(Jewish Group) Remembering the only Jew on the first Freedom Ride - 75 years ago

[Behind the Aegis]

Igal Roodenko, fifth from left in striped suit, carrying black suitcase and holding coat, with other members of the Journey of Reconciliation in front of the offices of NAACP lawyer Spottswood Robinson in Richmond, Va., on April 14, 1947. Courtesy of the Fellowship of Reconciliation

In a lifetime of activism and countless speeches to groups large and small, Igal Roodenko left behind a healthy number of photos of himself upon his death in 1991. Most show his shaggy hair and beard and casual, if not worn, attire. For decades, the world was only aware of one where he was wearing a suit. On Saturday, a newly discovered image will make it two – though it’s the same suit in both.

The occasion was the first Freedom Ride, of whites and Blacks challenging segregation on Southern buses and trains. The two-week trip, dubbed the Journey of Reconciliation, concluded exactly 75 years ago.

If that math sounds off, it’s because that first ride wasn’t in the 1960s, as much of the public believes, but 1947, long before the Civil Rights Movement had taken hold. Likewise, the Jewish participation on it was not the same as it would be once the movement was in full force. On the 1947 ride, Roodenko was the only Jew.

Born in 1917 and raised on Manhattan’s Lower East Side, Roodenko was the child of immigrants from Ukraine. His father, an ardent Zionist, first immigrated to Palestine before leaving again for the United States.

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[Karadeniz]

1. A truly meaningful life! I heard a WWII story about a woman, perhaps Dutch, who lived on a remote

farm, hiding two young Jewish children from the Nazis. One day, a couple, I think, of Nazi soldiers came to inspect her premises for whatever... radios, Jews. She knew they'd find the children and what would happen to them. She shot the Nazis dead. I think she made the right choice. I don't agree with Roodenko's indiscriminate pacifism.

[greyl]

2. .