Prescott resident Ruth Ann Perlmutter and her husband, Nathan, have always embodied positive passion. As the legendary former director of the Anti-Defamation League, Nathan carved out a colorful legacy of social activism that empowered Jews, blacks and other minorities struggling to achieve political leverage. Ruth Ann was always at his side, aligned with his idealism and commitment to social justice. The duo spent the majority of their lives fighting discrimination during the 1950s and ’60s, a turbulent period in American history fraught with racial hatred, segregation and continually shifting battle lines. Together they tackled a society that was entrenched in discrimination but at the cusp of social evolution.
After an illustrious career, Nathan passed away in New York City at age 64 in 1987 after a battle with lung cancer. Ruth Ann, now 89, has many memories of the rich tapestry of their lives together. A former teacher, artist, welder and author (the two coauthored The Real Anti-Semitism in America), Ruth Ann had the honor of traveling to the White House when Nathan was given The Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest honor bestowed on a civilian, shortly before his death. President Ronald Reagan called Nathan a “hero of the human spirit who made his life’s work championing dignity.” The two started their life with humble beginnings. “We had five cents between us the day we were married,” jokes Ruth Ann. “We were two poor young kids from immigrant families living in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. We shared a common goal though – we wanted to do good works.” The couple’s idealistic philosophy set the stage for a life of political activism, international travel and occasional danger. With the support of groups like the Reform movement’s RAC (Religious Action Committee), the Perlmutters and the Jewish community helped galvanize the world with their dream of equality.
After their marriage, the Perlmutters hit the ground running. After becoming an officer in the Navy during World War II, Nathan earned a law degree from New York University. Ruth Ann spent two years at Brooklyn College and later graduated from the University of Denver. She eventually received her master’s in sociology, topping off her studies with a graduate degree from Wayne State in Michigan.
“Roger Baldwin, founder of the ACLU and also a close friend, enrolled Nathan in the possibility of working for the ADL,” says Ruth Ann. When the position materialized, the couple was offered several places to live. “I really wanted to experience the West, so we went to Denver where Nathan became the community director,” says Ruth Ann. “My mother-in-law told me in Yiddish, ‘Don’t you fight with the Indians.’ ”
With Nathan’s career on a fast track, the couple found themselves moving around the country. After Denver, the first stop was Florida, which was openly hostile to desegregation efforts. With the court’s “Separate but Equal” ruling, teachers needed to learn how to foster civil rights for their students. Ruth Ann took on the challenge, crafting integration workshops for teachers in addition to teaching sociology. This was a turbulent time and the teachers could have been fired and so could I,” she relates. The couple’s daughter, Nina, recalls how the ugly tentacles of prejudice spread around the state. “I remember seeing signs at hotels and restaurants saying ‘no blacks, no Jews, no dogs,’ ” she says. “No Jews lived in Bal Harbor. My brother and I would make our own statement and assertively sit in the back of the buses.”
With a move to New York, life proved to be fraught not only with tension, but with danger as well. With Nathan now the national director of the ADL, their activities cast them in the media spotlight, inflaming the Ku Klux Klan and other white supremacy groups such as The White Citizen’s Council. “They threatened to bomb our home in New York and even had people threatening me after Nathan died,” says Ruth Ann. “Fortunately the ADL and the FBI worked together to thwart any threats, guarding the house 24 hours a day.” Undaunted, the Perlmutters continued the mission they carved out early in their lives: to keep advancing the cause of social justice. They were active in interfaith activities as well. “Wherever we went, we talked to minorities and anyone who couldn’t help themselves, whether it was Mexicans in Colorado or blacks in Florida,” says Ruth Ann. As vanguards in the interfaith movement, the Perlmutters traveled the world, meeting with Israeli political leaders starting with Golda Meir. They met current Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu when he was Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations in the mid-1980s. The couple visited Romania, Italy, Germany, France, Israel, England and Holland to raise awareness of the dangers of bigotry and anti-Semitism. Their calendar pages brimmed with meetings of influential and prominent people such as President Reagan, Menachem Begin of Israel, President George H.W. Bush, President Jimmy Carter and Romanian President Ceausescu. In addition, they had dialogues with heads of state, princes and princesses, and even the pope.
While ADL was always at the forefront of her life with Nathan, Ruth Ann put her indelible stamp on the world in other ways as well. A painter for many years, her home is filled with vibrant abstract paintings done with acrylics. She honed her artistic skills at the famous Art Students League in New York years ago and studied sculpture in both Miami and Prescott. To launch the careers of young artists, she initiated the first artist-in-residence program at the prestigious Brandeis University. “Art and working with my hands has always been a part of my life,”
says Ruth Ann. “No matter what else I was doing, wherever I lived, I studied and created art.” The
Perlmutters were a true tour de force in the world, with each partner contributing valued talents and creative abilities to form a powerful partnership. Bill Straus, director of the Phoenix ADL chapter for the past 13 years, says, “ADL wasn’t part of the Perlmutters’ life, it was their life. I never met Nathan, but I know the tremendous impact he had on the ADL. The ’40s and ’50s were a watershed time for civil rights issues, and Nathan helped the Jewish community find its voice. He talked about issues with complete candor in order to affect the Jewish community and others as well. The ADL’s theme this year at our centennial celebration was ‘Imagine A World Without Hate.’ I believe Nate thought about that every day.”
In addition to Ruth Ann, Nathan is survived by daughter Nina, an ordained rabbi who leads Temple Heichal Baoranim in Flagstaff, and son Dean, a mining job placement professional in the Phoenix area.
