The American Jewish Congress underwent multiple changes in <\/p>\n Phil Baum, Sylvia Deutsch, and Will Maslow (American Jewish Historical Society, American Jewish Congress records, undated, 1916-2006, Call #I-77, Box 757, Folder 11)<\/i><\/i><\/p>\n <\/i><\/p>\n <\/p>\n A graduate of Columbia University Law Will Maslow (American Jewish Historical Society, American Jewish Congress records, undated, 1916-2006, Call #I-77, Box 730, Folder 20)<\/i><\/i><\/p>\n <\/i><\/p>\n Maslow\u2019s involvement with the AJC was formalized in 1945 when Maslow\u2019s leadership took the AJC into the courts and the Maslow believed in the need for solidarity among In addition to Maslow\u2019s work as a lawyer for the AJC, the nationwide drive for achievement of civil rights, calling it Through this study he exploresd the history of the civil However Maslow recognizes that legislative reform will not
\nits focus over the course of the early 20th<\/sup> century, however it was
\nunder the leadership of individuals like Will Maslow that it transformed into
\nan organ for social justice advocacy. <\/p>\n![\"image\"](\"https:\/\/78.media.tumblr.com\/32e38b0c02961271c8c25fab94877a08\/tumblr_inline_otpmpfqS1U1r0yq0k_540.png\")
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\nparticipate in Solidarity Day March\u00a0
\n<\/p>\n
\nSchool (Class of \u201931), Maslow worked as a reporter for the New York Times.
\nAfter some time in a private law practice, Maslow began his forays into public
\njustice systems when he joined the New York City Department of Investigation.
\nHe continued to work in state government and public works and rose from trial
\nattorney to an Administrative Law Judge in Washington, D.C by 1941. Maslow
\nbegan to get involved with federal policy making when he was appointed Director
\nof Field Operations for the President’s Committee on Fair Employment Practice
\n(FEPC) in 1943.<\/p>\n![\"image\"](\"https:\/\/78.media.tumblr.com\/51c345ab59bbd361856b8351f4417c58\/tumblr_inline_otpmqt3rFU1r0yq0k_540.png\")
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\n<\/p>\n
\nhe was named General Counsel of the AJC and director of the new Commission on
\nLaw and Social Action (which he helped create). He remained counsel until 1984,
\nand even served as Executive Director of the AJC for 12 years of his career. <\/p>\n
\npolicy making rooms in order to challenge discriminatory legislative practices.
\nNotably, Maslow filed a discrimination suit against his alma mater in order to
\ndefy Columbia\u2019s discriminatory admissions quotas. He was also involved in the
\ncase of the Stuyvesant Town Housing Co. against who he filed a suit citing
\nracist policies marginalizing black tenants. Much like Polier, Maslow also
\nworked extensively on fair employment and housing practices. <\/p>\n
\ndisenfranchised groups of America and maintained \u201c The negroes’ fight against
\ndiscrimination in employment, housing, education is part of the struggle for
\nJews for equality of opportunity in those fields\u201d[1]<\/a>.
\nMaslow was deeply involved in the Civil rights movement of the 1960\u2019s, and
\nhelped organize Dr. King\u2019s 1968 march on Washington, as well as the Little Rock
\nsegregation case of the 50\u2019s.<\/p>\n
\narchives of his papers reveal a great deal of scholarly work on the Civil
\nRights movement and the fight for legislative reform in post-Jim Crow America.
\nIn an extensive and comprehensive study entitled “Civil Rights Legislation,
\nand the fight for equality, 1862-1952\u201d[1]<\/a>
\nMaslow co-authored with Joseph Robison, Maslow marvels at the <\/p>\n
\nthe "ultimate accolade” as \u00a0\u201cit
\nhas become a key issue in two successive presidential campaigns". He
\ncomments on the need for integrated reform, claiming that “law itself is a
\nform of education and education is the prerequisite to an effective use of
\nlaw”. Keenly in tune with the conflict within the Jewish community on the
\nquestion of Civil Rights, Maslow cites the role played by societal
\ninstitutions, like the synagogue in creating the “social climate”
\nnecessary for civil rights to flourish. <\/p>\n
\nrights movement and the deeply embedded racial inequality in America, focusing
\non post Civil War legislation such as black codes (prohibiting entry into
\nbusinesses that weren’t husbandry), the federal civil rights act (extended
\nquestion of citizenship), constitutional reform, the black vote and the
\nformation of white primaries and the restriction on black representation, and
\nthe creation of the NAACP. <\/p>\n
\nsolve the problem of de facto violence against Black people, especially in the
\nSouth because their people “are not prepared to take a white life to pay
\nfor a black one”. The most crucial idea presented by Maslow\u2019s study is the
\n‘new violence’ of police brutality. He warns that the enemy is no longer a
\nlynch mob, but the “sadistic police officer”. In the year 1951 alone
\nthere were 33 reported black deaths in police custody, most of which went
\nunpunished. Maslow calls for the strengthening the Civil Rights Section of the
\nDepartment of Justice coupled with the tackling of local crimes on a local
\nlevel. Ultimately, the study concludes, “nothing like the present ferment
\nhas been seen for seventy-five years… Yet, only a beginning has been made and
\nmany of the obstacles to complete equality loom as large as ever”. Maslow\u2019s
\nunderstanding of race relations in America is eerily accurate in its foresight,
\nwith the crisis in police brutality and
\nmass incarceration still targeting the Black community today. <\/p>\n