Oral history interview with Joseph Asher by Eugene Pfaff

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In this transcript of an April 22, 1982, oral history interview conducted by Eugene Pfaff with Rabbi Joseph Asher, Rabbi Asher discusses some events that influenced his involvement in the civil rights movement in Greensboro, including the University of Alabama and Little Rock High School desegregation battles and his own experience as a Jew in Nazi Germany. He compares the activities of various civic organizations, political groups, the religious community, and specific leaders in Greensboro between 1958 and 1968, in addition to noting the role of Jewish community in the city and in the movement.

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Title: Oral history interview with Joseph Asher by Eugene Pfaff
Who's responsible?: Asher, Joseph (Interviewee)
Pfaff, Eugene E., Jr., 1948- (Interviewer)
Original creation or publication date: 1982-04-22
Place: Greensboro (N.C.)
Decade: 1980-1989
Type of item: text
Original format: interviews
Subject headings: Segregation in education--United States
Race relations
Greensboro (N.C.) -- History -- 20th century
Topics: North Carolina
African-American History
Schools and Colleges
Civic Groups
Additional tags: School desegregation, 1954-1958
General perspectives on race relations
Greensboro civic organizations
Primary and secondary education
Copyright information: http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/
IN COPYRIGHT. This item is subject to copyright. Contact the contributing institution for permission to reuse.
Contributing Institution: Greensboro Public Library
Collection: Greensboro Public Library Oral History Program
Civil Rights Greensboro
Funding source: Digitzation funded by a grant from the Community Foundation of Greater Greensboro.
Contributor's identifier: GPL_OH0001.004
Gateway identifier: gpl:7327
Item note: Rabbi Joseph Asher was born on January 7, 1921, in Germany. He lived there until 1938 when he fled with his family to London, where he began his rabbinical studies. He later moved to Australia where he served in the army during World War II. After the war, he served as a colonel while stationed in Germany, where he assisted displaced persons. He then accepted a position as assistant rabbi of a Melbourne synagogue, where he met his wife, Fae. In 1949, he moved to the United States in order to pursue further studies.<br><br>Asher's first rabbinical appointment was in Florida; he then served a congregation in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, during the time the University of Alabama was battling desegregation attempts. In 1958, he moved to Greensboro, where he served the congregation of Temple Emanuel until 1968. While in Greensboro, Rabbi Asher worked with black clergy and community leaders, including Jesse Jackson and Martin Luther King Jr., towards desegregation and tolerance. In 1965, he wrote an article in Life entitled Isn't It Time We Forgave the Germans.<br><br>After leaving Greensboro in 1968, Asher served as the senior rabbi of Congregation Emanu-El in San Francisco until his retirement in 1985. In 1989, the Federal Republic of Germany conferred the Grand Cross of Merit upon him for his service to humanity. On May 29, 1990, Rabbi Asher died of cancer at age 69.
OCLC number: 884367825

Oral history interview with Joseph Asher by Eugene Pfaff

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