• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Skip to footer navigation

  • Calendar of events
  • 687 Larch Av, Teaneck NJ
  • 201-836-5187
  • Contact Us
  • DONATE
Ethical Culture Society of Bergen County NJ

Ethical Culture Society of Bergen County NJ

  • Home
  • About
    • Platform
    • From our Society’s President, Susan Lesh
    • FAQ
      • How does Ethical Culture make a difference in society?
      • What social life is there in Ethical Culture?
      • How is Ethical Culture religious?
    • Ethical Brew
    • Ceremonies
    • Philosophy
    • Constitution & Bylaws
    • Our Building Calendar
    • Contact Us
  • Ethical Kids
    • Sunday School
      • Primary Class
      • Elementary Class
      • Junior Class
      • Senior Class
      • Sunday school FAQ
    • Youth Group
  • Leader
    • Wedding Officiant
    • Speaking of Ethics: Living a Humanist Life
    • Leader’s Talks
  • Social Action
    • All Social Action Articles
    • Battling Racism
    • Environmental Action
    • Healthcare
  • Adult Ed
    • Job Club
    • Socrates Cafe
    • Do Tell!
    • Ethical Culture Review of Books
  • News
    • President Column
    • UN Report
    • Platform Addresses
  • Events

Alan Kaufman, Freedom Rider

November 25, 2019

Mug shot of Alan Kaufman from 1961

Yesterday’s Sunday Platform address was a little different than normal, we heard the story of one who was a participant in American history as he told us about his experiences of more than 50 years ago in the Freedom Rides.  In 1961, Alan Kaufman, now a retired representative of the Communications Workers of America, traveled to Mississippi along with several hundred other students – white and black – who took buses and trains into the Jim Crow south to test recent Supreme Court rulings that invalidated segregation in public, interstate facilities such as bus and train waiting rooms.  

Alan interviewed by Society Leader, Joe Chuman

They were arrested and sent to jail, in Alan’s case 23 days in Mississippi’s Parchman State Penitentiary, a maximum security facility.  It’s important to understand that these brave young people were not breaking any laws, what they were doing was entirely legal – and that was the point, to fill the jails of the south with peaceful protestors!  The authorities invented the crime of “breach of peace” for having dared to sit in a public area designated “colored only”, blacks and whites, together.

Alan explained that at the time, he’d been a fairly non-political undergraduate university student when his girlfriend’s father told him of this effort that was being put together to challenge Jim Crow.  Alan came from a Jewish family and his father was a doctor and the public health officer of Riverside, California. His father was kicked out of town because of his work to get better conditions for migrant laborers, and the family was met with a wave of antisemitism.    A newspaper editorial called him the “rabid rabbi’ and the authorities told him he’d be better off if he just left town.

Born in 1940, was acutely aware of what the Nazis had done to the Jews of Europe and given how he had been raised, could not sit by and do nothing in the midst of the injustice of discrimination. “I had experienced discrimination.  I couldn’t imagine what things were like in the South. It was something I had to do…”

Fortunately, Alan encountered no physical violence against him while in prison – though others had a more difficult time.  All eventually bailed out by the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) who went on to represent them in court.

Alan’s story, along with those of many others, was chronicled in the beautiful book, “Breach of Peace”, by Eric Etheridge.  You can read more about the book and buy a copy for yourself here 

Primary Sidebar

Sign up for our newsletter.

Upcoming Events

Sun 28

Platform Address: 50-Plus Years on the Front Lines of Reproductive Rights

February 28 @ 11:00 am - 12:30 pm
Sun 28

Job Club Workshop

February 28 @ 2:00 pm - 3:00 pm
Mar 05

Mindfulness at Midday: Meditation, Movement, and Discussion Group

March 5 @ 12:00 pm - 1:30 pm
Mar 07

Platform: The Culture of Ethical Culture

March 7 @ 11:00 am - 12:30 pm
Mar 07

Ethical Eating for Humane and Healthy People and Planet

March 7 @ 1:30 pm - 2:30 pm

View More…

Being White

Society asks Teaneck to Make BLM Mural Permanent

About Us

Ethical Culture was founded to focus on community and good works, rather than personal salvation. Read more…

We believe in ethics. We believe in people.

Please believe in us.

Ethical Brew

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • Vimeo
  • YouTube

Archives

Footer

Connect with Us

Address: 687 Larch Ave, Teaneck, NJ 07666
Phone: 201-836-5187
Email: admin@ethicalfocus.org

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • Vimeo
  • YouTube

Recent Posts

  • Despite the Snow, Cold, and Covid, Camaraderie Finds a Way February 24, 2021
  • The Power of our Ethical Culture Way of Life February 24, 2021
  • One Step at a Time–and Watch the Ice! February 24, 2021
  • Political reform and gun-law reform rank high in Social Action survey February 22, 2021
  • Goodwill and good luck propelled philanthropist and cultural statesman behind a cosmetics empire February 18, 2021

We believe in ethics. We believe in people.

Please believe in us.

Topics

atheism atheist church book review children civil rights climate change community compassion death democracy Doris Friedensohn Elizabeth Warren environment Ethical Brew Ethical Culture ethical dilemmas ethical education ethics everyday ethics Felix Adler global warming happiness healthcare humanism humanist humanists human rights Israel Joseph Chuman meetinghouse Middle East politics racism religion Robert Gulack Secular Humanism social action Socrates Cafe Sunday School Susan Golden technology Trump unemployment winter solstice world health

What We Do For Fun….

There's always time for play: celebrations, discussions (some in Spanish -- find Conversemos on our calendar on the fourth Tuesday of the month), hikes, picnics, cultural outings, and affinity groups like our monthly Men's Dinners and Women's Dinners.
Kids get into the act
Diane running the show

Important Links

  • Member of the American Ethical Union
  • Ethical Brew
  • Sanctuary Committee
  • BC Gun Violence Prevention
  • NJ Website Designer
© 2021 | The Ethical Culture Society of Bergen County NJ

Copyright © 2021 · Kreativ Pro On Genesis Framework · The Ethical Culture Society of Bergen County · Log in

  • Calendar of events
  • 687 Larch Av, Teaneck NJ
  • 201-836-5187
  • Contact Us
  • DONATE