Givers, Doers, & Thinkers—A Podcast on Philanthropy and Civil Society · Jeremy Beer

Les Lenkowsky & the Jewish philanthropic tradition in America

·44 min·3 clips

Rosenwald's school program built 5,000 schools for African Americans in the South.

1. Givers, Doers, & Thinkers focuses on Les Lenkowsky and the Jewish philanthropic tradition in America, with Julius Rosenwald as the central case. 2. Host Jeremy Beer introduces Lenkowsky as a professor at Indiana University and a former head of the Corporation for National and Community Service. 3. The episode asks what Jewish philanthropy looked like in America and what Rosenwald's giving meant for civil society, schools, and race relations. 4. Lenkowsky says there were few Jews in 1776, but the colonies' atmosphere of toleration helped Jewish communities settle and contribute. 5. He names financier Chaim Solomon and George Washington's letter to the Truro Synagogue in Rhode Island as early symbols of welcome. 6. He also notes that discrimination still existed, including quotas in higher education and barriers in certain businesses. 7. The conversation then moves to the major Jewish immigration waves of the mid-1800s from Germany and the late 19th and early 20th centuries from Eastern Europe, Russia, and Poland. 8. Lenkowsky describes landsmanshoften in New York City as mutual societies that began with the Pledge of Allegiance and helped immigrants become Americans. 9. He says those societies also handled practical needs such as cemetery maintenance, synagogue life, hospitals, and health clinics. 10. Rosenwald is introduced as the son of tailors in Springfield, Illinois, who went from the clothing business to Sears Roebuck in Chicago. 11. Lenkowsky says Rosenwald used a connection with Goldman Sachs to help finance Sears and then became its chief executive and chief marketer. 12. He emphasizes that Rosenwald built a large fortune but gave much of it away, citing his essays in Harper's Magazine on 'giving while living.' 13. Rosenwald's philanthropy first went to Jewish communal causes in Chicago and then to Black YMCA work and Tuskegee Institute through Booker T. Washington. 14. Washington's advice to 'get a schoolhouse' led Rosenwald to fund a 1910 school-building program across the South. 15. Lenkowsky says the Rosenwald schools were public schools built with community money and sweat equity, and that about one-third of Black elementary students in the Deep South were educated in them from 1910 through the 1930s. 16. He adds that the Rosenwald Fund later supported the Rosenwald Fellowship Program, which helped Marian Anderson, Ralph Bunche, and other professionals advance their careers. 17. Lenkowsky's tone is explanatory and historical, with Beer pressing for dates, names, and practical details throughout the interview. 18. The format stays conversational and policy-minded, then turns to contemporary philanthropy, USAID, NIH overhead, and the Trump administration's actions. 19. People interested in Jewish American history, philanthropy, and civil rights foundations would likely get the most from this episode. 20. Listeners wanting a purely current-events discussion or a short interview may skip it.

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