Professor Whitfield of Brandeis University will talk on the role of Jews in the civil rights movement...

The story of twentieth-century America can be defined in terms of the struggle to defeat racial injustice and to realize the ideal of civic equality promised in the Declaration of Independence. The impact of some Jews in that struggle, especially in making the cultural achievement of black Americans central to the nation's identity, needs to be appreciated and understood. The lecture will make the argument for the pivotal role that one minority played to advance the status of another, thus making the United States a more democratic society.

About the Speaker

Dr. Whitfield is the Max Richter Professor of American Civilization at Brandeis University, where he has taught since 1972. His expertise is in twentieth-century American political and cultural history. He is the author of eight books and has taught and lectured in Israel, Belgium, France and Germany.