The Spingarn Brothers : White Privilege, Jewish Heritage, and the Struggle for Racial Equality / Katherine Reynolds Chaddock.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Chaddock, Katherine Reynolds, 1945- author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Civil rights workers--United States--Biography.

Civil rights workers.

Jews--United States--Biography.

Jews.

National Association for the Advancement of Colored People--History.

National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.

Spingarn, Joel Elias, 1875-1939.

Spingarn, Joel Elias.

Spingarn, Arthur B. (Arthur Barnett), 1878-1971.

Spingarn, Arthur B.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (206 pages) : illustrations

Edition:

First edition.

Place of Publication:

Baltimore, Maryland : Johns Hopkins University Press, [2023]

Summary:

"An absorbing account of how two Jewish brothers devoted themselves to the struggle for racial equality in the United States.In the late nineteenth century, Joel and Arthur Spingarn grew up in New York City as brothers with very different personalities, interests, and professional goals. Joel was impetuous and high-spirited; Arthur was reasoned and studious. Yet together they would become essential leaders in the struggle for racial justice and equality, serving as presidents of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, exposing inequities, overseeing key court cases, and lobbying presidents from Theodore Roosevelt to John F. Kennedy. In The Spingarn Brothers, Katherine Reynolds Chaddock sheds new light on the story of these fascinating brothers and explores how their Jewish heritage and experience as second-generation immigrants led to their fight for racial equality. Upon graduating from Columbia University, Arthur joined a top Manhattan law practice, while Joel became a professor of comparative literature. The two soon witnessed growing racial injustices in the city and joined the NAACP in 1909, its founding year. Arthur began to aim his legal practice toward issues of discrimination, while Joel founded the NAACP's New York City branch. Drawing from personal letters, journals, and archives, Chaddock uncovers some of the motivations and influences that guided the Spingarns. Both brothers served in World War I, married, and pursued numerous interests that ranged from running for Congress to collecting rare books and manuscripts by Black authors around the world. In this dual biography, Chaddock illustrates how the Spingarn brothers' unique personalities, Jewish heritage, and family history shaped their personal and professional lives into an ongoing fight for racial justice"-- Provided by publisher.

Contents:

Introduction: Brothers and brotherhood

Sons of determination

The Columbia stamp

No simple launch

Roots of activism

Goodbye, Columbia

Joining by doing

New tactics for new abolition

Great war; great debates

Aftermath

Ongoing challenges and final change

A new era for old soldiers

Epilogue: Beyond brotherhood.

Notes:

Description based on publisher supplied metadata and other sources.

Description based on print version record.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Other Format:

Print version: Chaddock, Katherine Reynolds The Spingarn Brothers

ISBN:

9781421445526

OCLC:

1368316707