In conjunction with stl250, which is planning and overseeing the celebration of the 250th anniversary this year of the founding of St. Louis, a new exhibit, “Standing for Justice II: 1950-1980: Documentation From the St. Louis Jewish Community Archives,” will open at 1 p.m. on Sunday, Feb. 9, at the St. Louis Holocaust Museum and Learning Center. A reception will follow.

Former U.S Rep. William L. Clay Sr., D-St. Louis, will present the opening address, reflecting on the Civil Rights movement in St. Louis and the relevance of these events to the city. Clay, Missouri’s first African-American congressman, served from 1969 to 2000. As a longtime activist, Clay led many civil rights actions, including a 1963 protest outside Jefferson Bank calling for the hiring of more minorities. 

This exhibit carries forward the themes presented in the 2012 show “Standing for Justice 1930–1950,” illustrating the local Jewish community’s response to discrimination of all types and documenting civil rights initiatives. It features photos, documents and artifacts from the Jewish Community Archives, housed in the Saul Brodsky Jewish Community Library. The exhibit will be on display through April 3 in the lobby of the Jewish Federation Kopolow Building, 12 Millstone Campus Drive. “Standing for Justice 1930–1950” also will be on view in the Holocaust Museum theater.

“This exhibit, which combines the resources and efforts of three significant St. Louis organizations, presents our community’s dynamic response to three complex decades of history, marked by great turmoil, confrontation of societal ills, growth and progress,” museum archivist and co-curator Diane Everman says. “It reveals the richness of our archival holdings and how these treasures can be used to more fully understand the Jewish community’s history and that of the larger St. Louis community.”

The exhibit is presented by the museum, Brodsky Library, Newmark Institute at the Jewish Community Relations Council, stl250 and St. Louis Regional Arts Commission. Additional funding was provided by Ken and Nancy Kranzberg, Lawrence and Hannah Langsam, Marvin and Harlene Wool, and the Rubin and Gloria Feldman Family Education Institute.