Yosaif august biography definition

In the summer of 1965, Yosaif August—then known as Joe — was in Hattiesburg, Mississippi., as a legal coordinator for a voter registration drive. As a Jew, he was curious about Jewish life in town, and got himself invited — “under false pretenses,” he acknowledged in a recent interview — to the home of the Jewish family that owned the local dry goods store.

The conversation during the meal was mainly small talk, but afterwards, the father took a jar of cherries out of the pantry, popped one in his mouth, and passed the jar to August.

Yosaif august biography definition us history

The cherries were soaking in 180 proof peach brandy. As the potent combination loosened up the two men, the father made it clear that he knew why August was in town. He expressed concern for August’s welfare. Among other things, he warned him not to sleep with black women because “they all have V.D.”

The shopkeeper might have been racist, but he was also clearly terrified.

He told August that Hattiesburg’s  Reformed Rabbi had been “run out of