Narrator from Weaving Women's Words: Baltimore Stories

Clementine L. Kaufman

A tireless advocate for social justice, Clementine L. Kaufman was born in 1924 in Baltimore County. The daughter of Rabbi Morris Lazaron of Baltimore Hebrew Congregation, Clem lost her mother when she was eight years old. Cared for by a series of governesses as a child, she gradually assumed a central role in running their busy household. As a young woman, she traveled extensively and was exposed to many non-Jewish religious leaders and internationally known public figures whom her father knew through his leadership in the National Conference of Christians and Jews. While still a student at Goucher College, Clem married Frank Kaufman in 1945, a lawyer and later a federal judge. After their children, Frank Jr. and Peggy, were born, Clem devoted herself to raising her family and volunteer work. She later earned a master's degree and a Ph.D. from the University of Maryland School of Social Work and focused her work life on alternative educational institutions for girls. Clem's passion for learning continues in her retirement, and she is currently working on writing several books.


	The doctorate in social work has opened up all kinds of things for me. I've had a variety of jobs—the White House Commission on Children and Youth, Action, the Kettering Foundation, the School of Hygiene and Public Health at Hopkins, UMBC, the Juvenile Justice Advisory Council. I've had a marvelous time.
Clementine L. Kaufman A tireless advocate for social justice, Clementine L. Kaufman was born in 1924 in Baltimore County. The daughter of Rabbi Morris Lazaron of Baltimore Hebrew Congregation, Clem lost her mother when she was eight years old. Cared for by a series of governesses as a child, she gradually assumed a central role in running their busy household. As a young woman, she traveled extensively and was exposed to many non-Jewish religious leaders and internationally known public figures whom her father knew through his leadership in the National Conference of Christians and Jews. While still a student at Goucher College, Clem married Frank Kaufman in 1945, a lawyer and later a federal judge. After their children, Frank Jr. and Peggy, were born, Clem devoted herself to raising her family and volunteer work. She later earned a master's degree and a Ph.D. from the University of Maryland School of Social Work and focused her work life on alternative educational institutions for girls. Clem's passion for learning continues in her retirement, and she is currently working on writing several books.
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