Session One Movie: Gentleman’s Agreement This film illustrates the kind of quiet anti-Semitism that was an anathema to a country that had just returned from a war against the Nazis and had not yet seen the establishment of the modern State of Israel. Does it still exist today? Gentleman’s Agreement tells the story about journalist Phil Green (Gregory Peck) who takes on a high-profile magazine assignment about anti-Semitism. This 1947 Oscar winner demonstrates attitudes and mores of the post-World War II era in both NYC and our backyard of New Canaan and Darien.

Session Two Movie: School Ties  Like Gentleman's Agreement, School Ties (1992), set at an exclusive prep school in the 1950s, explores prejudice and cultural pride as a Jewish football star and scholarship student is pressured to hide his religion. David Greene (Brendan Fraser) struggles with his silence about his faith as he faces the force of religious intolerance at this prestigious institution.

Session Three Movie: Driving Miss Daisy Based on true events in 1948, Driving Miss Daisy (1989) explores racism and anti-Semitism in the South. Miss Daisy (Jessica Tandy) is a Jewish widow who lives alone in Atlanta, Georgia. After her 40-year-old son Boolie (Dan Aykroyd) decides she is no longer able to drive, he hires Hoke Colburn (Morgan Freeman), an African American chauffeur. Were racism and anti-Semitism in the South so different and distinct?