The Southern Shmooze
November 2020
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As a group, American Jews have long ranked at or near the top of the list of most active voters. Like many immigrant communities, a history of discrimination and oppression by non-democratic governments in the "old country" has given Jews a heightened awareness of their civic opportunity and responsibility.
From the earliest days of the Republic--and even during colonial times--the workings of government were integral to the Southern Jewish experience, and vice-versa.
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1669: The Fundamental Constitutions of Carolina offers freedom of worship for "Jews, Heathens, and other Dissenters."
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1774: English immigrant Francis Salvador is elected to the South Carolina General Assembly, becoming the first professing Jew to hold political office in America.
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1853: Judah P. Benjamin is elected senator from Louisiana and serves that body until his state secedes from the Union in 1861.
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1868: North Carolina passes its new state constitution, ending the last legal discrimination against Jews in the South by removing the religious test for holding political office.
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1833 to the present: Lots of Southern Jewish mayors (see below).
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So, let your voice be heard on Election Day and let your story be told on the Museum's Opening Day.
Here's something to keep in mind...
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The Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act was passed this year by Congress to help combat the far-reaching impacts of COVID-19. The act provides increased tax incentives for charitable giving for both individuals and corporations. As you consider your support for MSJE at this crucial time, be sure to explore how the CARES Act may positively impact your charitable contributions in the 2020 tax year.
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Our Southern Jewish Mayors |
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Of all political offices, it can be said that a town's mayor most accurately represents the will of the local community. It might surprise you that nearly 200 Southern cities have elected Jewish mayors at some point in their history, starting with Mordecai De Leon of Columbia, SC, in 1833. Some have elected more than one, including three in Selma, Pensacola, Shreveport, Dallas, El Paso, and Wilmington, and five in Galveston and Donaldsonville, LA. Georgetown, South Carolina, tops this list with a total of seven Jewish mayors.
This ever-growing map shows that Jews have reached the highest levels of local government across the South, displaying a level of acceptance and leadership that expands our understanding of what it means to be a Southerner.
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Do you have a Southern Jewish mayor in your family history?
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Exciting News! The renovations on our building have been completed and we have begun the process of installing our newly-designed exhibits. This process will take a few months, but we can now see our vision, which was previously on paper, coming to life. There's a lot of work still ahead, including, carpentry, audio-visual installation, artifact preparation, and general schlepping. Stay tuned and follow us on social media for frequent updates and more pictures!
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Moving in the exhibit platforms. These bases will hold out artifact cases, text panels, and audio-visual equipment.
Our Foundations of Judaism gallery will showcase more than 50 replica stained glass windows from Southern synagogues.
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Painting the entrance lobby. This wall will display our beautiful Mezuzah Society exhibit, which will be filled with scores of mezuzahs sent in by Museum donors. |
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Framing the curved projection screen in our orientation theater. In this theater, we'll also host lectures, show films, and welcome our visiting school groups. |
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Sign up with your address and we'll mail you our new Museum of the Southern Jewish Experience brochure. |
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RESCHEDULED
Due to Hurricane Zeta last month, we are rescheduling this program.
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The New Orleans Jewish Orphans' Home
A Conversation with Marlene Trestman
New Date
Thursday, November 19, 7:00pm Central
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Join us for a conversation with Marlene Trestman, historian and author of the forthcoming Most Fortunate Unfortunates: New Orleans’s Jewish Orphans’ Home, 1855-1946. MSJE Curator Anna Tucker and Marlene Trestman will explore the history of the Jewish Orphans' Home in New Orleans and discuss artifacts that were considered and selected for the MSJE's opening exhibitions. Other topics of discussion include Supreme Court advocate and Home alumna, Bessie Margolin, and her legacy in light of the recent death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.
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This program is FREE, but registration is required to participate via Zoom.
You can also watch without registration on Facebook Live at (facebook.com/msjenola)
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If you previously registered for this program, you are still registered. |
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If you missed our program about
Growing Up Jewish in Selma,
you can watch a recording of it here:
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And Speaking of Live Programs...
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This Month in Southern Jewish History |
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LOUISIANA: November 3, 1912 |
Ida Kohlmeyer is born in New Orleans. Kohlmeyer studied art at Newcomb College and the Hans Hoffmann school in Massachusetts. She was greatly influenced by abstract expressionist Mark Rothko, when he was a visiting artist at Tulane. Kohlmeyer would go on to reach great acclaim as an abstract artist and sculptor, and her works can be found in museums and public spaces across the country.
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KENTUCKY: November 4, 1848 |
Isaac Wolfe Bernheim is born in Schmieheim (Germany) and immigrated to New York in 1867, supposedly with only $4 in his pocket. He left New York to peddle in Pennsylvania, and eventually settled in Kentucky, where he went on to create a profitable bourbon distillery, become a renowned philanthropist, and establish the Bernheim Arboretum and Research Forest, outside Louisville. |
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VIRGINIA: November 7, 1922 |
The New Leader in Staunton reports that Jefferson Levy has offered to sell Monticello to the Thomas Jefferson National Memorial Association for $500,000. Financing of the deal would be guaranteed if the people of Virginia raised $50,000 within three week. They did and it was. Levy's father had purchased Monticello in 1830 and the Levy family maintained it for more than 90 years. |
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Temple Israel, the only synagogue at the time in the panhandle, is dedicated. The Amarillo Globe-Times reported that local ministers of various denominations attended the ceremony. The temple served people over a wide territory, including the towns of Pampa, Borger, and Dalhart.
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LOUISIANA: November 24, 1934 |
Lillian Hellman's play, The Children's Hour, premieres on Broadway and runs for 691 performances. The New Orleans-born playwright and screenwriter is also known for her works Watch on the Rhine, The Little Foxes, and Toys in the Attic (set in New Orleans). Before the House Un-American Activities Committee in 1952, Hellman refused to "name names" and was blacklisted in Hollywood.
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ALABAMA: November 26, 1899 |
Temple B'nai Sholom in Huntsville is dedicated. Coverage of the dedication in The Weekly Democrat included this assessment of the town's Jewish population, “The Jews of Huntsville are examples of industry and thrift…There are Jewish merchants who came to this town with little more than their clothes…and have become the leading merchants and desirable citizens.”
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Your End-of-Year Giving Options |
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GIVE ONLINE
MAIL A CHECK
to PO Box 15071, New Orleans, LA 70175
DONATE FROM YOUR IRA
required distribution
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DESIGNATE MSJE
as a recipient of your Donor Advised Fund
DONATE STOCK
or other marketable securities
INCLUDE MSJE
in your estate planning
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Shalom. Make yourself at home.™️
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Banner images (l-r): Members of Congregation Beth Israel in Clarksdale, MS, c. 1910. Collection of the Museum of the Southern Jewish Experience; Blue Star campers, North Carolina, 2016. Courtesy of Blue Star Camps.
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