Walking Tour: Activism on The Lower East Side
*The event has already taken place on this date: Sun, 08/18/2024
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At the turn of the twentieth century, roughly 1.5 million Ashkenazi Jews descended on the Lower East Side in search of economic opportunity and religious tolerance. Like many immigrant communities, their adjustment to life in America was complicated by prejudice, poverty, and acculturation. However, at around the same time, Jews began to challenge the status quo. Activism flourished in all aspects of public life in the Lower East Side as politicians, journalists, the working class, and philanthropists fought for the rights of a growing generation of Americans. Although manifested in a new country with historically unique values, much of the organizing done by Jews at the turn of the century drew upon traditions and beliefs of old.
Highlights:
- Visit the Museum at Eldridge’s Women’s Balcony to learn its history as a venue for activism, including the Kosher Meat Boycott of 1902.
- Stop by Seward Park, the first municipally built free playground in the United States and designed especially for the neighborhood’s children, the first generation to grow up in such crowded conditions.
- Learn the role that the Educational Alliance played in helping new and struggling immigrant families
Visit Straus Square, formerly Rutgers Square, which played a vital role for activists and demonstrations.
Image Credit: Mrs. Perlmutter and others arguing the price of meat. Courtesy of the Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division.
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