“‘South of the South?’ Jews, Blacks, and the Civil Rights Movement in Miami, 1945-1960”
Dublin Core
Title
“‘South of the South?’ Jews, Blacks, and the Civil Rights Movement in Miami, 1945-1960”
Description
Dr. Raymond Mohl was a professor of history who dedicated his work to exploring the urban histories of the South and the many problems associated with it. His focus is exemplified in this article as he discusses the interactions between Jewish and Black communities during the civil rights movement in Miami from 1945 to 1960. The piece follows the efforts of civil rights organizations such as the NAACP and the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE), as well as highlighting personal stories of individual activists. Mohl documents the work done by these groups and how certain activists interacted, as well as the opposition to their efforts, especially from the KKK and anti-communist McCarthyism. Overall the article expands our understanding of the lived experience of various marginalized groups and what, if any, shared experience they may have had in the Jim Crow South.
Specifically, Dr. Mohl examines the interactions that Black and Jewish communities in the mid-20th century in Miami and works to understand how each community navigated a time when racial and political violence was rampant. Through this paper, it is understood that while Black and Jewish communities were held as “outsiders”, their lived experience indicates that both communities were not as collaborative as imagined. What prevented the mobility of brotherhood between the two communities was McCarthyism. The “red scare” forced both communities into their enclaves, only enabling some members of either community to forge bonds. This piece serves as reminder that lived experiences of those may not reflect the heroic ideology that we so earnestly want to believe in and that mobility extends beyond just the movement of people.
Specifically, Dr. Mohl examines the interactions that Black and Jewish communities in the mid-20th century in Miami and works to understand how each community navigated a time when racial and political violence was rampant. Through this paper, it is understood that while Black and Jewish communities were held as “outsiders”, their lived experience indicates that both communities were not as collaborative as imagined. What prevented the mobility of brotherhood between the two communities was McCarthyism. The “red scare” forced both communities into their enclaves, only enabling some members of either community to forge bonds. This piece serves as reminder that lived experiences of those may not reflect the heroic ideology that we so earnestly want to believe in and that mobility extends beyond just the movement of people.
Source
Raymond A. “‘South of the South?’ Jews, Blacks, and the Civil Rights Movement in Miami, 1945-1960.” Journal of American Ethnic History, vol. 18, no. 2, 1999, pp. 3–36. JSTOR, https://www.jstor.org/stable/27502414.
Collection
Citation
““‘South of the South?’ Jews, Blacks, and the Civil Rights Movement in Miami, 1945-1960”,” The Kudzu Experience, accessed July 22, 2025, https://kudzu.ecdsomeka.org/items/show/139.