The Spingarn Brothers

Book excerpt: "Joel and Arthur Spingarn were privileged, white, and Jewish. Born into an upper-class New York City family (in 1875 and 1878, respectively), the brothers quickly forged notable careers as young professionals-Joel as a highly regarded professor at Columbia University; Arthur as a lawyer in a top Manhattan firm. Their busy lifestyles included interests in local clubs, hobbies, and travel. Soon, however, the two would veer off on a very different path, one that shaped them as nationally recognized leaders of racial justice activism and long-time heroes to thousands of Black citizens who benefited from their persistence and generosity. Their discussions about the need for equal rights and opportunities found them drawn to meetings of an upstart group, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, and, by 1910, Joel Spingarn was elected to the group's Executive Committee, while his brother was named as an NAACP vice president. Throughout their careers, the brothers both took terms as NAACP presidents and struggled with numerous disappointments and setbacks, hand in hand with brilliant successes, as they participated in an aggressive forward movement toward equal treatment and rights for all. In this dual biography, Katherine Chaddock explores how their family history, including their childhood experiences and the nature of Jewish faith and teaching, shaped the Spingarn brothers' personal and professional lives into something far from what might have been anticipated from their privileged backgrounds"--