# Rhoda Kaufman

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American activist

Rhoda Kaufman Kaufman in an undated photograph Born (1888-10-26)October 26, 1888 Columbus, Georgia, United States Died March 4, 1956(1956-03-04) (aged 67) Atlanta, Georgia, United States Resting place Oakland Cemetery Alma mater Vanderbilt University Occupation Social activist

**Rhoda Kaufman** (October 26, 1888 – March 4, 1956) was an American social activist from [Georgia](/source/Georgia_(U.S._state)). A Jewish woman born to German immigrants, she moved to [Atlanta](/source/Atlanta) after graduating from college and participated in numerous social activist organizations.

## Early life and career

Rhoda Kaufman was born on October 26, 1888, in [Columbus, Georgia](/source/Columbus%2C_Georgia).[1] Her parents, Leo Kaufman and Bettie Friedlaender, were middle-class [Jewish-German](/source/Jewish-German) immigrants.[2] At the age of 12, Kaufman lost one of her legs and had to use crutches for the rest of her life.[3] In 1909, she graduated from [Vanderbilt University](/source/Vanderbilt_University) as a member of [Phi Beta Kappa](/source/Phi_Beta_Kappa), with a [Bachelor of Science](/source/Bachelor_of_Science) degree in physics, logic, and psychology.[1][2] Shortly after graduation, she moved to [Atlanta](/source/Atlanta), where she pursued a career in [journalism](/source/Journalism) with little success.[2][3] While in Atlanta, she joined the local chapter of the [American Association of University Women](/source/American_Association_of_University_Women), eventually becoming the chapter's president. Between 1913 and 1915, she spearheaded efforts in the group to support a training school for girls in the state and a training school for mentally disabled people.[1][3]

In 1920, she was hired as an assistant secretary for the newly created Georgia Department of Public Welfare. Several years later, in 1923, she was promoted to executive secretary of the department.[1][2] Her push for more progressive reform efforts caused the ire of the [Ku Klux Klan](/source/Ku_Klux_Klan), which had had a recent resurgence around this time, and an anti-Semitic letter from the group that attacked Kaufman circulated in 1928. The letter, combined with poor health, caused Kaufman to resign from her post in 1928.[2][3] During the mid-1920s, Kaufman had also worked with local African American leaders in Atlanta, such as [Morehouse College](/source/Morehouse_College) president [John Hope](/source/John_Hope_(educator)) and Thomas J. Woofter from the [Commission on Interracial Cooperation](/source/Commission_on_Interracial_Cooperation) to help them receive funds from the [Commonwealth Fund](/source/Commonwealth_Fund) and [Rosenwald Fund](/source/Rosenwald_Fund).[4]

In 1930, President [Herbert Hoover](/source/Herbert_Hoover) invited Kaufman to participate in a National Conference of Social Work as part of his plan to recruit national experts to assess welfare conditions in the country.[2][3] Following her retirement in 1945, she remained socially active, joining groups such as the [League of Women Voters](/source/League_of_Women_Voters), the [United Nations](/source/United_Nations) Women's Organization, and the [Institute for Citizenship](/source/Institute_for_Citizenship).[1] She was also a member of the [Atlanta Temple](/source/The_Temple_(Atlanta)).[1]

## Death and legacy

Kaufman died on March 4, 1956, in Atlanta.[1] She was buried in the Jewish section of [Oakland Cemetery](/source/Oakland_Cemetery_(Atlanta)).[2] In 1998, she was inducted into the [Georgia Women of Achievement](/source/Georgia_Women_of_Achievement).[3]

## References

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-:1_1-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-:1_1-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-:1_1-2) [***d***](#cite_ref-:1_1-3) [***e***](#cite_ref-:1_1-4) [***f***](#cite_ref-:1_1-5) [***g***](#cite_ref-:1_1-6) Polansky, Lee S. ["Rhoda Kaufman"](https://jwa.org/encyclopedia/article/kaufman-rhoda). *[Jewish Women's Archive](/source/Jewish_Women's_Archive)*. Retrieved March 30, 2020.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-:2_2-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-:2_2-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-:2_2-2) [***d***](#cite_ref-:2_2-3) [***e***](#cite_ref-:2_2-4) [***f***](#cite_ref-:2_2-5) [***g***](#cite_ref-:2_2-6) Breffle, Marcy (March 29, 2017). ["Resident Spotlight: Rhoda Kaufman"](https://oaklandcemetery.com/oakland-resident-spotlight-rhoda-kaufman/). *[Oakland Cemetery](/source/Oakland_Cemetery_(Atlanta))*. Retrieved March 30, 2020.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-:0_3-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-:0_3-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-:0_3-2) [***d***](#cite_ref-:0_3-3) [***e***](#cite_ref-:0_3-4) [***f***](#cite_ref-:0_3-5) ["Rhoda Kaufman"](https://www.georgiawomen.org/rhoda-kaufman). *[Georgia Women of Achievement](/source/Georgia_Women_of_Achievement)*. Retrieved March 30, 2020.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-4)** Bauman, Mark K.; Kalin, Berkley, eds. (1997). [*The Quiet Voices: Southern Rabbis and Black Civil Rights, 1880s to 1990s*](https://books.google.com/books?id=on1coN7dipMC&q=Rhoda+Kaufman&pg=PA342). [University of Alabama Press](/source/University_of_Alabama_Press). p. 3. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-0-8173-0892-6](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-8173-0892-6) – via [Google Books](/source/Google_Books).

## External links

- ["Rhoda Kaufman"](https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/52428961). [Find a Grave](/source/Find_a_Grave). May 15, 2010. Retrieved March 30, 2020.

v t e Georgia Women of Achievement 1990s 1992 Martha Berry Lucy Craft Laney Juliette Gordon Low Flannery O'Connor 1993 Dicksie Bradley Bandy Mary Musgrove Cassandra Pickett Durham Viola Ross Napier Ma Rainey 1994 Julia Flisch Carson McCullers Margaret Mitchell Ruth Hartley Mosley Emily Harvie Thomas Tubman 1995 Selena Sloan Butler Anna Colquitt Hunter Hazel Jane Raines 1996 Susan Cobb Milton Atkinson Nellie Peters Black Ellen Craft Corra Harris Lugenia Burns Hope 1997 Rebecca Latimer Felton Mary Ann Harris Gay Nancy Hart Lucy Barrow McIntire 1998 Lettie Pate Whitehead Evans Julia Collier Harris Rhoda Kaufman Carrie Steele Logan 1999 Moina Michael Lillian Smith 2000s 2000 Sallie Ellis Davis Laura Askew Haygood Ellen Axson Wilson 2001 Julia L. Coleman Catherine Evans Whitener 2002 Wessie Gertrude Connell Lula Dobbs McEachern Alice Harrell Strickland 2003 Madeleine Kiker Anthony Helena Maud Brown Cobb Julia Lester Dillon Leila Ross Wilburn 2004 Mathilda Beasley Louise Frederick Hays Helen Dortch Longstreet Sarah McLendon Murphy Emily Barnelia Woodward 2005 Alice Woodby McKane Nina Anderson Pape Jeannette Rankin 2006 Eliza Frances Andrews Grace Towns Hamilton Sarah Porter Hillhouse 2007 Margaret O. Bynum Edith Lenora Foster Helen Douglas Mankin Sara Branham Matthews 2008 Elfrida De Renne Barrow Amilee Chastain Graves Susan Dowdell Myrick 2009 Caroline Pafford Miller Jane Hurt Yarn Harriet Powers 2010s 2010 Mary Ann Lipscomb Celestine Sibley Madrid Williams 2011 Lillian Gordy Carter Mary Francis Hill Coley May duBignon Stiles Howard 2012 Sarah Randolph Bailey Beulah Rucker Oliver Ethel Harpst 2013 Lollie Belle Wylie Mary Gregory Jewett Henrietta Stanley Dull 2014 Rebecca Stiles Taylor Ella Gertrude Clanton Thomas Bazoline Estelle Usher 2015 Allie Carroll Hart Frances Freeborn Pauley Nell Kendall Hodgson Woodruff 2016 Sarah Harper Heard Ellamae Ellis League Katie Hall Underwood 2017 Carolyn Mackenzie Carter Clermont Huger Lee Lucile Nix 2018 Ludie Clay Andrews Susie Baker King Taylor Mamie George S. Williams 2019 Leila Denmark Mary Dorothy Lyndon 2020s 2020 Clarice Cross Bagwell Katharine DuPre Lumpkin Juanita Marsh Jean Elizabeth Geiger Wright 2021 Ruby M. Anderson Mary G. Bryan Laura Pope Forester Allie Murray Smith 2022 Lizzie Lurline Collier Josephine Fields Sanders Hedy West Josephine Wilkins 2023 Phyllis Jenkins Barrow Alice Coachman Luck Flanders Gambrell Dorothy Rogers Tilly 2024 Beatrice Hirsch Haas Adella Hunt Logan Valerie Murphey Elizabeth "Bessie" Tift 2025 Jessye Norman Alma Thomas

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Rhoda Kaufman](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhoda_Kaufman) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhoda_Kaufman?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.