Jews have done so well in America in the last fifty years that its probably hard for many people to imagine what the first Jewish Miss America meant to my fathers generation, one that still faced many barriers to academic and career advancement. Her victory in this silly contest helped open ways to other victories and it gave men and women in her generation confidence that the future was bright. Some obituaries for Mario Cuomo pointed out that despite his graduating at the top of his class at St. Johns law school, none of the major Manhattan law firms would hire him because of his ethnic heritage. My dad had a similar experience. Despite his graduating in the top third of his Harvard Law School class, those jobs were not open to him either. Its a totally different world today. I still remember how much pride people of my parents and grand-parents generation took in her and how much they appreciated her being a forceful spokesperson for Jews, for women, and for education. And Im even willing to forgive her for helping give us Mayor Koch! (Thats partly a joke, Koch was a far better Mayor than his often divisive rhetoric let on.)
Posted on: Mon, 05 Jan 2015 22:21:50 +0000
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