Interview with Jerry Abramson, April 6, 2017

Partial Transcript: Uh, so, so some of the questions will deal--in fact, a lot of the questions for you will deal with your family background--

Segment Synopsis: Jerry Abramson's paternal grandmother is from Louisville, Kentucky, but his paternal grandfather is from Lithuania. Abramson's maternal family is from Connecticut.

Keywords: America; Lithuania; Louisville (Ky.); New Haven (Conn.); Poland

Subjects: Emigration and immigration.; Family histories.; Genealogy; Immigrants--Kentucky; Jewish families.

Partial Transcript: Um, but they, um--my, my grandparents lived in Albacker Court, uh, which is where so many Jewish families lived in Old Louisville.

Segment Synopsis: The Keneseth Israel Synagogue is the temple that Abramson attended. He lived in the Old Louisville neighborhood section of Louisville for a portion of his life. Abramson specifically lived in Albacker Court.

Keywords: Albacker Court; Jewish population; Keneseth Israel Synagogue; Old Louisville Neighborhood

Subjects: Childhood; Louisville (Ky.)

Partial Transcript: Well, just your grandfather's putting a store where it did, it sounds like it had an impact on the rest of your life.

Segment Synopsis: Abramson grew up around a family-owned grocery store. The store was located in Taylorsville, Kentucky near Louisville. The store was called Abramson. As a child, Abramson would sometimes work in the store alongside his parents.

Keywords: Grocery stores; Jewish-owned family stores; Louisville (Ky.); Taylorsville (Ky.)

Subjects: Childhood; Entrepreneurship; Family histories.; Jewish businesspeople; Jewish families.; Small business--Kentucky; Small business--Ownership

Partial Transcript: And, uh, was your father going straight into the store or did he have--

Segment Synopsis: Abramson's grandparents are named Sidney and Sadie. His grandmother's maiden name is Russman. Many members of the Abramson family served in the army. This included Roy and Shirley Abramson, Jerry's mother and father, who met while deployed.

Keywords: Army; WWII; Women's Army Corps; World War 2; World War II

Subjects: Family histories.; Genealogy; Jewish families.; World War, 1939-1945

Partial Transcript: Yom Kippur was so important we stayed downtown in a hotel.

Segment Synopsis: Abramson celebrated Jewish holidays in accordance with his faith as a child. This included Yom Kippur and Rosh Hashanah. These rituals and celebrations differed from those of Abramson's Christian friends. The Sabbath was an important aspect of ritual to Abramson and his family.

Keywords: Christmas; Jewish Kentucky; Jewish holidays; Passover; Rosh Hashanah; Sabbath; Yom Kippur

Subjects: Fasts and feasts--Judaism.; Holidays.; Jewish children; Jewish families.; Judaism.; Religion; Worship (Judaism)

Partial Transcript: So what was that like, being in Connecticut instead of Kentucky?

Segment Synopsis: Abramson's mother originally lived in New Haven, Connecticut. Abramson's mother disliked the idea of moving to Taylorsville, Kentucky from such a large city. Abramson's son, Sidney Abramson, often visits his grandmother over the summer in Connecticut and celebrates the Jewish faith there.

Keywords: Connecticut; Elocution; Kentucky; Matzah; New Haven (Conn.); Passover; Summer; Taylorsville (Ky.)

Subjects: Jewish children; Jewish families.; Judaism.

Partial Transcript: So it seems that, at least when you were very young, there was a strong Jewish community in Old Louisville that had the synagogues, that still had, uh, considerable population there--

Segment Synopsis: Abramson, as a child, attended Hebrew school. Abramson also held some form of involvement in the local Jewish Community Center, which is where he attended Hebrew school, and would take a bus there after school on Wednesdays and Thursdays. Abramson had a bar mitzvah while living in Kentucky.

Keywords: Bar mitzvahs; Hebrew schools; Jewish Community Center (JCC); Synagogues

Subjects: Jewish children; Jewish families.; Judaism.; Religion; Worship (Judaism)

Partial Transcript: And did you at this time experience any, um, sense of being different or ostracized or in some way--because you were Jewish, did it--was it a social issue for you?

Segment Synopsis: Seneca High School is located near a neighborhood in Louisville, Kentucky known as the Highlands, and this is where Abramson attended high school. He describes having a sizeable Jewish population at his high school. Many of Abramson's friends from Seneca High School were Jewish and were involved in Jewish-based clubs with him.

Keywords: "Conservadox"; Atherton High School; B'nai B'rith Youth Organization (BBYO); Highlands; Seneca High School

Subjects: Education--Kentucky; Jewish children; Jews--Identity.

Partial Transcript: And then you socialized at--

Segment Synopsis: BBYO (B'nai B'rith Youth Organization was its name before being renamed BBYO Inc.) is an organization Jerry Abramson was involved with during high school. Abramson enjoyed being involved in multiple clubs and organizations during high school, which made his high school experience memorable.

Keywords: B'nai B'rith Youth Organization (BBYO); Clubs; Seneca High School

Subjects: Education--Kentucky; Jewish children; Jews--Identity.; Louisville (Ky.)--Social conditions

Partial Transcript: So when you were a teenager you lived on...

Segment Synopsis: Abramson spent a good part of his childhood living in the Highlands, a neighborhood sect of Louisville. This neighborhood has a larger Jewish population, which contributed to the high Jewish population at Abramson's school, Seneca High School. In this part of Louisville, Abramson knew of many Jewish-affiliated bakeries and places that sold kosher food. Much of this was located on Bardstown Road. Jerry Abramson's parents prevented him from dating non-Jewish peers.

Keywords: Bardstown Road; Highlands; Jewish dating; Kosher; Neighborhoods; Reform Judaism

Subjects: Education--Kentucky; Jewish children; Jewish families.; Jews--Identity.; Louisville (Ky.)--Social conditions

Partial Transcript: And did you always know you were headed for college instead of--

Segment Synopsis: Abramson attended Indiana University, where he studied business economics and public policy. According to Abramson, Indiana University appeals to many Jewish people because it has a large Jewish population. While attending Indiana University, Abramson was involved in a Jewish fraternity, Zeta Beta Tau.

Keywords: Colleges; Indiana University; Jewish fraternities; Zeta Beta Tau (ZBT)

Subjects: College environment; College students--Conduct of life.; College students--Religious life; College students--Social conditions; Greek letter societies.; Universities and colleges.

Partial Transcript: Uh, you majored in business economics, you said.

Segment Synopsis: After attending undergraduate school at Indiana University, Abramson enrolled in law school at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., although he had originally hoped to attend Yale Law School. At Georgetown University, he was recognized for being in the top five percent of his class.

Keywords: Law schools; Seneca High School; Yale University

Subjects: College students--Social conditions; Georgetown University; Universities and colleges.; Washington (D.C.)

Partial Transcript: Were you thinking even then of a political career?

Segment Synopsis: Abramson recalls being the chairman of "College Students for Kennedy," showing his political involvement early on. In this position, he essentially campaigned for John F. Kennedy. Abramson had the opportunity to travel with Robert Kennedy when he went to various states to speak publicly.

Keywords: College Students for Kennedy; John F. Kennedy; Robert Kennedy

Subjects: College environment; College students--Conduct of life.; College students--Political activity.; College students--Social conditions; Kentucky--Politics and government; Politicians; Universities and colleges.

Partial Transcript: I took basic training here at Fort Knox, uh, uh, twelve weeks, which was brutal, and uh, and then I got my orders for--to be a law clerk.

Segment Synopsis: Abramson participated in military training at Fort Knox prior to being asked to go to Vietnam as a law clerk. Close to the time he was scheduled to be sent to Vietnam, he was notified he was no longer being sent. This occurred under orders from President Richard Nixon, who put a limit on the number of troops that could be sent. Abramson had been in Oakland, California at the time for further training. After his orders were changed, Jerry Abramson lived in Oakland, California for two years as a law clerk.

Keywords: California; Fort Knox (Ky.); Military; Oakland (Calif.); President Richard Nixon

Subjects: Draft.; Military life.; Vietnam War, 1961-1975

Partial Transcript: So, uh, then you--the story you told before about rejecting Yale.

Segment Synopsis: Abramson returned to Georgetown University after almost traveling to Vietnam; he had expected to be stationed there, but was told he was not needed last-minute. He edited the law review alongside a few of his roommates, and worked at a law firm. Abramson did not connect with the Jewish community in the same way he had while in Louisville because he was very busy while in school.

Keywords: Capitol Hill; Georgetown University; Jewish life; Law schools

Subjects: Jews--Identity.; Judaism.; Lawyers; Washington (D.C.)

Partial Transcript: And, uh, you didn't stay at the law firm long before you got involved in politics.

Segment Synopsis: Abramson worked in a law firm, Greenebaum Doll & McDonald, PLLC, for thirteen years prior to his political career, from 1972-1985. His office paid for him to be a member of a country club in order to obtain clients. Abramson was a part of Standard Country Club, which was the Jewish club of Louisville, Kentucky.

Keywords: Country clubs; Georgetown University; Networking; Standard Country Club

Subjects: Lawyers; Louisville (Ky.)

Partial Transcript: And I would sit and ask them what they want for the future of Louisville.

Segment Synopsis: As mayor, Abramson worked closely with the Louisville metro community to accomplish what his constituents wanted as far as change in the community. Abramson would sit with members in the community and apply the conversations he held with the citizens to his work as mayor. Abramson would respond politically to what they requested. He speaks about the impact that this personal connection with his constituents had on his career as mayor.

Keywords: Governors; Mayors

Subjects: Kentucky--Politics and government; Louisville (Ky.); Politicians--Kentucky

Partial Transcript: And, uh, during that initial time as mayor, were there any, uh, challenges that you felt you just couldn't meet...

Segment Synopsis: After considering the wants of his wide Louisville community, Abramson worked to continue making important accomplishments while serving as mayor of Louisville. He did this based off of the notes he would take when meeting with constituents. Abramson recounts how he established the recycling system in Louisville. He implemented this system upon desires of citizens wanting to clean up the community.

Keywords: Mayors; Recycling

Subjects: Kentucky--Politics and government; Louisville (Ky.); Politicians--Kentucky

Partial Transcript: So we've talked about that period of your life, but we didn't really talk about your personal life during that time, and, uh, your life in the Jewish community...

Segment Synopsis: Abramson's wife is named Madeline. Madeline Abramson converted to Judaism from the Roman Catholic Church before marrying Jerry. Abramson's son is named Sidney and he attended Hebrew school in Louisville at Temple Shalom, just as his father did. Sidney was bar mitzvahed.

Keywords: Catholic; Crescent Hill; Jewish converts; Keneseth Israel Synagogue; Louisville Male High School; Rabbis

Subjects: Jewish children; Jewish families.; Judaism.; Louisville (Ky.); Religion; Worship (Judaism)

Partial Transcript: Well, you, uh, had the chance to return as mayor...

Segment Synopsis: Abramson believes that there is much separation of socioeconomic classes in the city of Louisville, and that is something of a concern to him. Being in politics, Abramson got the chance to travel around Kentucky a lot, and applied his first-hand knowledge of this separation to his political views and career. He worked to hear all views from the different socioeconomic classes.

Keywords: Fern Creek; Government outreach; Hike's Point; Prospects; Socioeconomic classes

Subjects: Kentucky--Politics and government; Louisville (Ky.); Politicians--Kentucky

Partial Transcript: So you decided that your family would stay in Louisville and you would commute?

Segment Synopsis: While in D.C., Abramson would occasionally be working on Capitol Hill and take domestic issues to legislators there. Abramson attended the Sixth & I synagogue on occasion while in Washington, D.C. Abramson describes a lot of Jewish people being at the White House.

Keywords: Louisville (Ky.); Sixth & I; White House

Subjects: Jews--Identity.; Judaism.; Kentucky--Politics and government; Politicians--Kentucky; Religion; Washington (D.C.)

Partial Transcript: --J Street being the, uh, progressive Jewish organization that--

Segment Synopsis: Abramson recalls attending J Street dinners and organization meetings. The progressive organization promotes a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Abramson discusses talking about the issue with a few people in the political realm, including the founder of the mentioned organization.

Keywords: Israel; J Street; Palestine; Politics

Subjects: Politicians; Politics and government

Partial Transcript: And so I have some sort of summary questions--

Segment Synopsis: Abramson looks up to many voices in politics as role models. Abramson especially is a fan of Robert Kennedy. Bill Clinton and Barack Obama are two other politicians that Abramson mentions as political role models. Abramson believes that he played a role in bridging a gap between Louisville and many of the more rural places in Kentucky.

Keywords: Barack Obama; Bill Clinton; Operation Brightside; Robert Kennedy

Subjects: Kentucky--Politics and government; Louisville (Ky.); Politicians--Kentucky