Reflecting on MLK Day: The relationship between B’nai B’rith International and the civil rights movement
In honor of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, we reflect on our experiences with the civil rights leader and the civil rights movement. Speaking out against racial prejudice from the earliest years of the 20th century, our leaders understood and identified with those who were the victims of discrimination. A hallmark of B’nai B’rith’s magazine, editorials advocating the equal treatment of people of color appeared decades before the dawn of the civil rights movement in the 1950s. These articles consistently advocated for a radical change in American attitudes and for a system of standards and laws which would outlaw unfair practices in employment, housing and education. One of these, dating from 1942 declares: “Jews must be as ardent for the defense of Negro rights as they are of their own.” During this time, among other projects, many local lodges raised monies for scholarships earmarked for young African American men and women.
When the Supreme Court passed the historic 1954 ruling which put an end to the policy of “separate but equal” Philip Klutznick, B’nai B’rith president from 1953-1959, traveled the country, including to the southern lodges, speaking out in support of the court’s decision. Three years later, Dr. King sent a telegram requesting support for what was to become the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, an organization which coordinated non-violent protests throughout the south. His message, and Klutznick’s committed response, are both housed at Cincinnati’s B’nai B’rith Archives at the American Jewish Archives.
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