Our exhibition takes its name from the reflections of jurist Felix Frankfurter upon his retirement from the Supreme Court. Born in Vienna, Austria, Frankfurter came to the United States when he was 12 years old, where his family settled in New York City. A complex, complicated, and at times controversial figure, Frankfurter's views shifted and evolved over the years; he was one of the founders of the American Civil Liberties Union, but also supported the incarceration of Japanese Americans during World War II without due process. He was proud of his Jewish heritage, but voted in favor of court decisions that some viewed as limiting rights for Jews and other non-Christian faiths.
Hear more about Frankfurter and the title of our exhibition from co-managing curator Gavriel Rosenfeld.