What It Is
The Forward Association is the official governing body that owns and oversees our publication. Established in 1902, it replaced the Jewish Socialist Press Federation that was formed alongside the Forward in 1897. Among the Association’s duties back in the day was divvying up the paper’s profits among Socialist publications; to qualify for the group, you had to be part of a trade union.
The Association continues today: Its 88 members are the group from which our Board of Directors is drawn. Apparently, as late as the 1980s, Association members had special ID cards, perhaps qualifying them for discounts at Yiddish theaters or the local deli.
Why I Love It
This simple card speaks to me of one of my favorite parts of the Forward’s history: the tradition of Yiddish idealists fighting to make something meaningful. The Forward has always been a nonprofit, and its business accounts were first handled by volunteers. There’s a long-running joke that Marcus Jaffe, the Forward’s first business manager, bought the paper its first building because the paper didn’t have that months’ rent money.
What It Tells Me About The Forward
To be a member of the Forward Association was to take some ownership of the newspaper’s spiritual and intellectual development. Debates over political and other issues were settled through study, debate and votes in energetic meetings every second Thursday, and recorded in handwritten Yiddish notes.
A Forward Association membership card was an entry to conversations about how much relief money to offer the families of striking workers and how many installments to publish of the latest serialized I.B. Singer novel. I want one — don’t you?
Al dos guts/Best,
