Skip to main content

"A Multiracial Jewish Family in Early America"

May 23, 2022

2022 Philip M. and Ethel Klutznick Lecture in Jewish Civilization

"A Multiracial Jewish Family in Early America"

Professor Laura Arnold Leibman presented this year’s Philip M. and Ethel Klutznick lecture, A Multiracial Jewish Family in Early America. Accompanied by images including detailed maps, photographs of synaoguges as well as miniatures and other personal objects, Leibman traced the fascinating history of siblings Sarah Brandon Moses and Isaac Lopez Brandon, born in Barbados to a white Jewish father and a Black mother in the late 18th century. Like their mother, the siblings were enslaved until their father purchased their freedom. From there, a journey including conversion to Judaism, education in London, marriage, and success in business ultimately culminated in their acceptance into Jewish society in New York as well as citizenship in the United States, both signifying their whiteness. Leibman highlighted how their case challenges how we think of race and religion in the early American history.

 Co-sponsored with Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Chicago

 EVENT VIDEO