The Southern Shmooze
June 2021
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Last Thursday the Museum of the Southern Jewish Experience officially opened to the public. It was June of last year that we announced that we would be delaying our opening from October 2020 to the spring of 2021. Working through a global pandemic, a hurricane, a nation-wide acrylic shortage, and a turbulent election season, we are happy to say that we have met that goal.
We now enter a new stage in the Museum's life, one that is more public facing and connected to our communities. Be on the lookout for special programs, educational initiative, and volunteering opportunities, as we catch our breath and dive headfirst into a bright future.
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But the success of MSJE is not up to us alone. You are a vital part of our Museum. Our Capital Campaign continues. Our Membership program has launched. Our Museum Store is stocked and waiting for customers. With your support, we can do great things together!
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Shalom Y'all:
A Snapshot of Southern Jewish Life
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For those who remember the origins of MSJE at Henry S. Jacobs Camp in the 1980s, we've got a treat for you! Our first offering in our special exhibition gallery takes a look back at one of the Museum's first initiatives: an effort to photo-document Jewish life in the South, undertaken by founding MSJE director Vicki Reikes Fox and photographer Bill Aron. Their trips across the South in the late 80s and early 90s captured places, times, and experiences–some that remain, many that are now gone. Come see Vicki and Bill's reflections on these photographs thirty years later–and reflect on your own life over the past thirty years. |
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Calling all congregations, sisterhoods, brotherhoods, mah jongg groups, coffee klatches, church choirs, ROMEO clubs, family reunions, and corporate junket organizers...
Plan your trip to see MSJE now and take advantage of our special group rates. We can help with hotel recommendations, restaurant reservations, and other suggestions for a great weekend or weekday visit to New Orleans.
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Word of the Day: Mishpucha
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Mishpucha \mish∙pookh'∙eh\ n: 1. family or kin, 2. a member of the Museum of the Southern Jewish Experience ~Yiddish.
Also spelled mishpocha, mishpukha, mishpocheh, mishpuche, mishpokhe, mishpoche, mushpuche, meshpucha, mishpuha, mishpaha, mishpoha, because, of course.
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- Unlimited, free admission throughout the year
- 15% discount at the Museum Store & online store (coming soon!)
- Priority reservations for MSJE events & programs
- Access to special rates for event rentals
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Please help us welcome Krista Toussant, our new Membership & Marketing Coordinator. Krista was born and raised in Anchorage Alaska until the age of 16 when her parents retired and settled in Zachary, LA. Krista went on to attend the University of Louisiana Lafayette. During her time in school, Krista held marketing internships in Austin, TX, and New York, NY. She also took part in the study abroad program in Paris where she studied international business and marketing. In her senior year, Krista was named Miss University of Louisiana. Krista’s professional experience includes writing radio, television, and multimedia marketing campaigns for local businesses and heading up the marketing department for a building company and an architecture firm.
You can reach Krista with your questions about memberships or marketing at krista@msje.org.
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This Month in Southern Jewish History
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The Town Talk newspaper in Alexandria prints a petition in support of Soviet Jews who are being denied religious freedoms in Russia. These Jews, often called "refuseniks" because they have been refused exit visas by the Soviet government, attract the attention and support of Jews and non-Jews across the United States, even towns with relatively small Jewish populations. The petition urges citizens to contact their government officials to put pressure on the Soviet government.
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SOUTH CAROLINA: June 13, 2011 |
Max Moses Heller dies at age 92 in Greenville. Heller served as mayor of Greenville from 1971-1979. Born in Austria, Heller immigrated at age 19 to America in 1938 and was soon able to bring his parents to South Carolina. When he took office, he desegregated all city offices and commissions. Two years before his death, the city of Greenville honored Heller by erecting a statue of him on Main Street.
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Sixteen rabbis are arrested in St. Augustine as they gathered at the Monson Motor Lodge to protest racial segregation in the city. Among them is protest organizer Rabbi Isarel Dresner, the “most arrested” rabbi of the Civil Rights era. When members of the interracial prayer and protest group then jumped into the motel’s pool, the owner poured muriatic acid into the water.
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NORTH CAROLINA: June 19, 1928 |
Sara Nachamson and Emanuel "Mutt" Evans marry in Durham, NC. Mutt went on to serve 6 terms as mayor of Durham (1951-1963). Sara was both a local activist and a national leader of Hadassah. Together they progressively steered Durham through many turbulent years of the Civil Rights movement. Mutt and Sara's son, Eli Evans, became a well-known memoirist, writing about his parents in The Lonely Days Were Sundays.
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"The Last Night of Ballyhoo" closes on Broadway after 556 performances in the Helen Hayes Theater. Written by Alfred Uhry, the play follows a family of assimilated Jews in Atlanta in 1939, as they prepare for the Jewish social event of the year--Ballyhoo. Originally commissioned and performed during the 1996 Atlanta Summer Olympics, it won the Tony Award for Best Play in 1997. |
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MISSISSIPPI: June 30, 1868 |
Ida Weis Friend is born in Natchez, MS. Growing up in New Orleans, where her father was a successful cotton merchant, Ida became a local and national activist. She founded the city's chapter of Hadassah, served as president of the women's chapter of B'nai Brith, and from 1926-1932 was president of the National Council of Jewish Women. She was also active in the women's suffrage movement and Democratic state politics. |
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Do you have a This Month in Southern Jewish History item to share with us for our July issue? Send it to info@msje.org.
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Calling All Bubbes...
Museum Store Item of the Month
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Is there a new grandchild in your life? Can't you just picture them in a Shalom Y'all onesie from the Museum of the Southern Jewish Experience?
We have them in 12 and 18-month sizes – large enough for the biggest pulkies (Yiddish for fat, kissable baby thighs; also for chicken legs).
Currently on sale in the Museum Store for $22.
And be on the lookout for our online Museum Store to go live soon!
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YOUR SUPPORT = YOUR MUSEUM
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GIVE ONLINE
MAIL A CHECK
to PO Box 15071, New Orleans, LA 70175
DONATE FROM YOUR IRA
required distribution
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DESIGNATE MSJE
as a recipient of your Donor Advised Fund
DONATE STOCK
or other marketable securities
INCLUDE MSJE
in your estate planning
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Shalom. Make yourself at home.®
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Banner images (l-r): Members of Congregation Beth Israel in Clarksdale, MS, c. 1910. Collection of the Museum of the Southern Jewish Experience; Blue Star campers, North Carolina, 2016. Courtesy of Blue Star Camps.
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