With DEI out of favor, advocates push to honor the Jewish philanthropist who built 5,000 schools for Black children

With DEI out of favor, advocates push to honor the Jewish philanthropist who built 5,000 schools for Black children

Aviva Kempner makes films about what she calls “underknown Jewish heroes.” More than a decade ago, she attended a talk on Martha’s Vineyard by civil rights activist Julian Bond, who spoke about Julius Rosenwald, the Jewish businessman and head of retailing giant Sears, Roebuck. Bond described how Rosenwald worked with Booker T. Washington to help fund nearly 5,000 schools for Black children across the Jim Crow South between 1917 and 1932. “I’ve …