Lecture Series – Abraham Mordecai – The “Dark-Eyed Jew” of Alabama

Jewish Museum and Cultural Center

Arthur Z. Steinberg Lecture Series presents:

Dr. Amy K. Milligan

Abraham Mordecai: “The Dark-Eyed Jew” of Alabama

Dr. Amy K. Milligan is the Batten Endowed AssociateProfessor of Jewish Studies and Women’s and Gender Studiesand the director of the
Institute for Jewish Studies and Interfaith Understanding at Old Dominion University. She is an ethnographer and folklorist who specializes in the study of small or marginalized Jewish communities in the American South with a special concentration on Alabama. Her work explores the intersections of memory, culture, lived experiences, and history.

Abraham Mordecai (1755-1850) was among the earliest white residents, and likely the first Jewish resident, of what is now Alabama.