More Exploration

While working on this project I have come across many interesting things about Emma Lazarus that I was not aware of at the beginning. Even with trying to find personal information on her (which was barely available) I could not find the amount of information one would think would be available on such an inspiration to not only America but also Jewish women. While searching for more information I came across a website called, Jewish Women's Archive: Sharing Stories Inspiring Change (http://jwa.org/search/site/Emma%20Lazarus). 

This archive has given me a lot more information about her. For instance "While Emma's devout ancestors and relatives were actively involved with the Spanish-Portuguese Synagogue in New York, her immediate family was "outlawed" among the Lazarus clan because they were no longer religiously observant. Moses Lazarus (her father) sought instead to place his family among their Christian peers. However, while Emma's friends were almost all Christian, she was usually referred to and seen as a "Jewess." I found this very interesting, because as she grew up she became more aware of her Jewish culture, she also became a widely known Jewish American author. I also found it very interesting that she visited Russian Jewish refugees and also volunteered at the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society. She later became and advocate for the new arrivals and helped those who had just arrived to America. This led to her being asked to write a poem (The New Colossus) to be placed on the Statue of Liberty.

Something in which I came across while searching this archive was the Emma Lazarus Federation of Jewish Women's Clubs, which is a a progressive women's group. This federation was formed to "provide relief to wartime victims, but especially to combat antisemitism and racism and to nurture positive Jewish identification." The group is comprised largely of Yiddish-speaking women, who came from the Emma Lazarus division. Emma Lazarus was a women who stood for Jewish culture and women's freedom which is why this federation was in her honor. She also was a very admirable symbol of secular, humanistic values. Because of the Emma Lazarus Federation of Jewish Women's Clubs, New York and Miami now have a declared Emma Lazarus Day. There were "chapters in Brooklyn, the Bronx, Boston, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, Philadelphia, Detroit, Miami, Rochester, Newark, Jersey City, Lakewood, and Toms River, New Jersey," and they maintained "educational and political activities for almost forty years, attracting approximately 4,000 to 5,000 members in 100 clubs at its peak." Sadly, the federation disbanded in 1989, though some individual clubs did remain.