Hate, civil rights and meeting the co-founder of Southern Law Poverty Center

This weekend at Lakeside we have a scholar in residence program focusing on combating hate.  Joe Levin from the Southern Law Poverty Center (SLPC) will be speaking Saturday night and Sunday morning.  On Friday night Rabbi Serotta will talk about his personal connection to the civil rights movement growing up in Miami Florida.  I can't wait to hear his story.  

Growing up in Crystal Lake, Illinois in the 1960's and 1970's  I  did experience some anti-semitism but I did not grow up in a very diverse community; being Jewish was as exotic as it got back at my schools.  I do remember going to visit my Aunt Corrie Diamond in Sardis, Mississippi in 1971 with my mom, grandmother and sister.  Aunt Corrie had been married to my great Uncle Sol and she was not Jewish and when they got married in 1942 I am sure it caused a commotion  on both sides of the family.   

Uncle Sol had owned the local dry goods store and he and Aunt Corrie had worked in Sardis for their whole lives.  When we went to downtown Sardis I saw for the first time two types of drinking fountains:  white and colored.  There were also white and colored bathrooms.  I was mystified and did not understand why this was so different than bathrooms in Crystal Lake and Chicago.   I asked my Mom why there were two different fountains and bathrooms and she tried to explain to me and my sister the situation in Mississippi.  It did not make sense to me then and it still does not make sense to me.  

As we go into our Scholar in Residence weekend if you have stories or your parents or grandparents have stories of the civil rights movement now is a great time to share these important memories and stories with the next generation!