Operation Understanding DC

Description: OUDC students begin this year-long, experiential learning program as curious high school juniors and graduate as committed leaders for social justice. Throughout the year, they meet in board rooms and church basements around Washington for educational sessions and honest dialogue about slavery, the Holocaust, the Civil Rights movement, current national and international issues, religion and spirituality, and much more. In July, they travel from New York City to the Deep South to explore their histories and create their blueprints for future activism. Each day is filled with inspirational speakers, educational tours and life-changing experiences.

Upon returning, OUDC’s students begin the real work of creating change. They give presentations about their experiences in synagogues and churches, facilitate workshops about stereotyping and discrimination for individuals from all age groups and find other creative ways of promoting respect and understanding.

OUDC’s nearly 400 graduates dedicate themselves to continuing the work they began in OUDC in immeasurable ways: securing the freedom of wrongly convicted prisoners; shaping public policy at the national, state and local levels; strengthening schools and neighborhoods as National Teaching, Teach for America, Coro and Avodah fellows; and community organizing on issues such as a living wage, education and workers’ rights.

The African American and Jewish communities, through an enduring relationship made famous in the 1960s, remain at the forefront of the social justice movement. While the struggle may now have a different focus, the core values that inspire it remain the same. OUDC’s participants proudly accept the mantle of this legacy and stand together as vocal allies in creating a society where all members have equal access to opportunity and freedom from discrimination.

Target demographics: Black and/or Jewish high school juniors in the Washington metropolitan area are encouraged to apply in the fall.

Direct beneficiaries per year: 24 students and their families

Geographic areas served: Washington, DC metropolitan area

Board Members and Affiliation: Wayne Strickland, President
Rabbi Bruce Aft
Jamie Butler
Eve Byford-Peterson
Christian Dorsey
Stanley Fineman
Carol Fontein
Amy Lazarus
Benetta Mansfield
Stephen Meyer
Col. LaSalle Petty
Sarah Pokempner
Shelby Shapiro
Judy Sinkin
Hazel Williams
Darwin Walker