46 | OCTOBER 29 • 2020
Looking Back
From the William Davidson Digital Archive of Jewish Detroit History
accessible at www.djnfoundation.org
A Tribute to the
Peace Corps
O
ne of the most successful service
programs in American history
debuted 60 years ago on Oct. 14,
1960. Sen. John F. Kennedy, candidate for
president of the United States, stood on
the steps of the Michigan Union on the
campus of the University of Michigan, Ann
Arbor, and spoke to a crowd
of 10,000 college students.
He asked: “How many of you
who are going to be doctors
are willing to spend your days
in Ghana? … On your will-
ingness to contribute part of
your life to this country [the
U.S.], I think, the answer will
depend whether a free society
can compete.
”
Kennedy’
s impromptu speech is consid-
ered the birth of the Peace Corps. As presi-
dent, he signed an executive order on March
19, 1961, that created this agency; Congress
passed the Peace Corps Act in September.
Author Jeff Greenfield observed that this
also marked an era when public service
became an exciting option for young people,
a signature accomplishment of President
Kennedy.
Volunteers for the Peace Corps are
American citizens. After training, they work
overseas for two years, teaching about and
developing projects for community health
and education, business, information tech-
nology, agriculture and other areas. More
than 200,000 Americans have served in 141
countries since 1961.
There are 429 pages in the William
Davidson Digital Archive of Jewish Detroit
History that mention the Peace Corps. They
provide great insight into the long relation-
ship between the Peace Corps and Detroit’
s
Jewish community. Philip Slomovitz
endorsed the Peace Corps in the March
10, 1961, issue of the JN, also noting that
it would benefit Israel and Prime Minister
David Ben-Gurion. BBYO was an early sup-
porter of the Peace Corps, and the national
Hillel organization agreed that its 217 uni-
versity chapters would operate as informa-
tion centers for the Peace Corps.
The Peace Corps also inspired the cre-
ation of many related service programs.
Domestic organizations included “Teach
for America” and “
AmeriCorps VISTA
”
(Volunteers in Service to America). It also
inspired Jewish-centric programs such
as the “Jewish Volunteer Corps” of the
American Jewish World Service in 1993
and “Project Otzma,
” a joint project with
ORT in 1985.
The JN is full of stories and notes about
the impressive number of young Jewish
men and women from Detroit and Michigan
who served in the Peace Corps. For exam-
ple, see the story about Eeta Freeman, one of
the Peace Corps’
first volunteers, upon her
return home from Pakistan (July 31, 1964).
The husband and wife team, Norman D.
and Gloria (Burns) Levin, joined and went
to Korea (Oct. 10, 1968). Or, see the stories
about Rebecca Riseman (Aug. 9, 1991);
Meredith Perish (Sept. 6, 1996); Lauren Fink
(June 24, 2010): Sara Goodman (July 19,
2012; and a front page and feature story with
Perry Teicher, Nov. 11, 2010).
I could list dozens of additional names of
Peace Corps volunteers that I found in the
JN. And, with great pride, I cannot resist tell-
ing you that my niece, Kimmie,
was a Peace Corps volunteer
in Belize.
The volunteers who served
in the Peace Corps deserve our
respect. They should be cele-
brated for their contributions to
our nation and their willingness
to work in very tough environ-
ments to help those in need.
Want to learn more? Go to the DJN
Foundation archives, available for free at
www.djnfoundation.org.
Mike Smith
Alene and
Graham Landau
Archivist Chair
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