RFK and Morris Abram

Morris Abram: The Man Who Unmasked the KKK and Helped Establish “One Person, One Vote”

by Cecily Abram Those who remember Morris Berthold Abram may recall his tenure as president of Brandeis University during the tumultuous years of 1968-1970. Yet many of his accomplishments during the time of the Civil Rights Movement that preceded his presidency are not widely known. Throughout his life, Morris became the trusted adviser to five U.S. presidents—both Democratic and Republican—each seeing in him his dedication to justice and the rule of law, his commitment to civil rights and human rights and his deep interest in Jewish causes. His proudest legal accomplishments include the establishment of the historic principle “one person, one vote” and the laws that led to the unmasking of the Ku Klux Klan. Born in 1918, Morris spent his first 16 years in rural South Georgia. Founded in 1896, Fitzgerald was a colony city for aging Union veterans...

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Lee White

Reader-Submitted Stories of Jews and Civil Rights

In honor of the yearlong anniversary of America’s historic Civil Rights Movement, Moment is collecting and sharing stories about Jews' role in the movement. Here are two more, submitted by our readers. Responses have been edited and condensed for clarity. The Speech that Spurred the Voting Rights Act Murray White, son of Lee C. White, advisor to Presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson “My father was first and foremost a Kennedy man. After the assassination, a number of JFK’s close personal friends and staffers left, and my father was also considering leaving. But in a meeting with the new president, Lyndon B. Johnson, Johnson said to him, 'I need you more than Kennedy needed you.' Under Kennedy, he had been assistant special counsel; under Johnson he was elevated to the position of special counsel. He was the White House’s...

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