Thank You, Workers Circle
By Susan Carroll, Workers Circle Office and Events Coordinator
2020, for me, like for so many others, was a year filled with anxiety, trepidation, and loss. Just a month before the COVID-19 pandemic swept across New York and the nation in mid-March, my father unexpectedly passed away. While he lived a long and full life, and I will forever be grateful for the years I had with him, his death came as a shock from which I have yet to fully recover.
At the time of my father’s passing, I had just begun a new position at the Workers Circle, a 121-year-old Jewish progressive organization with a focus on Yiddish secular culture and social justice issues, whose motto is ‘Jewish Culture for a Just World.’ After a long journey in the employment wilderness, finding a professional home at the Workers Circle was an immense source of happiness for me. My colleagues immediately rallied around and supported me during my time of grief, even though I had only been working there for such a brief time then.
When it became clear that working at our Midtown Manhattan office was no longer tenable amidst the rising COVID-19 cases, we all began working remotely. I was still so new and had yet to become completely acclimated to my position, but my colleagues put their faith in me and entrusted me to help run a new program called The Great Schmooze, which was designed to counter the isolating effects of the pandemic by connecting members of the Workers Circle community with each other by phone and/or on Zoom, where they ‘Schmoozed’ with one another in English or Yiddish. While the majority of participants were seniors, many intergenerational conversations took place as well, particularly with the Workers Circle teenage Youth Stand Up for Justice members, who gained invaluable experience and insights and learned from the older generation. Initially, the Schmoozes focused on family and immigration stories, and then pivoted to voting and civil rights (for those who chose to change their conversations) for the presidential election this past November. Many friendships developed out of The Great Schmooze, which is still ongoing, with new plans in the works, to be rolled out shortly. It truly has been a rewarding experience.
Being a part of the Workers Circle has also given me a newfound appreciation for Ashkenazi and Eastern European Jewish culture, from which I descend. Yiddish was my father’s first language, and he had a deep and abiding love and affection for it throughout his life. While previously, I had chosen to disassociate myself from European countries which had committed so many atrocities during World War II, including towards my family members, I have now begun to open my heart and mind to the thousand years of vibrant culture which preceded those dark times. I even took a Yiddish class at the Workers Circle last semester, which was fantastic and made me feel more connected to my father.
Thank you, Workers Circle, for being a true bright spot in an otherwise very troubling period, and for continuing your long and activist tradition of making the world a better place.
Interested in participating in The Great Schmooze? Click here to learn more and to sign up!
