“Thou Shalt Not Stand Idly By”

JEWISH LIFE

The original settlers of Jersey Homesteads were Jewish, but few were particularly religious. Even so, residents spoke Yiddish—a Jewish language—and read Yiddish newspapers like The Jewish Daily Forward (a popular socialist newspaper) and the Morgen Freiheit (a paper associated with the Communist Party). They also joined secular Jewish cultural and political organizations.

Congregation Anshei Roosevelt, founded in 1938, held services in alternative spaces until a synagogue was built on Homestead Lane. It opened in 1956 and remains the only house of worship in town. Today the Jewish population has diminished to about 5%. The synagogue, while still in use, is operated by Chabad, an ultra-Orthodox group focused on outreach to less religious Jews.

Several of the artists who came to live in town over the years were Jewish. They include Ben Shahn, Jacob Landau, Sol Libsohn, and the Rosskams. These artists, like the homesteaders, did not necessarily practice Judaism. Some, like, Landau, even considered themselves atheists. Nevertheless, Judaism often continued to play a role in their artistic work.

“THOU SHALT NOT STAND IDLY BY”

The Civil Rights movement had widespread support in Roosevelt. Feeling the threat of the Ku Klux Klan’s antisemitism, the Jews in Roosevelt understood what violence and discrimination meant. The Hightstown area was a center of Klan activity and as late as 1971 the Klan burned nine crosses in the town. From the early days, many residents empathized with the African American community, choosing to sit in the section reserved for black migrant workers at the Hightstown movie theater.

Many town residents attended Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s March on Washington and at least one young person traveled to the south to engage in civil rights work. Devastated by King’s assassination, a well-attended memorial ceremony was held at the FDR memorial.

Throughout their lives, Ben and Bernarda Shahn were advocates for the civil rights of African Americans. During her time with the Special Skills Division, Bernarda created a lithographic series depicting an unvarnished history of slavery in the United States, as well as a watercolor series of African American heroes. Works displayed here show how Ben responded to the Civil Rights movement as it unfolded.