Broadwell: What's your take on the Civil War?

From the Fayetteville Observer: Broadwell: What's your take on the Civil War?

Toward the end of his talk in Washington, D.C., I asked Hari Jones what he thought of the movie "Glory."
It's one of my favorites, the gripping story of the all-black 54th Massachusetts Volunteers and their heroic fight for freedom in the Civil War.
My question was a bit of a softball setup. From what I had seen, during this visit last year to the African-American Civil War Museum in Washington, Hari Jones wasn't one to toe the traditional line of history.
He challenges long-held assumptions about what we think we know about the war.
He cites statistics. He fires off facts. He poses questions.
As for "Glory"? There's a lot of Hollywood there, Hari Jones will tell you. There's a largely unknown story to be told about how black and white Americans fought to end slavery, and the movie doesn't do it justice. It's a start, and an eye-opener at that, but it's just a start.
That's similar to the reports earlier this month on the 150th anniversary of President Lincoln's initial Emancipation Proclamation. There are so many layers to peel back: The vintage version is that Lincoln "freed the slaves," of course, but it's much more complicated. It's political, military, constitutional and bloody, so terribly bloody.
Nothing about the Civil War is really easy. We're still debating its causes and issues to this day and will do that for generations to come.
And now, how would you like to hear from Hari Jones?
He's the assistant director and curator of the museum in Washington, and he's scheduled to speak here at the Cape Fear Regional Theatre on Monday at 7 p.m. The free program is sponsored by the Museum of the Cape Fear Historical Foundation, which is developing a long-range plan for a new museum to tell North Carolina's own Civil War story.
There's no telling what Monday's program could spark or inspire. During my visit to the museum in Washington last year, a woman shared her family's Civil War heritage. She's white, but in her genealogy search she learned that she had black ancestors who fought for the Union, and she wanted us to know that.
It was a powerful moment, the kind of drama that our all-American war can still deliver.

‘Fireside Chat’ underscores Lincoln’s decree

From Frederickburg.com: ‘Fireside Chat’ underscores Lincoln’s decree

President Abraham Lincoln issued his preliminary Emancipation Proclamation on Sept. 22, 1862, warning Confederate states that if they didn’t return to the Union by Jan. 1, their slaves would go free.

On Friday, almost 150 years to the day, a group of nationally renowned Civil War historians gathered at the University of Mary Washington to discuss the document’s enduring legacy.

Speaker of the Virginia House of Delegates William Howell welcomed the audience and speakers, remarking, “I can’t imagine a better location than Fredericksburg for this conversation.”

James I. Robertson Jr., a Civil War expert and retired history professor at Virginia Tech, opened the “fireside chat” before a crowd of about 300 in Dodd Auditorium. The stage was modeled after a sitting room in the White House, complete with armchairs and a projected fire.

“The Emancipation Proclamation has been described as the single most significant proclamation in history,” said Robertson.

He was joined by three key speakers: Edna Greene Medford, history department chair at Howard University; Frank Williams, retired chief justice of the Rhode Island Supreme Court; and Harold Holzer, vice president for government relations and public affairs at New York Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Each speaker approached the proclamation—issued in its final form on Jan. 1, 1863—from a different perspective.

Holzer shared a series of Civil War-era drawings, paintings and photographs that depicted the various responses to the Emancipation Proclamation.

One drawing showed President Lincoln writing the Emancipation Proclamation in his study with the Constitution, the Declaration of Independence and an American flag in the background, illustrating Lincoln’s patriotism in authoring the document.

Another drawing from the Confederate perspective depicted Lincoln writing the document with his foot on the Bible, and a devil-shaped inkwell, a vulture’s head and a glass of whiskey on the table in the background, demonizing Lincoln in this act.

“Why [pictorial images are] important is they’re not just pictures . They reflect passionate points of view, pro and con, North and South,” said Holzer.

‘A TRANSFORMATIVE MOMENT’

Williams, the retired judge, began with a story of how he became infatuated with Lincoln when he was in the sixth grade.

“I spent my lunch money buying Lincoln books—all of 25 cents a day,” he said. “One of the reasons I became a lawyer [was] because Lincoln was a lawyer.”

He later explained how Lincoln used his powers as commander in chief during wartime to write and enforce the controversial document, something he would not have been able to do during peacetime.

Williams said the proclamation was a combination of social, moral, military and political factors.

“It was a transformative moment in American history, probably as transformative as the Declaration of Independence,” he said.

Medford approached the issue more from the African–Americans’ perspectives. She emphasized two clauses in the proclamation: first, the entreaty to the slaves not to resort to violence unless it was in self-defense, and second, the inclusion of African–Americans in the Union Army.

Not all slaves followed the course of nonviolence, said Medford, citing uprisings in which slaves seized firearms and attacked their former masters.

But many did opt to join the military. Former slaves played a very important role in the Union victory, according to Medford. They were involved in at least 400 battles, and 39 of these were very important in the outcome of the war, she said.

Because they had fought in the war, the African–American men believed they were entitled to full citizenship, voting rights, landownership, education and fair treatment.

“They believed that, in issuing the proclamation, that’s what Lincoln was offering them,” said Medford. “The first generation came to revere Lincoln because they thought they would receive, not only freedom, but equal treatment. When they realized they weren’t getting that, they became very disillusioned.”

It was a disillusionment toward Lincoln and the Emancipation Proclamation that, according to Medford, still persists today among many African–Americans.

FOR FREEDOM, EQUALITY

Medford noted that there was also a small African–American press whose papers wrote scathingly critical editorials on Lincoln before the Emancipation Proclamation was issued.

“The proclamation was extremely important at the time that it was issued, on Jan. 1, 1863. It remains important because what it does is it helped to recommit the nation to freedom and equality, and, although it did not end slavery throughout the country, it was a major step toward that end, and so it leads to the 13th Amendment,” Medford said.

Holzer tried to use a modern example to explain the document’s importance. In terms of its impact, he said the Emancipation Proclamation is in many ways comparable to President Barack Obama’s DREAM initiative, which defers deportation for some illegal immigrants who came to this country as children, opening the door to potential citizenship.

Likewise, the telegraph cables of the Civil War era are comparable to Facebook and Twitter messages nowadays, he said. And the Republican and Democrat papers of that era aren’t much different from today’s MSNBC and CNN, he added.

As for the claim that many African–Americans supported the Confederacy during the Civil War, “It’s just not true,” he said.

He referenced a situation where a Virginia elementary school textbook taught that African-Americans served in the military for the Confederacy. When questioned where she got the information, the author said she had found it on the Internet.

According to Holzer, “Secession occurs because of slavery, the war occurs because of secession, and the end result is the war to restore the Union and destroy slavery.”

Robertson concluded the discussion saying, “this evening we have all been witness to one of the most remarkable and concise discussions ever conducted on the Emancipation Proclamation.”

One attendee of the discussion, Ida Jeffries, drove from Stevensville, Md., to hear the scholars speak.

“It’s a tremendous opportunity to learn about the Civil War,” Jeffries said.

One attendee, Latika Le, came from Midlothian “to learn more about the background of the proclamation, the document that so many black Americans, African–Americans, consider the document that freed our ancestors.”

Howell emphasized the importance of Virginia’s involvement in the sesquicentennial celebrations and how events, such as this discussion, bring educational and tourism opportunities throughout the state.

Heralded as a historical triumph on behalf of equality and freedom, the Emancipation Proclamation was a risky document for its time—one that took moxie to write.

“There are very few people in world history who possessed the courage of Abraham Lincoln,” Williams said. “He learned to trust his own judgment. He knew his own mind, despite criticism . He was obsessed with character, selflessness and honor.”

Opinion: The Civil War through new eyes

From FayObserver: Opinion: The Civil War through new eyes

Hidden among the plethora of museums in Washington, D.C., is the African American Civil War Museum, where we found a national treasure in the personage of Hari Jones. The breadth and depth of his knowledge of the Civil War, and particularly the role of African Americans in North Carolina, is amazing. His presentation was thorough and well researched, and was an impassioned explanation of Civil War history that we had either taken for granted or never even considered. This transformative encounter happened only because a last-minute schedule change landed us at exactly the right place at exactly the right time. As one member of our group said later, "This chance encounter with Hari was almost providential." We all agreed we had to have Hari come to Fayetteville to speak. Thanks to the Museum of the Cape Fear Historical Complex Foundation, he's doing just that at 7 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 1, at the Cape Fear Regional Theatre on Hay Street. Admission is free.

So, what were we doing in Washington in the first place?

The Civil War Museum Planning Committee is part of a statewide committee that is working to transform what is now the small, regionally focused Museum of the Cape Fear into something much bigger and with a much greater reach: the nation's first state-supported museum that interprets the Civil War and its aftermath. Not a small undertaking.

During this trip, we looked at a half-dozen museums, each of which was carefully selected for what it might teach us - lessons, good and bad, for the museum we are planning here in Fayetteville. While we learned a lot about museums, the three of us agreed that Hari Jones was one of our greatest finds.

Why? Because, more than any one thing we saw or experienced, Hari spoke to why this new museum could be so important to our city, county, region and state.

No one disputes that the Civil War and its aftermath were some of the most cataclysmic events ever to befall Fayetteville, the state of North Carolina, and the nation. The results of our national conflict helped to build a better America, but those results continue to echo that more work needs to be done to build a "more perfect union." But like any great event, people can take away different and sometimes contrary lessons. Black, white, American Indian, male and female all have a "narrative" of what the Civil War was all about. Hari Jones will challenge you to at least rethink your narrative, especially as it relates to the role of the African American during and after the war. As one of us likes to say, "It's the Civil War as you have never heard it before."

Hari Jones is assistant director and curator of the African American Civil War Museum in Washington. He is a regular contributor to the History Channel and a consultant to the Smithsonian, and he has spoken to groups ranging from the esteemed Civil War Preservation Trust to major universities across the country. He has advised the National Park Service, the Public Broadcasting System and other national organizations on Civil War history. His passion is also rooted in the fact that he is a proud former Marine intelligence officer.

We invite you to share the evening of Oct. 1 with Hari Jones, the three of us and other members of the planning committee, and many local residents who want to know more about the Civil War and about what a much broader version of the new Civil War Museum will mean to our community.

We promise you a thought-provoking, mind-expanding and thoroughly entertaining experience.

Posts resume Sept 24 2012

My mom, who is 75, wants to go up to teeny tiny town near Rapid City, to see her sister, who is 80. They live in a house in the boonies and have no internet.

I'll be back online on Monday the 24th and promise not to miss another day.

Please bear with me, your patience is appreciated!

Civil War ‘Living History’ Day Planned In Shelton

Valley Independent Sentinel:  Civil War ‘Living History’ Day Planned In Shelton

During this sesquicentennial year of the American Civil War everyone from privates to the President (Lincoln, that is) will be at the Civil War Living History Day on the grounds of Shelton History Center, 70 Ripton Road., Oct. 6. The event will take place from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Several members of Company F, 14th Connecticut Volunteer Infantry will portray the original regiment, give firing demonstrations, set up their camp and its accoutrements, and answer questions for the public. Of all the regiments Connecticut sent to the Union armies in the Civil War, the most famous was the 14th.
The regiment marched and fought with Lincoln’s Army, the Army of the Potomac, and participated in 34 battles and skirmishes.
The 14th lost more men killed in battle, in proportion to its size, and captured more prisoners, cannon and battle flags than any other Connecticut regiment. More information about Company F is available at www.cof14thcvi.com.
Company F is unique in offering both the military and civilian aspects of the Civil War Era. In addition to presenting the life of the common soldier, Bill Mellow, a retired pastry chef, portrays a company cook, and demonstrates period cooking over an open fire. Its civilian re-enactors present the contributions of the US Christian Commission and those of the home front to the success of the Union armies.
A popular misconception of the Civil War is that it was fought exclusively by white Anglo-Saxons, but many ethnic groups took part in this great struggle. However, few people are aware that the Chinese were among them and the highest ranking of those, Joseph Pierce, fought with the 14th Connecticut Volunteer Infantry.
Irving Moy, who portrays Cpl. Pierce, explains why he participates with his fellow Civil War enthusiasts, “Though our living history events and classroom presentations where our audience can see and touch the uniforms and equipment and be able to hear and ask questions about the contributions of both civilian and military and events that shaped that conflict, we hope to spark an interest where they will want to learn more about the Civil War and ultimately our Nation’s history.”
Also appearing at Shelton History Center will be Steve Wood of Claremont, New Hampshire, who bears an uncanny resemblance to President Abraham Lincoln. Mr. Lincoln will review the troops and make a speech or two. One of them might be the Emancipation Proclamation, a plan that Lincoln revealed after the Union victory at Antietam in Maryland in September 1862 that freed slaves in the rebellious states. Mr. Wood’s interpretation of Lincoln has been featured in New Hampshire Magazine, and on both NH Public Radio and WCVB in Boston.
Several civilian women will be presenting throughout the day on the effects the war had on the home front and the work that was done at home to support the North.
Children will be able to play the kinds of games that youngsters enjoyed in the 1860’s. Representatives from Civil War Monument, Inc., Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War Wooster-Russell Camp #22, and the 20th Connecticut Volunteer Infantry and Ladies Auxillary will be in attendance.
Admission is $5.00/person or $15.00/family. Proceeds benefit the Shelton Historical Society and its programs. The Shelton Historical Society owns Shelton History Center, a museum complex of six historic buildings located just north of the Huntington Green, and strives to provide programs of historical interest to the community. For more information or directions, please call (203) 925-1803 or visit www.sheltonhistoricalsociety.org.

 

‘Death and the Civil War’ is gruesome and spiritual

From Salt Lake Tribune: ‘Death and the Civil War’ is gruesome and spiritual 

Filmmaker Ric Burns spent five years immersed in the subject of the War Between the States. Working with his older brother, Ken, he was one of the writers of the 10-hour documentary series "The Civil War."

"I cut my teeth with Ken making that series on the Civil War from 1985 to 1990," Burns said. "And to be sure, it was a seismic event in our lives to work on the subject then."

But even that award-winning series was not exhaustive. When Ric Burns was asked to adapt Drew Gilpin Faust’s book This Republic of Suffering into an "American Experience" documentary, he discovered he wasn’t returning to familiar territory. Faust’s book is about death and how the horrifying number of casualties in the Civil War changed America forever.

"It’s not that we overlooked it," Burns said. "Our emphasis in ‘The Civil War’ was someplace else."

He pointed to the First Battle of Bull Run, which was treated in the 1990 documentary series as the point when both sides realized it would be a much different war than they expected and "began to gear up for a much larger campaign."

But in "Death and the Civil War," it "really had to do with the complete lack of preparation that either side had for death tolls and casualties on this scale," Burns said. "It’s as if no one was in charge. It’s as if no one had any idea that war was going to be fought on this scale with casualties of this tremendous number."

If the same percentage of Americans died today as did during the Civil War, the death toll would be more than 7 million. And in the 1860s, there was no system for identifying and burying the dead. No system to notify next of kin. No way to return bodies to their families. The Union Army didn’t even have an ambulance corps until 1864, three years after the war began.

"That, to put it mildly, was completely new to me." Burns said. "I was sort of shocked that hiding in plain sight was this ghastly new reality [that] was cast over the entire body politic of the American people. And it changed people inside and out, North and South, black and white, in the government, in the way we bury people down to this day."

Faust, who is featured prominently in the documentary, writes and talks about how the Civil War changed 19th-century America’s view of "the good death" — one that was peaceful and planned for — and the reality that accompanied the war.

"The book also deals with questions of meaning and religion and transformation in psychology and belief," said Faust, president of Harvard University. "And I think this film captures that part of it so magnificently — the human suffering that extended not simply to those who died, but to the survivors who had to grapple with what that meant about how they understood religion, how they understood the nation state, and how they understood their lives."

"American Experience" executive producer Mark Samels, Drew Gilpin Faust, president, Harvard University and author of This Republic of Suffering and filmmaker Ric Burns discuss the political and social changes wrought by the pervasiveness and fear of death during the Civil War. Courtesy of Rahoul Ghose/PBS

‘Death and the Civil War’ is gruesome and spiritual

Television » “American Experience” recounts how war changed our attitudes toward dying.

By Scott D. Pierce

| The Salt Lake Tribune

First Published Sep 13 2012 11:48 am • Last Updated Sep 13 2012 10:11 pm

Filmmaker Ric Burns spent five years immersed in the subject of the War Between the States. Working with his older brother, Ken, he was one of the writers of the 10-hour documentary series "The Civil War."

"I cut my teeth with Ken making that series on the Civil War from 1985 to 1990," Burns said. "And to be sure, it was a seismic event in our lives to work on the subject then."

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“Death and the Civil War” airs Tuesday, Sept. 18, at 7 p.m. on PBS/Channel 7. It’s the day after the 150th anniversary of the Battle of Antietam, the bloodiest day in American history. Approximately 23,000 Union and Confederate troops were killed, wounded or listed as missing.

But even that award-winning series was not exhaustive. When Ric Burns was asked to adapt Drew Gilpin Faust’s book This Republic of Suffering into an "American Experience" documentary, he discovered he wasn’t returning to familiar territory. Faust’s book is about death and how the horrifying number of casualties in the Civil War changed America forever.

"It’s not that we overlooked it," Burns said. "Our emphasis in ‘The Civil War’ was someplace else."

He pointed to the First Battle of Bull Run, which was treated in the 1990 documentary series as the point when both sides realized it would be a much different war than they expected and "began to gear up for a much larger campaign."

But in "Death and the Civil War," it "really had to do with the complete lack of preparation that either side had for death tolls and casualties on this scale," Burns said. "It’s as if no one was in charge. It’s as if no one had any idea that war was going to be fought on this scale with casualties of this tremendous number."

If the same percentage of Americans died today as did during the Civil War, the death toll would be more than 7 million. And in the 1860s, there was no system for identifying and burying the dead. No system to notify next of kin. No way to return bodies to their families. The Union Army didn’t even have an ambulance corps until 1864, three years after the war began.

"That, to put it mildly, was completely new to me." Burns said. "I was sort of shocked that hiding in plain sight was this ghastly new reality [that] was cast over the entire body politic of the American people. And it changed people inside and out, North and South, black and white, in the government, in the way we bury people down to this day."

Faust, who is featured prominently in the documentary, writes and talks about how the Civil War changed 19th-century America’s view of "the good death" — one that was peaceful and planned for — and the reality that accompanied the war.

"The book also deals with questions of meaning and religion and transformation in psychology and belief," said Faust, president of Harvard University. "And I think this film captures that part of it so magnificently — the human suffering that extended not simply to those who died, but to the survivors who had to grapple with what that meant about how they understood religion, how they understood the nation state, and how they understood their lives."

"Death and the Civil War" deals with bigger questions, but it’s also a gruesome reminder of the horrors of that war. The two-hour documentary is filled with shocking black-and-white photos of the fields after the battles.

"We were determined to show the war in its full gruesomeness as both the photographic record and the manuscript record would allow us access to it," Burns said. "Sometimes the gruesomeness was actually more available through the imagined horror of receiving a letter from [a soldier] as he lay dying on the battlefield at Antietam."

The ‘mother city’ of the South

From the Jerusaleum Post:  The ‘mother city’ of the South

Charleston, South Carolina is not only a pearl of southern American culture, it also boasts an historic Jewish community.

Photo: Ben G. Frank CHARLESTON – On April 12, 1861, General P.G.T. Beauregard, in command of the Confederate forces around Charleston Harbor, opened fire on the Union garrison holding Fort Sumter.

At 2:30 p.m. on April 13, Major Robert Anderson, garrison commander, surrendered the fort and was evacuated the next day.

Thus began the American Civil War (1861- 1865), also known as the “War Between the States,” “Brother against Brother,” “War of the Rebellion” or “War for Southern Independence.”

And it all began on the Charleston, S.C. waterfront.

No wonder the city is called, “the Mother City of the South,” emphasized by titles of local tours, such as “Charleston Tea Plantation and Party” and “Gone with Wind,” as well as culinary, historic home, city, boat and ever-popular carriage tours.

Each day, the city of Charleston whets the appetite of thousands of visitors from the US and throughout the world who arrive in this landmark of American history, which includes Fort Sumter as well as the home of the second-oldest Jewish congregation in continuous use (since 1749), Kahal Kadosh Beth Elohim (KKBE). Today’s synagogue was dedicated in 1841 and is considered the starting point of the Reform Movement of Judaism in America.

In the first decades of the 1800s.

Charleston boasted “the largest cultured and wealthiest Jewish community in the US.” The synagogue today consists of two structures: the main sanctuary, which once had the bimah in the center, according to Sephardic style, but it was moved forward and the “pews” were changed so they are facing east.

The second building contains a social hall, a religious school, offices, a museum and sisterhood meeting rooms. The synagogue is open for daily tours – except on Shabbat– from 10 a.m. to 12 noon and from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. It is best to call ahead (843-723-1090) for a visit to one of the oldest Jewish cemeteries in the US, at 189 Coming Street (1762).

The synagogue is designed in the Grecian Doric architectural style. Over the front door is a marble tablet bearing the inscription of the “Shema” prayer in Hebrew and English.

The early Charleston Jews were mostly Sepharadim who came from England in 1695. South Carolina was one of the most tolerant states among the 13 American colonies and offered religious freedom to all.

Until this day, Charleston is called “the Holy City.” More Jews arrived in the 18th century from France, Holland, Jamaica and Barbados.

Jews were engaged in commerce – especially in the growing of indigo, one of the most important crops in South Carolina. Large numbers of Charleston Jews served the American Revolutionary cause.

The Civil War may have started there and been a vital center of the Southern cause, but except for a brief mention during tours or on information sheets, the conflict is not the main topic of conversation.

During the War Between The States, the Jews of Charleston were Southern patriots and aligned themselves with the Confederacy.

Benjamin Mordecai contributed $10,000 to South Carolina’s war chest and fed thousands of widows and orphans at his own expense. Many Jews enlisted in the Confederate Army – so many that KKBE found it impossible to obtain a quorum of trustees during the war. Among KKBE’s members were the parents of Judah P. Benjamin, who some historians call “the brains of the Confederacy,” and the parents of Bernard M.

Baruch, financier and statesman.

With the end of the Civil War, Jews, like their neighbors, became poverty-stricken.

Many left the South. So impoverished was the area that there was no noticeable recovery until the mid-20th century. After World War II, Jews once again moved back for economic and professional opportunities.

Founded in 1670 and named “Charles Town” for King Charles II of England, the city became Charleston in 1783. Upon arrival, tourists immediately sense a slice of life of the “Ole South,” including foods like grits. Stop at Marion Square on Calhoun Street, where, adjacent to this huge grass rectangle, stands a castle-looking structure known as the old Citadel Military College, now an Embassy Suites hotel. The square plays host to a popular farmers’ market every Saturday morning, when the field is resplendent with booths selling arts and crafts. In an open food court, omelets are made before your eyes.

An upscale and historic hotel is Charleston Place, a few minutes’ walk from KKBE. Less expensive is the Marriott Courtyard on Calhoun Street, across from Marion Square.

Fronting on Marion Square alongside Calhoun Street, near the statue of Southern leader John C. Calhoun (1782 –1850), is the Holocaust Memorial. The site, which was dedicated in 1966, is easily missed because its shape is that of a flat 12-foot bronzed tallit (prayer shawl) on the ground with one of the fringes cut, as is done in Jewish burial. The memorial is surrounded by a fence to evoke the sense of the concentration camp.

Saunter up and down King Street, with its architecture and boutiques that will take you back in time. If it’s art galleries you’re after, you won’t go wrong with 133 establishments in Charleston, a walking town.

Visit the old homes in their unembellished Victorian, Georgian and Italian architecture that makes the city an in-tourist destination.

Stop at the Palmer House in the Historic District for a beautiful view of Charleston Harbor and Fort Sumter. Since the thermometer in summer can reach 105 degrees Fahrenheit, travelers prefer to travel by airconditioned vehicles to view the nearby antebellum plantations.

For 17 days and nights each spring, the world-famous Spoleto Festival USA – internationally recognized as America’s premier performing arts festival – fills Charleston’s historic theaters with opera, theater, dance, chamber music and symphony performances.

The Jewish population is increasing. About 6,000 Jews reside in the Charleston area, which has a city population of about 120,000 and a metro population of 600,000. Many arrived recently as part of the movement of young American Jews working with the military as well as seniors who find Charleston a charming and less expensive area to retire, with its low taxes, cultural activities and scenic views. The more affluent end up at Kiawah Island Golf Resort.

Being the oldest and largest synagogue of the community, KKBE boasts 500 households as members and holds Friday night services at 8 p.m., although on the first Friday of every month, a Shabbat dinner is held at 5:45 p.m. and services are at 7:00. And here’s a twist: unlike most American congregations, this Southern house of worship serves fried chicken. (No, they don’t dish up grits.) Kosher chicken must be ordered in advance.

Saturday services are at 10 a.m.

A highlight of the visit to KKBE is the Chosen Treasury Judaica Shop, open Sunday through Thursday from 10 a.m. To 4 p.m.

and Sunday from 10 a..m to 3 p.m. Rabbi Stephanie Alexander says the synagogue is “rightfully proud of its place in Jewish history and, to this day, is vibrant in its practice of Judaism.” After all, it stands as the oldest Reform congregation in the US, notes Anita Moise Rosenberg, a KKBE vice president.

Charlston also hosts the Conservative Emanu-El synagogue and two Orthodox synagogues: Brith Shalom Beth Israel and Congregation Dor Tikvah, which is located in the Jewish Community Center.

Shannon Warner, who belongs to KKBE, says the Jewish community is united in its support of Israel and is “up on what is happening” in the Jewish state. She says that all segments of the community work together, including the scheduling of a community calendar.

Chabad of Charleston and the Low Country has existed for the last five years and is situated in the suburb of Mount Pleasantt.

Rabbi Yossi Refson, who is from England, says kosher meals are available at Hyman’s restaurant. This establishment offers kosher meals prepared at the Chabad House. Supermarkets also stock kosher products.

The Jewish community is thought of well “because they were treated well and they treated everyone else well,” explains Refson.