South of the South: Jewish Activists and the Civil Rights Movement in Miami, 1945-1960

Southern Dissent

by Raymond A. Mohl, Matilda Bobbi Graff, Shirley M. Zoloth

Raymond Mohl offers an original interpretation of the role of Jewish civil rights activists in promoting racial change in post-World War II Miami.
He describes the city's political climate after the war as characterized by segregation, aggressive anti-Semitism, and a powerful strain of cold war McCarthyism. In this hostile environment the dynamic leadership of two northern newcomers, Matilda "Bobbi" Graff and Shirley M. Zoloth, played a critical role in the city's campaign for racial reform. Working with the Miami chapter of the Civil Rights Congress, established in 1948, Graff was instrumental in the organization's stand against the Ku Klux Klan, its protests against lynchings and police brutality, and its work with Florida's black civil rights leaders such as Harry T. Moore. With the Miami Congress of Racial Equality, Zoloth helped to launch a lunch counter sit-in campaign (a year before the more famous student sit-ins of 1960) that ultimately resulted in the desegregation of downtown public accommodations.
Original documents written by both women, including Graff's autobiographical memoir, demonstrate a level of Jewish activism, especially by women, that was unique for the time and place - the postwar American South. Their own words vividly describe fear, harassment, family and community pressures, government intrigue, and individual betrayal. The perseverance of these women and their small band of supporters is a testament to their strength and an inspiration for continued reform in America.

263 pages, Hardcover

First published December 31, 2003

Reviews

[Joan Cochran · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was one of the most useful books I found while writing a short story collection about Miami during the mid-century. It threw light on the "real" Miami when segregation and anti-Semiticism were a way of life and, I hate to admit it, I didn't think much about segregated bathrooms or water fountains. It turned out that one of the people featured there, Bobbie Graf, is my friend's cousin and we've had some communication. Her story about almost being arrested in the hospital after having a baby -- for civil rights movement activities -- is amazing. It's the kind of story you don't hear too often and that, sadly, is missing from the new movie, "Selma." A lot of rabbis and Jews marched and died in that movement and I never realized just how backward Miami was at the time (I was pretty young during that era). This is the true story of the neon city, one that new Floridians never seem to hear about.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is half about my grandma, holla.