George Levitan
*George Levitan was born on this date in 1905. He was a white Jewish-American publisher and philanthropist.
Born in Detroit, Michigan, George Theodore Levitan was the son of David Lewitański and Rachel Lewitański. He became a magazine publisher, the owner, and president of Good Publishing Co., which publishes Sepia and five other nationally distributed, Black-oriented magazines. In his early twenties, Levitan moved to Texas and lived more than 50 years in Fort Worth. In 1957, Levitan hired a young writer with his own story. John Howard Griffin.
When Griffin first tells him about his plan to pose as a Black man in the South, Levitan tries to dissuade him from going through with the idea, knowing it will only invite venomous hatred and scorn from racists. Concerned that his friend will be putting himself in grave danger, he urges Griffin to consider the implications and effects of his experiment fully. At the same time, though, Levitan agrees it's a good idea.
As such, he decided to pay for Griffin's expenses if Griffin wrote a handful of stories about the experience for the magazine. In 1961, Levitan published Griffin's book, Black Like Me. As a community activist and supporter, he funded the educational wing of Congregation Ahavath Sholom. He died in his office after suffering a stroke on October 7, 1976.
