Tag Archives: Ira E. Sanders

Life of longtime CALS trustee Ira Sanders topic of today’s Legacies & Lunch

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SandersIraE_fToday at noon at the CALS Ron Robinson Theater, the Butler Center for Arkansas Studies and Clinton School for Public Service collaborate on a special Legacies & Lunch.

James Moses, professor of History at Arkansas Tech University, will discuss the life of Ira E. Sanders, who served as rabbi at Congregation B’nai Israel in Little Rock for 38 years and was a legendary champion of social justice in Arkansas and throughout the nation.

Rabbi Sanders was a founder of Arkansas Lighthouse for the Blind, the Arkansas Eugenics Association, and the Urban League of Greater Little Rock. He also served for 40 years on the Central Arkansas Library System’s Board of Trustees. James Moses is writing a book about Rabbi Sanders, to be titled “Life Fire Shut Up in My Bones.”

Legacies & Lunch is free, open to the public, and supported in part by the Arkansas Humanities Council. Programs are held from noon-1 p.m. on the first Wednesday of each month. Attendees are invited to bring a sack lunch; drinks and dessert are provided.

 

Little Rock Look Back: Rabbi Ira Sanders

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SandersIraE_fOn May 6, 1894, Ira Eugene Sanders was born in Missouri.  After receiving an undergraduate degree and rabbinate degree in Cincinnati, he was ordained a rabbi in 1919.  He served congregations in Pennyslvania and New York before coming to Little Rock in September 1926.

Shortly after arriving to lead the B’nai Israel congregation, Rabbi Sanders became active in the Little Rock community.  Among his projects were the Little Rock Community Fund, Little Rock School of Social Work (which he founded), Central Council of Social Agencies, and University of Arkansas Extension Department. During the Great Depression, he helped organize the Pulaski County Public Welfare Commission.  Other areas of involvement over his career included the Arkansas Human Betterment League, Urban League of Greater Little Rock and Arkansas Lighthouse for the Blind.  On November 3, 1930, Rabbi Sanders debated Clarence Darrow about the existence of God in front of a packed house at Little Rock High School.

For his many involvements, he received an honorary Doctor of Humanities degree in 1951 from the University of Arkansas.  Three years later he received an honorary Doctor of Divinity degree from Hebrew Union College’s Jewish Institute of Religion.

A lifelong supporter of a Jewish state, he participated in nineteen bond drives for the state of Israel.  In August 1963, he retired as the leader of B’nai Israel after over 35 years. He would remain as Rabbi Emeritus until his deal in 1985.

In January 1978, Rabbi Sanders tendered his resignation from the Central Arkansas Library board of directors.  The City Board of Directors passed resolution 5873 which noted that he had served for 51 years on the Library Board. He was first appointed in 1926.  He served during 19 different Mayoral administrations from Charles Moyer’s first term through Donald Mehlburger’s.

On April 8, 1985, Rabbi Ira Eugene Sanders died of natural causes.  He is buried in the City’s Oakland Jewish Cemetery.  The Central Arkansas Library System honors his memory with an annual distinguished lecture series.

Middle East is the topic of the 2014 Rabbi Ira Sanders Distinguished Lecture Tonight

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DrKimballphotocalsDr. Charles Kimball, author of When Religion Becomes Lethal: The Explosive Mix of Politics and Religion in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, will present the Central Arkansas Library System’s (CALS) Rabbi Ira Sanders Distinguished Lecture on Thursday, September 4, at 6:30 p.m. in the CALS Ron Robinson Theater, 100 River Market Avenue. The lecture is free and open to the public, and will be followed by a reception and book signing.

Kimball is a graduate of Oklahoma State University and holds the M.Div. degree from Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. An ordained Baptist minister, he received his Th.D. from Harvard University. Kimball is an expert analyst on Islam, Jewish-Christian-Muslim relations, the Middle East, and the intersection of religion and politics in the U.S.

Dr. Charles Kimball is Presidential Professor and Director of Religious Studies at the University of Oklahoma in Norman, OK. Between 1996 and 2008, he served as Chair of the Department of Religion and the Divinity School at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, NC. During the 2006 fall term, Dr. Kimball was the Rita and William Bell Visiting Professor at the University of Tulsa. He is a graduate of Oklahoma State University and holds the M.Div. degree from The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary.

Reservations are requested, but not required. RSVP to pedwards@cals.org or 918-3009. For more information contact 918-3086 or sgele@cals.org.

 

Lilly Ledbetter is 2013 Ira Sanders Distinguished Lecturer tonight

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calsledbetterThe Central Arkansas Library System’s (CALS) 2013 Ira Sanders Distinguished Lecture will feature Lilly Ledbetter, an advocate for fair pay. The free lecture will be held Thursday, August 22, at 6:30 p.m. in the Main Library’s Darragh Center, 100 Rock Street. Ledbetter’s book, Grace and Grit: My Fight for Equal Pay and Fairness at Goodyear and Beyond, will be available for purchase at the event. A reception and book signing will follow the lecture.

In 1998, Ledbetter filed a gender pay discrimination suit against Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company in federal court and won a jury verdict of more than $3 million. After a series of appeals, the U.S. Supreme Court later overturned the lower court’s ruling. Despite her defeat, Ledbetter continued her fight until the Supreme Court decision was nullified when President Obama, on January 29, 2009, signed into law the first new law of his administration: the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act. While she will never receive restitution from Goodyear, Ledbetter said, “I’ll be happy if the last thing they say about me after I die is that I made a difference.”

CALS established the Rabbi Ira E. Sanders Distinguished Lectureship to commemorate the memory of Dr. Sanders’ 40 years of service on the library’s Board of Trustees. Dr. Ira E. Sanders served as rabbi at Temple B’nai Israel for 38 years. He was a founder of Arkansas Lighthouse for the Blind, the Arkansas Eugenics Association (later Planned Parenthood Association), and the Urban League of Greater Little Rock, where he served as an executive and advisory board member for more than 30 years. Lectures honor Dr. Sanders’ commitment to intellectual freedom.

This event is free and open to the public. Reservations are appreciated, but not required. RSVP to pedwards@cals.org or 918-3009.