Biblical People In The Bible Belt

Book Summary

As both a historian and a member of the community about which she writes, Selma S. Lewis narrates the life of Jews in Memphis from the antebellum period through the civil rights movements of the 1960s. She poignantly describes the origins and development of a healthy relationship between her "biblical people" and the people of the Bible Belt. The result is an important work of Jewish, American, and Southern religious history. As both a historian and a member of the community about which she writes, Selma S. Lewis provides an accurate and lively story of Jewish life in Memphis. She poignantly describes the origins and development of a healthy relationship between her "biblical people" and the people of the Bible Belt. It is largely a hopeful story, of a Southern city that turned out to be "a favorable place for Jews to live". For a variety of reasons Jewish Memphians suffered little overt prejudice, and were able take care of their own needs while attending to those of the community as a whole. As a result, from early on they have held positions of municipal leadership, been active supporters of the city's cultural and philanthropic activities, and aided in the course of racial integration. Narrating the life of Jews in Memphis from the antebellum period through the civil rights movement of the 1960s, Lewis artfully blends discussions of the Jewish community's proactive impact on the city's development with their reactions to events local, national, and international. She vividly highlights their roles in and responses to the Civil War, late nineteenth-century immigration, Zionism, the World Wars, the Holocaust, and the civil rights movement. The result is an important work of Jewish, American, and Southern religious history.

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