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Civil Rights

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Marra Gad cropped headshot

7 Questions For Marra Gad

Jen Richler

JWA talks to author, speaker, and writer/producer Marra Gad. 

Bettina Aptheker

Bettina Aptheker is an American feminist, writer, educator, and political activist. She advocated for racial justice, studied and taught African American women’s history, and founded the Feminist Studies department at the University of California at Santa Cruz.

Collage of Jewish Women Who Died in 2023

Jewish Women Whose Memories I’m Carrying into 2024

Judith Rosenbaum

The year 2023 brought the deaths of several powerful and influential Jewish women, whose insights and voices changed the world and are all the more painful to lose in this difficult time. 

Episode 103: Kugels and Collards: The Southern Jewish Table

Food can be a vehicle for telling stories, connecting with people, and understanding our history—including the uncomfortable parts. In this episode of Can We Talk?, Jen Richler heads to Charleston, South Carolina to learn about Southern Jewish history through the lens of food. Over a home-cooked meal, Jen talks with Rachel Gordin Barnett and Lyssa Kligman Harvey, co-authors of the new book Kugels & Collards: Stories of Food, Family, and Tradition in Jewish South Carolina. She also talks with Dale Rosengarten, a scholar of Southern Jewish history, and Kim Cliett Long, a scholar whose rich family story weaves together Jewish and African American identities.  

Erica Riddick Headshot

Bilhah and Zilpah Made Me Yearn for Torah

Erica Riddick

Listening for their voices has helped me find my own.

 

Line drawings of two faces on red and white watercolor wash background

My Complicated Relationship with Passing

Noa Karidi

If people choose not to actively “come out” to the world, they are not accepted as their full selves. To be ”known” they have to make their marginalized identities known too. But that is difficult.

Borscht Belt Historical Marker - placard with info about Monticello

Bringing the Borscht Belt Back to Life

Jen Richler

JWA talks to Marisa Scheinfeld, founder and director of the Borscht Belt Historical Marker Project. 

Judith Wright

Project
Women Who Dared

Judith Rosenbaum interviewed Judith Wright on July 25, 2000, in Gloucester, Massachusetts, as part of the Women Who Dared Oral History Project, Wright discusses her family, Jewish identity, political activism, involvement in the Civil Rights Movement, incarceration during the Freedom Rides, and her continued engagement in various causes, including women's rights and antiwar activities.

Anne A. Jackson

Project
Women Who Dared

Judith Rosenbaum interviewed Anne A. Jackson on July 10, 2000, in Brookline, Massachusetts, as part of the Women Who Dared Oral History Project. Jackson shares her upbringing in a community of Russian Jews, her involvement in education and activism, including the Civil Rights Movement, her advocacy for Holocaust education, and her reflections on her career as an educator.

Vicki Gabriner

Project
Women Who Dared

Judith Rosenbaum interviewed Vicki Gabriner on July 20, 2000, in Brookline, Massachusetts, as part of the Women Who Dared Oral History Project. Gabriner recounts growing up in Brooklyn, her journey through activism, involvement in social justice issues, experiences with the Weathermen, coming out as a lesbian, and her deepening connection to Judaism and Yiddish culture.

Sara Dalkowitz Kaplan

Project
Weaving Women's Words

Roz Bornstein interviewed Sara Kaplan on December 4, 2002, in Seattle, Washington, as part of the Weaving Women's Words Oral History Project. Kaplan discusses her Jewish upbringing, experiences as the only Jewish kid in her town, involvement in debate and Hillel, meeting her husband, moving to Seattle, working in the Democratic Party, fighting antisemitism, teaching, and support for Israel.

April Baskin

7 Questions For April Baskin

Jen Richler

JWA speaks with April Baskin, an organizer and founding director of Joyous Justice.

Topics: Civil Rights

Marilyn Golden

Marilyn Golden was a long-time disability rights advocate who played a leading role in advancing accessible architecture and transportation in the United States. She was a key player in developing the accessibility provisions of the Americans with Disabilities Act and ensuring their effective implementation.

Bernice Stern

Project
Weaving Women's Words

Pamela Brown Lavitt interviewed Bernice Stern on June 22 and July 31, 2001, in Seattle, Washington as part of the Weaving Women's Words Oral History Project. Stern discusses her Seattle upbringing, involvement in the Jewish community, activism in social justice causes, political engagement, and her roles as a councilwoman and grandmother.

Shoshana Shoubin Cardin

Project
Weaving Women's Words

Elaine Eff interviewed Shoshana Shoubin Cardin on August 30, September 4, September 7, and October 3, 2001, in Baltimore, Maryland, as part of the Weaving Women's Words Oral History Project. Cardin shares her journey as an immigrant to the United States, her experiences growing up in Baltimore, her education, marriage, and the challenges and changes in the Jewish community, as well as her lifelong commitment to volunteerism and philanthropy.

Florence Schornstein

Project
Katrina's Jewish Voices

Rosalind Hinton interviewed Florence Schornstein on July 31, 2006, in New Orleans, Louisiana, for the Katrina’s Jewish Voices Oral History Project. Schornstein, a longtime political and Jewish community activist in New Orleans, discusses her involvement in politics, her experiences during Hurricane Katrina, her role in rebuilding the city, and her frustration with national services for their lack of support post-Katrina.

Collage of Lani Guinier on light purple background

The Fight for Democratic Merit in College Admissions

Sam Mezrich

Current affirmative action activists can learn from Lani Guinier: she supported affirmative action, but she also supported reforming it.

Sara Wallace

Project
Women Whose Lives Span the Century

Iris Geik interviewed Sara Wallace on February 8, 1997, in Boston, Massachusetts, as part of the Women Whose Lives Spanned The Century Oral History Project. Wallace talks about her community activism and career as a lawyer, discusses her immigrant upbringing, her pioneering role as a woman in the legal profession, her involvement in social advocacy, and her membership with Temple Israel Boston.

Florence Schornstein

Project
Women Who Dared

Abe Louise Young interviewed Florence Schornstein on January 11, 2005, in New Orleans, Louisiana as part of the Women Who Dared Oral History Project. Schornstein recounts her upbringing and journey with Judaism, highlighting her involvement in various organizations, including her role in the Civil Rights Movement, and reflects on the importance of humanitarian causes and encouraging young Jewish women to be active in their communities.

Vivienne Shub

Project
Weaving Women's Words

Elaine Eff interviewed Vivienne Shub on September 4, 2001, in Baltimore, Maryland, as part of the Weaving Women's Words Oral History Project. Shub talks about her family background, her parents' activism, her journey as an actress, founding Center Stage in Baltimore, her involvement in cultural and political movements, her love for Jewish and Yiddish culture, and reflections on various aspects of her life and career.

Miriam Waltzer

Project
Katrina's Jewish Voices

Rosalind Hinton interviewed Miriam Waltzer on September 28, 2006, in New Orleans, Louisiana, as part of the Katrina's Jewish Voices Oral History Project. Waltzer details her childhood during World War II, her career as the first woman elected to the New Orleans Criminal District Court, her experiences during Hurricane Katrina, and her current volunteering activities in Dallas.

Joan Berenson

Project
Katrina's Jewish Voices

Rosalind Hinton interviewed Joan Berenson on August 31, 2007, in Metairie, Louisiana, as part of the Katrina's Jewish Voices Oral History Project. Joan Berenson talks about her New Orleans upbringing, connection to Judaism, involvement in the Civil Rights Movement, the impact of Hurricane Katrina, and her hopes for the future.

Darryl Bloom

Project
DAVAR: Vermont Jewish Women's History Project

Ann Buffum and Sandra Stillman Gartner interviewed Darryl Bloom on August 15, 2005, in Montpelier, Vermont, as part of DAVAR: The Vermont Jewish History Project. Bloom reflects on her upbringing, conversion to Judaism, experiences on a kibbutz, commitment to social justice, involvement in the Montpelier Jewish community, and teaching at the Family Center of Washington County.

Joanne Alter

Project
Women Who Dared

Deborah Michaud interviewed Joanne Alter on February 22, 2004, in Chicago, Illinois, as part of the Women Who Dared Oral History Project. Alter reflects on her upbringing in a Christian suburb of Chicago, her early activism fostered by wartime experiences, her involvement in political organizations in college, her efforts in foreign relations and women empowerment, her successful political career, philanthropic work, and the influence of her Jewish identity on her activism.

Miriam Waltzer

Project
Women Who Dared

Abrielle Louise Young interviewed Miriam Waltzer on January 12, 2005, in New Orleans, Louisiana, as part of the Women Who Dared Oral History Project. Waltzer shares the story of her childhood in Germany during World War II, her marriage to an American, their involvement in the Civil Rights Movement, her career as a judge, and her contributions to humanitarian organizations.

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