Mark Rubin, Visitor Services Supervisor at the Museum of the Southern Jewish Experience in New Orleans, will give a talk on the surprising history of the Immigration and Integration of Jews into the American South, from 1585 to the present. The environment these Jewish immigrants found themselves was a vastly different narrative that what we typically imagine as the “Ellis Island” experience. These Jews were in many cases pioneers, the first Jew any of their neighbors had ever met, so they had to adapt quickly to this new world all the while fiercely clinging to their Jewishness. And Jews were involved in every aspect of Southern life, for good and for ill, thus subjects will not shy away from Jewish participation in the Confederacy, chattel slavery and the struggle for Civil Rights. The American South would not be what it is without its Jews. Come hear why.
Mark Rubin
Oklahoma-born, Texas-reared, and now living in New Orleans, multi-instrumentalist Mark Rubin is an unabashed Southern Jew, known equally for his muscular musicianship and larger-than-life persona. Over an accomplished 40+ year career, he has accompanied or produced a virtual who’s-who of American traditional music, while straddling numerous musical genres, including Country, Western Swing, Bluegrass, Cajun, Tex-Mex, Polka, Klezmer, Roma, and more.
