NASSDOC, Library

Your cart is empty.
Normal view MARC view ISBD view

That pride of race and character : the roots of Jewish benevolence in the Jim Crow south / Caroline E. Light.

By: Light, Caroline E [author.].
Publisher: New York : New York University Press, 2014Description: ix, 278p. illustrations.ISBN: 9781479854530 (cloth : alk. paper).Subject(s): Jews -- Southern States -- Social life and customs | Jews -- Southern States -- Politics and government | Benevolence | Charity | Kindness | Jewish way of lifeDDC classification: 305.8924075 Summary: “It has ever been the boast of the Jewish people, that they support their own poor,” declared Kentucky attorney Benjamin Franklin Jonas in 1856. “Their reasons are partly founded in religious necessity, and partly in that pride of race and character which has supported them through so many ages of trial and vicissitude.” In That Pride of Race and Character, Caroline E. Light examines the American Jewish tradition of benevolence and charity and explores its southern roots. Light provides a critical analysis of benevolence as it was inflected by regional ideals of race and gender, showing how a southern Jewish benevolent empire emerged in response to the combined pressures of post-Civil War devastation and the simultaneous influx of eastern European immigration. In an effort to combat the voices of anti-Semitism and nativism, established Jewish leaders developed a sophisticated and cutting-edge network of charities in the South to ensure that Jews took care of those considered “their own” while also proving themselves to be exemplary white citizens. Drawing from confidential case files and institutional records from various southern Jewish charities, the book relates how southern Jewish leaders and their immigrant clients negotiated the complexities of “fitting in” in a place and time of significant socio-political turbulence. Ultimately, the southern Jewish call to benevolence bore the particular imprint of the region’s racial mores and left behind a rich legacy.
    average rating: 0.0 (0 votes)

Includes bibliographical references (pages 257-271) and index.

“It
has ever been the boast of the Jewish people, that they support their own poor,”
declared Kentucky attorney Benjamin Franklin Jonas in 1856. “Their reasons are
partly founded in religious necessity, and partly in that pride of race and
character which has supported them through so many ages of trial and
vicissitude.” In That Pride of Race and
Character, Caroline E. Light examines the American Jewish tradition of
benevolence and charity and explores its southern roots.

Light provides a critical analysis of
benevolence as it was inflected by regional ideals of race and gender, showing
how a southern Jewish benevolent empire emerged in response to the combined
pressures of post-Civil War devastation and the simultaneous influx of eastern
European immigration. In an effort to combat the voices of anti-Semitism and
nativism, established Jewish leaders developed a sophisticated and cutting-edge
network of charities in the South to ensure that Jews took care of those
considered “their own” while also proving themselves to be exemplary white
citizens. Drawing from confidential case files and institutional records from
various southern Jewish charities, the book relates how southern Jewish leaders
and their immigrant clients negotiated the complexities of “fitting in” in a
place and time of significant socio-political turbulence. Ultimately, the
southern Jewish call to benevolence bore the particular imprint of the region’s
racial mores and left behind a rich legacy.

English.

There are no comments for this item.

Log in to your account to post a comment.
Copyright © Indian Council of Social Science Research 2019. All Right Reserved.
Implemented by Total IT Software Solutions Pvt. Ltd.