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An updated edition, published by
Newmarket Press, will be available
in bookstores nationwide on Oct.
21, and an audio version, with Bess
Myerson herself as one of the read-
ers, will be distributed by Jewish
Contemporary Classics in
December. Both the book and
audiotape are scheduled to be avail-
able at Detroit's Jewish Book Fair in
November.
Dworkin, whose husband Moshe
Dworkin was born and raised in
Detroit, says she was particularly
interested in Myerson and the -
pageant from a Jewish perspective
because Myerson was crowned in

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the aftermath of World War II.
While Myerson had the support
of numerous corporations and indi-
viduals, she had to tackle adversity
and anti-Semitism before, during
and after her reign, says the author.
"Bess's sister entered her in the
Miss New York City beauty contest,
and her Judaism wasn't a problem
— after all, she was from a multi-
ethnic city. But when she moved on
to the Miss America contest, the
head of the pageant wanted her to
change her name because it was too
Jewish.
"But she wouldn't. It was an
important decision for her not to
hide her identity and Jewishness."
At first, Myerson thought she
didn't have a shot at the crown.
"She was tall and dark and had this
massive black curly hair, which was
not the standard of beauty in the

country at that time," Dworkin
points out. "June Allyson, a cute,
petite blonde, was the standard of
beauty.
"But Bess started to win the
events — she came in first place in
the talent competition, and then in
the bathing suit category, and she
thought she might have a chance.
"In the meantime, all the judges
received a mysterious phone call
from a man saying that if they
voted for Bess, he would have noth-
ing to do with the pageant again
because (Myerson] was a Jew," says
Dworkin.
Nevertheless, Bess Myerson,
daughter of Russian immigrants Bella
and Louis Myerson, won. It was a
significant victory for American Jews,
who needed a heroine just. after fully
learning about Nazi atrocities during
the war. Myerson became a symbol
of hope.
However, despite her presti-
gious title, Myerson remained a vic-
tim of anti-Semitism. "There were
still places that Bess was not
allowed to enter and endorsements
that never materialized. There were
clubs that wouldn't let her in and
corporations that refused to spon-
sor her, strictly because she was
Jewish," says Dworkin.
"While it was worse for her in
the South, there were plenty of
places in the North that didn't
want her either. Catalina bathing
suits, a sponsor of the pageant,
would have nothing to do with
her."
Knowing all too well what it was
like to be a victim of discrimina-
tion, Myerson became an active
participant in the Great
Brotherhood Campaign of 1946,
which was spearheaded by the Anti-
Defamation League and the
National Conference of Christians
and Jews, among others.
In trying to make the United
States a less bigoted place in the
aftermath of the Holocaust, she vis-
ited high schools across the country,
stressing that you can't be beautiful
if you hate.
Without a doubt, Dworkin says,
Myerson was a terrific influence.
"She was extraordinary. She was an
icon among young people and they
listened to her. I think she made an
enormous difference."

— Alice Burdick Schweiger

