Lecture with Charles Song, Cambodian Genocide Survivor, and Dr. Alexis Herr, Professor of Genocide Studies

On Cambodia’s National Day of Remembrance commemorating the Cambodian Genocide, Classrooms Without Borders is honored to bring Cambodian Genocide survivor Charles Song, and professor of genocide studies Dr. Alexis Herr, to our community of learners. Charles Song
Charles is a community activist based in Long Beach, California. Born in Cambodia, he survived the genocide as a young teenager and moved to the United States as a refugee in 1983.
Charles is Co-Chair of Equity for Cambodians, Chairman of the Khmer American Civic Engagement Committee, and is the proud Chairman of the United Khmer American Coalition Committee, where he is currently organizing the COVID-19 Food Drive for Seniors which has provided food supplies for over 400 susceptible seniors and families in need, including undocumented immigrant families in five different cities. He is currently serving his first year as a board member of the Midtown Business Improvement District in Cambodia Town and serves on the board of the Signal Hill Community Foundation. An accomplished jeweler by profession, he was one of the founders of the Cambodian American Chamber of Commerce and served two terms as the President of the Cambodian Jewelry Association of California.
Through his work with the American Red Cross Long Beach Chapter, where he served on the Board of Directors for nine years, Charles was able to organize various humanitarian aid fundraisers to support victims of major natural disasters, including the terrorist attacks of 9/11 (2001), Hurricane Katrina (2005), the Haitian earthquake (2010), the tsunami in Japan (2011), the conflict in Cambodia (2011), Hurricane Sandy (2012), Typhoon Bopha in the Philippines (2012), and Hurricane Harvey (2017), among others.
His selfless commitment and dedication toward his community has earned him more than a hundred certificates of recognition from federal, state, county, and local elected officials as well as numerous community based organizations.
Alexis Herr
Alexis Herr has dedicated her life to combating genocide and atrocity. This passion has motivated her educational and professional pursuits and translates into a strong desire to prevent human rights violations. Ms. Herr received a doctorate in Holocaust History from the Strassler Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies, Clark University. She teaches at University of California, Berkeley, San Francisco State University, and the University of San Francisco. She is the author of The Holocaust and Compensated Compliance in Italy: Fossoli di Carpi, 1942 – 1952 (New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2016), and the editor of Rwanda: The Essential Reference Guide (Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO, 2018) and Sudan: The Essential Reference Guide (Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO, 2020).