jensen captured the spirit of or mission in his article "The Power - and Limits - of Social Movements:"

Our task is to speak aloud what others may feel but may be afraid to voice. Perhaps the most radical act today is to speak the truth about a darkening sky and remain committed to organizing, knowing there is no guarantee we can endure, let alone prevail.

This spirit is captured in the last stanza of Stafford's poem:

For it is important that awake people be awake,
or a breaking line may discourage them back to sleep;
the signals we give - yes, no, or maybe -
should be clear: the darkness around us is deep.

The potential power of social movements at this moment in history flows from this commitment to speaking the truth - not truth to power, which is too invested in its delusions to listen - but truth to each other."

From the article "The Power - and Limits - of Social Movements" by Robert Jensen, a journalism professor at the University of Texas at Austin.

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