Presenter
Presented by Mr. Udin
Body
Whereas, Mrs. Florence Silberstein Reizenstein (March 27, 1901-June 8, 1970) is awarded The Spirit of King Award 2005 in recognition of her lifework as a community activist; and
Whereas, as the youngest child of six, Mrs. Reizenstein learned at an early age how to "take a stand," winning the respect of her older siblings, and as an adult, by establishing and administrating several organizations with the mission to advance human rights and ameliorate community life and education; and
Whereas, Mrs. Reizenstein founded the Pittsburgh Fair Employment Commission on Human Relations, presently know as the Pittsburgh Commission on Human Relations; the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission, serving as the first woman commissioner; served as founding president of the United Jewish Foundation and founded the first local chapter of ADA; and
Whereas, Mrs.Reizenstein administered several organizations to improve education, she founded and served as vice president of the Negro Educational Emergency Drive (NEED), a non-profit organization first organized to provide financial assistance to 76 African-American high school students who demonstrated a deep desire to begin or continue their post-secondary education; and
Whereas, Mrs. Reizenstein was involved in Women in Urban Crisis, an organization whose mission was to end violence in schools to improve the quality of education; she was an active member of numerous organizations including the NAACP, the Urban League, the National Conference of Christians and Jews and the United Nations Association of Pittsburgh; and
Whereas, Mrs. Reizenstein was the recipient of numerous awards: only the third person in the United states to win the Herbert Lehman Israel Award; named Distinguished Daughter of Pennsylvania in 1964; received the Sojourner Truth Citation from the National Association of Business Women; and the Herman Fineberg B'nai B'rith Humanitarian Award, which s...
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