Ken Burns to be Honored at Dallas Holocaust and Human Rights Museum Annual Hope for Humanity Dinner

The Emmy Award-winning documentary filmmaker is being honored with the Hope for Humanity Award for his dedication to documenting and preserving history.

DALLAS, Nov. 19, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- The Dallas Holocaust and Human Rights Museum has announced the honoree for their upcoming 2024 Hope for Humanity dinner is Emmy Award-winning documentary filmmaker, Ken Burns. The event will be held on December 5, 2024 at the Omni Dallas Hotel.

The dinner will pay tribute to local Holocaust survivors for their strength and passion for educating future generations and will honor Ken Burns with the Hope for Humanity award, which is given at the annual event to an outstanding individual who demonstrates a dedication to the improvement of society. Additionally at the dinner, Burns will participate in a moderated conversation with Krys Boyd, host and managing editor of Think on KERA, about his work making documentary films for almost fifty years.

Burns has directed and produced some of the most acclaimed historical documentaries ever made, including The Civil War; Baseball; The Roosevelts: An Intimate History; The Vietnam War; The U.S. and the Holocaust; and, most recently, Leonardo da Vinci. His films have been honored with dozens of major awards, including seventeen Emmy Awards, two Grammy Awards and two Oscar nominations. In 2008, at the News & Documentary Emmy Awards, Burns was honored by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences with a Lifetime Achievement Award. In 2022, he was inducted into the Television Academy Hall of Fame.

"Telling stories of the past is essential for deciphering our history and building a better future," said Ken Burns. "I am deeply honored to receive the Dallas Holocaust and Human Rights Museum Hope for Humanity award. This recognition reaffirms the crucial role of storytelling in illuminating the complex beings who call themselves human beings."

Hope for Humanity's 2024 honorary chairs are Diane and Hal Brierley and the event chairs are Lisa and Peter Kraus, in addition to support from a dedicated Honorary Committee and Host Committee.

"As longtime supporters of Ken Burns' work, we are excited to serve as honorary chairs for this year's Hope for Humanity dinner and to celebrate his profound work preserving history," said Diane and Hal Brierley. "Ken's many films are more than just historical narratives; they are essential to ensuring all generations understand the past to shape our collective future."

Burns' 2022 film, The U.S. and the Holocaust, has personal meaning for event chairs Lisa and Peter Kraus. "The prejudice Ken Burns' described in his film was experienced by my father when he was barred from attending college in the United States at the outset of WWII, resulting in his victimization as a slave laborer in the Holocaust in Germany during the war," said Peter Kraus. "Ken and the Museum share a commitment to teaching the history of the Holocaust so these lessons live on," said Lisa Kraus.

More information about Hope for Humanity can be found here: www.dhhrm.org/hope

About the Dallas Holocaust and Human Rights Museum
The mission of the Dallas Holocaust and Human Rights Museum is to teach the history of the Holocaust and advance human rights to combat prejudice, hatred, and indifference. Founded in 1984 by local Holocaust survivors, the institution now resides in a new building in downtown Dallas where visitors experience a deeper immersion into the history of the Holocaust, human and civil rights, their centrality to our democracy, and their vital importance in preventing events like those of the Holocaust from happening again. The 55,000-square-foot permanent home covers three floors, and the main exhibition includes four wings that teach about the Holocaust, the creation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights after World War II, the ten stages of genocide, and America's civil rights journey. Please visit DHHRM.org or call (214) 741-7500 for more information.

SOURCE Dallas Holocaust and Human Rights Museum