Exploring the Jewish History of Civil Rights in Atlanta

Over the past few months, I worked with Hillel to organize a group to tour some of the many Civil Rights sights in Atlanta in the midst of Black History Month. I wanted to explore the history of the Civil Rights Movement and the Jewish involvement in this period of progress while seeing the very places where this history unfolded. Our visit this past Sunday afternoon included a trip to the pencil factory of Leo Frank, a Jewish man whose rights were ignored as he was sentenced to death for a crime he did not commit. We then visited Auburn Avenue, the home to Martin Luther King, Jr - his birth house, his burial site, Ebenezer Baptist Church, and the King Center.

Billy Planer, the founder and executive director of Etgar36, led our small group. It was fascinating to learn of the struggle for Black Civil Rights and to find out that Jews held such a positive role in their struggle. Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel being one of the key players among the Jews who marched with Dr. King at Selma, Alabama, was a prominent supporter of civil rights during this time. He is even featured in a new mural at the MLK center depicting Dr. King's struggle for civil rights.

Everyone who went on this trip took away from it a sense of inspiration. We were challenged to make the world a better place through tikkun olam, and we fully intend to do so. As Dr. King worked to better the world, so can we.

Deborah Schlein ('13C) is from Houston, TX.