On September 1st, Aviva Kempner made an appearance at the Old Greenbelt Theater in Greenbelt, Maryland. In attendance were members of the Delta Sigma Theta Sorority.
Aviva with some Delta Sigma Theta sisters
Ten days later, September 11th, Aviva headed to Baltimore, Maryland where Rosenwald was slated to begin screening at the Charles Theater. She was joined at the screening by a special guest:
It is unknown as to whether or not the penguin had, in fact, attended a Rosenwald school
In addition to a penguin, Aviva was joined by an even more special guest; The King Years trilogy author, Taylor Branch. After the screening, Branch joined Aviva in a discussion on Julius Rosenwald, Civil Rights Movement and Julian Bond.
Branch and Kempner answer questions form the audience
Rosenwald opened up to a full house on September 12, as an exorbitant number of people, including relatives, came out for the premiere at the Real Art Ways theater in Hartford, CT.
Peter Ascoli sits below a painting of his grandfather, Julius Rosenwald at the Standard Club where postcards promoting the film were left. Rosenwald was a member of the Club.
It’s no secret that Julius Rosenwald was a strong supporter of the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago, especially when you stop to consider the fact that he was the one that converted the The Palace of Fine Arts into the museum we know today. With this in mind, it’s no surprise that the Chicago Community Trust organized a special screening of the film, Rosenwald at the Museum of Science and Industry on September 3rd. After the screening was a panel consisting of Jewish United Fund president Steven Nasatir, Chicago educator Dr. Barbara Bowman, director Aviva Kempner, and Peter Ascoli, the grandson of Julius Rosenwald.
Aviva takes the stage
Pictured: Steven Nasatir, Dr. Barbara Bowman, Aviva Kempner, and Peter Ascoli
Julius Rosenwald awarded a fellowship to my father, Charles R. Drew, M.D., in 1932 when he was on the verge of dropping out of McGill Medical School. His father had been laid off as a carpet layer in Virginia due to the depression. In his letter of thanks for the fellowship my father said “It is my constant hope that I shall be able at some time to add some new thought, discover some new process or create something which will prevent or cure disease, alleviate suffering or give men a chance to live and thereby (I can) in part repay the debt which I am happy to acknowledge.” Spencie Love, One Blood, University of North Carolina Press, 1996, p. 116. Later, based on a thesis titled “Banked Blood” written for a Doctorate at Columbia, he was chosen as Medical Director of Blood for Britain, an emergency project to send liquid plasma to British soldiers on battlefields in France during World War II. . Based on that performance, the Red Cross called upon him to set up their first stored plasma Red Cross Blood Bank, a New York City program that became the model for blood collection all over the country. Spencie Love,16. Julius Rosenwald made prescient philanthropic investments in the education of African Americans to the lasting betterment of our nation, and in my father’s case, saving lives, still, across the world.
-Sylvia Drew Ivie, daughter of Dr. Charles R. Drew
Charles Drew
To hear more about Dr. Charles R. Drew’s story, don’t forget to see Rosenwald, in theaters now. Click here to find a screening near you!
On August 26, Rosenwald opened at Martha’s Vineyard Film Center in Vineyard Haven, MA, starting it’s limited, four-screening run at the location. After the film, Aviva Kempner lead a discussion with Linda Levi (Great granddaughter of Julius Rosenwald) to a sold out crowd.
On Thursday night at the Strand Theater in Oak Bluff, Kempner showed the film and discussed it with Kenneth Mack (Harvard Law School), Lisa Jones (independent producer), and Joyce Ladner (SNCC, Howard University).
Pictured (left to right): Kenneth Mack, Lisa Jones, and Joyce Ladner
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