Edith Rosenwald Stern
[2] Examples of her philanthropy included supporting voter registration of African-Americans in the American South, the anti-nuclear movement, public-interest law firms, organizing union and tenant groups, and initiation of challenges by shareholders who wanted corporations to become more socially responsible.
[3]: x Starting in early childhood, Stern's parents instilled in her a strong sense of charity, commitment to the social and economic well-being of society, and noblesse oblige.
Subsequently, through coercion by her parents, Stern as a teenager attended a finishing school in Dresden, Germany, where she completed her education.
The couple was married on June 29, 1921, aboard an Illinois Central Railroad passenger car while the train was in Hammond, Indiana.
Edgar B. Stern Jr. (1922–2008) was chairman of the Royal Street Corporation and completed extensive developments in the states of Colorado and Louisiana.
[11] In 1929, following a period of intense activity sponsoring educational causes, at a time coincident with the start of the Great Depression, Stern became ill and was admitted to the Riggs Sanitarium in Massachusetts, where she was diagnosed with ulcers and exhaustion.
The Sterns and Levys often used the compound for entertaining friends and relatives, and they owned the home after World War II ended.
The Sterns observed Europe's rising antisemitism, especially during their visits to Germany, and also the actions of Stalin during their time in Russia and the suffering of Polish Jews.
[3]: 104–131 During World War II, Stern worked as a volunteer for the American Red Cross in New Orleans and in Washington, DC.
This divided time was due to the fact that her husband Edgar was working for the United States Department of War as a "dollar a year man".
[12][3]: 147 Shortly after World War II, Stern became active in the United Jewish Appeal, following the lead of her sister Adele who was the first chair of the National Women's Division.
[14][3]: 173–183 On moving to New Orleans, Stern and husband Edgar lived at Viara House, before establishing a permanent residence of their own.
In 1921, the Sterns purchased eight acres of undeveloped land on the outskirts of New Orleans where they established sequentially two homes, both named Longue Vue.
[3]: 55 The following year, the Edith and Edgar Stern contracted construction of their first home on this property, which eventually became known as Longue Vue House I.
[19][3]: 219 She often used challenge grants to build support and extend financial backing for her causes and to help assure philanthropic objectives are satisfied.
[20] Recognizing a need for early childhood education, in 1926, Stern founded the Newcomb School for pre-schoolers on the edge of the Tulane University campus.
[3]: 100–101,140 Stern's support of the New Orleans Symphony began in earnest with a meeting in 1952 with newly installed general manager Thomas Greene.
[3]: 194–196 Stern was an early patron of African-American opera singer Annabelle Bernard and of New Orleans impressionist artist William Woodward.
[3]: 259 By 1945, concerned women voters in New Orleans organized to reduce the power and influence of established political machines in the city.
Stern became part of this effort, and she worked on behalf of politician Chep Morrison who was then a candidate for mayor and who promised to break such political machines.
At one point during this visit, Stern hosted a dinner party that included Stevenson, Kennedy, and entertainer Ethel Merman, as well as other politically active New Orleanians.
Considering the Republican-leaning of her husband Edgar and some of the guests, these events enabled interactions across party lines in this campaign stop.
In 1960, she attended the Democratic National Convention in Los Angeles, California, in a private box to watch the nomination of John F. Kennedy.
Following Kennedy's inauguration as President of the United States, he appointed Stern to the National Cultural Center Advisory Committee on the Arts.
Following his election victory, Landrieu was seen locally as being the first true liberal to hold the post, and he was the first New Orleans mayor to fully engage African-Americans in city government.
[3]: 224–225 Beginning in 1967, Stern established a fund to aid in the legal defense of Clay Shaw who was alleged to have conspired to assassinate John F. Kennedy.
[3]: 240–242 In the late 1960s and early 1970s, Stern led several significant fund-raising efforts in New Orleans to benefit the Women's Division of the United Jewish Appeal.
