Topic: Julius Rosenwald

Julius Rosenwald, the president of Sears, Roebuck & Co., partnered with Booker T. Washington to build thousands of schools for Black children in the South. This partnership is cited as the foundation of the Black-Jewish alliance that fueled the civil rights movement. The hosts contrast Washington's "ground-up" approach with W.E.B. Du Bois's "Talented Tenth" theory, suggesting the two were intentionally pitted against each other.

The hosts explore why Julius Rosenwald was "memory-holed" despite his massive philanthropy. They link his decline to his funding of the defense for Leo Frank, a Jewish businessman convicted of murdering Mary Phagan in Georgia. The Leo Frank case is identified as the catalyst for the creation of the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) and a pivotal moment in Southern Jewish history.