(Photo: Wikipedia)
NEW YORK (Press Release) — The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) mourns the Dec. 14, 2014, passing of Bess Myerson, the trailblazing former beauty pageant queen and government official who in 1945 was crowned the first Jewish Miss America, and who would later become a tireless fighter against the forces of anti-Semitism, prejudice and bigotry.
A longtime activist and supporter, Myerson had always championed ADL’s work to end anti-Semitism and discrimination in America. Soon after becoming the first Jewish woman to be awarded the title of Miss America in 1945, she embarked on a two-year long, ADL-sponsored speaking tour titled, “You Can’t Be Beautiful and Hate,” visiting high schools and college campuses throughout the country to encourage values of goodwill and understanding among people of all religious, ethnic and racial backgrounds.
Many years later, in 1998, she established the ADL Bess Myerson Campus Journalism Awards in an effort to encourage college students to stand up and speak out against hate at a time when bigots were attempting to promote their racist views on campus.
Abraham H. Foxman, ADL National Director, issued the following statement:
Bess Myerson was a symbol not only of physical beauty, but also of respect, tolerance and diversity. She was a relentless and outspoken fighter against bigotry who gave unstintingly of her energy and resources so that the ugly anti-Semitism and discrimination she encountered in 1945 would be unacceptable and find no haven in America. She was fiercely and proudly Jewish, and wore it on her sleeve unapologetically. Throughout her life, Bess showed America that beauty is more than skin deep.
Bess was a dreamer and a fighter. The daughter of an immigrant family, she attained what was then one of America’s most coveted achievements at a time when it seemed inconceivable that a Jewish girl from the Bronx could compete and win in Atlantic City. She faced anti-Semitism wherever she went. Shunned by corporate America — which unlike the Miss America franchise was not yet willing to accept the fact of a Jewish beauty queen — she traveled around the country on an ADL-sponsored tour as a symbol of what America could achieve, and might become.
For the rest of her life, Bess remained actively involved in the fight against discrimination and anti-Semitism. We were proud to call her our friend and to work with her to make America a better place for all.
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Preceding provided by the Anti-Defamation League