Dr. Susan Cernyak-Spatz,
a survivor who testified to the worst of humanity so we could remember,
a professor who taught us about history so we could learn,
a woman of passion who spoke her heart, mind and soul so we could have the courage to do the same,
a person of sharp intellect who challenged us to think critically,
a woman of strength whom we all admired,
a blessing – her words helped to change the future.
The Stan Greenspon Center for Peace and Social Justice mourns the death of Dr. Susan Cernyak-Spatz who shared her testimony, knowledge and wisdom with the Queens community, with the Charlotte community, and with the global community. From the day we opened on August 15, 2016, Susan stood in support of our work. She shared her story in our classrooms and to a full house in Belk Chapel. We premiered the documentary of her story and the first staged reading of the Three Bone Theatre play capturing her life on our campus. She mentored our leadership team and inspired us until her last breath.
We grieve alongside her family. Our warm embrace of consolation extends to her children, Jackie, Wendy, and Todd, and their spouses and children. Jackie helped to envision our Center and works with us as a consulting educator.
The funeral will be at Temple Beth El, 5101 Providence Road at 1:00 pm on Sunday, November 24, 2019. Shiva minyans, services to honor memory, will be held at 7:00 pm on Sunday evening and Monday evening at 7:00 pm.
The family has invited those who grieve her death and were inspired by her life to make donations in memory of Dr. Susan Cernyak-Spatz to the Stan Greenspon Center. What will your gift do? It will bring the stories and the lessons of the Holocaust into our regional schools so that the worst of humanity’s history can be taught and our students can be given the skills to speak out against hate and in support human rights, enabling the best of humanity can daily unfold. To make a donation in memory of Dr. Susan Cernyak-Spatz, click here. (Under designation note: the Stan Greenspon Center for Peace and Social Justice and/or note in the memo “in memory of Dr. Cernyak-Spatz.”) Donations in her memory can also be made The Center for Holocaust, Genocide & Human Rights at UNC Charlotte, a program she helped establish.
March for Love in response to the KKK Parade being planned in North Carolina, December 2016
Greenspon Center Teacher Workshop, July 2018
Sharing her story to a full house in Belk Chapel, November 2018
Staged Reading of Protective Custody, PRISONER 34042
“Forgive? I don’t think there is anyone alive now who condemned me to death. And I’m still here.”
– Dr. Susan Cernyak-Spatz, ueens University of Charlotte, Belk Chapel, November 13, 2018