14 February 7 • 2019 jn MIKE SMITH DJN FOUNDATION ARCHIVIST On the 100th anniversary of his purchase of the Dearborn Independent, Ford’ s legacy is examined by local journalist. Y es, our community just celebrated JN colum- nist Danny Raskin’ s 100 birthday, but this year also marks another rather infamous 100th birthday. In January 1919, The Dearborn Independent, an 18-year-old newspaper, began publishing under the ownership of Henry Ford I. It soon earned a reputation as perhaps the most anti-Semitic journal in America, republishing such tracts as “The Protocols of the Elders of Zion,” a fabricated, false and slanderous piece of writing, and the four-vol- ume series, The International Jew. In short, these works blamed the Jews for World War I and most international political-eco- nomic problems. In this respect, as owner of the Independent, Ford was like many other Americans of his generation. It was an era in which 30,000 Ku Klux Klan (KKK) members in 1925, wear- ing their signature white robes with pointy hats, boldly marched in daylight down Constitution Avenue in Washington, D.C. Let me emphatically state at this point that Henry Ford’ s severe prejudice does not reflect in any way upon the modern Ford Motor Company or the Ford family itself. Nor does it detract from the monumental accom- plishments of Henry Ford, the entrepreneur and manufacturer who, more than any other indi- vidual, was responsible for put- ting America on wheels, thereby changing the nature of the 20th century. But, it is also accurate to say that Ford had a dark side, and the history of his personal bias, like other stories of prejudice, is still relevant to understanding today’ s global rise in anti-Semi- tism. Indeed, over the past few years, we have witnessed a sad and worrying rise in anti-Semitism. There have been attacks on Jews in France and other European nations, and a resurgence of far- right politics in such places as Austria, Germany and Poland. At marches and soccer games, anti-Semitic slogans are brazen- ly used as a form of smearing the opposition. America has not been immune to this phe- nomenon. In 2017, there was a violent “Unite the Right” rally staged by neo-Nazi adherents in Charlottesville, Va., and, last year, the horrific shooting at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh, Pa. It is in this context of rising and worrisome anti-Semitism that veteran Detroit journalist Bill McGraw has written “Henry Ford and ‘ The jews d in the Bill McGraw continued on page 16 Qua Qua arte rte terly rly rly of of th th the D e D e Dear ear ea bor bor orn H n H n Hist ist st s ori orical cal ca Co Co Commi mmi issi si ssion on n Aut Aut Autumn umn 20 0 2018 18 18 \ V \ Volu olume me me 55, 5 55, Nu Nu N mbe mbe mbe m r 3 r 3 r 3 “The Jew is a race that has no civilization to point to, no aspiring religion, no great achievement in any realm.” Henry Ford’s Dearborn Independent Dearborn Independent A Special Report: Henry Ford and ‘ Th Th Th Th Th Th The International Jew’ Henry Ford bought The Inde epe pe pend nd den en en e t t 10 10 100 ye year ars s s s s ag ag ag go an nd us us used ed ed it to to to o att tt ttac ack Je Je Je Jews ws ws w . Fo Fo ord rd rd d and nd the paper are long gone, but ut the hat ate he e u l nlea ea ea ash sh sh shed flourishes in the Inter rne n t ag ag ag ge. e. e. . Anti-Semitism The of Henry Ford on the cover Editor’ s Note: The mayor of Dearborn halted publication of this journal. See related story on page 12. To read McGraw’ s story, visit deadlinedetroit.com. DEARBORN HISTORICAL MUSEUM/LAUREN ANN DAVIES