About the Wassmuth Center
Overview
The Wassmuth Center for Human Rights provides transformative human rights education to thousands of learners of all ages in Idaho and beyond through programs and resources that build on the ideas inspired by the Idaho Anne Frank Human Rights Memorial and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
We do this work by taking lessons from history, connecting them to the present, and working to create a future that centers dignity and belonging for all. We work onsite in the Idaho Anne Frank Human Rights Memorial and Education Building; offsite in classrooms, companies, and communities around the state; and online, reaching national and international audiences.
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Who We Are
The Wassmuth Center is the home and builder of the Idaho Anne Frank Human Rights Memorial and is an all encompassing place to learn about human rights in Idaho. Our educational programs and resources promote respect for human dignity and diversity and foster individual responsibility to work for peace and justice.
Why “Wassmuth”?
Raised on a farm in Greencreek, Idaho, Bill Wassmuth was a priest at St. Pius X Catholic Church in Coeur d’Alene. In the 1980s he found himself confronted with the misuse of theology for hateful aims by white supremacists in northern Idaho. He lived through a vindictive bombing of his home and built coalitions to battle the Aryan Nations as a chair of the Kootenai County Task Force on Human Relations.
After leaving Coeur d’Alene and the priesthood, marrying and settling in Seattle, Washington, Wassmuth continued his successful leadership as director of the Northwest Coalition Against Malicious Harassment. When Wassmuth died in 2002, Governor Kempthorne called him “an early voice for human rights and human dignity in our state.”
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Be a Part of Building Our Future
The Wassmuth Center for Human Rights is 100% dependent on donations. We need your help to continue the valuable work being done in classrooms and communities throughout the state.