Now, that Barack Obama has been reelected, he has to continue dealing with the slowly improving economy and completing his agenda over the next four years. How will he accomplish that agenda with a House of Representatives that remained in Republican control – and will see him as a lame duck – and a Senate that saw Democratic gains? Can the gridlock be broken?
State Rep. Lawrence Curry (D-154), who has served in the Assembly since 1992, will speak about the Implications of the Presidential Election at the Sholom Aleichem Club meeting on Sunday, November 18 at Levering Mill House, 327 Levering Mill Road, Bala Cynwyd at 2:00 p.m. Admission is free and the meeting is open to the public.
His district covers the Townships of Cheltenham and Springfield, the Borough of Jenkintown and the 35th ward, 1st division in Philadelphia. As a state legislator, Curry, who is retiring this year, continues to be in the forefront of issues that affect working families, senior citizens and children, especially tax reform, equal opportunity, environmental protection, health and education. He is Democratic Minority Chair of the Aging and Older Adult Services Committee, and in the past has served as a Member of the Aging & Youth and Education Committees, as well as numerous other Committees.
In 2006, Curry led the fight against the so-called “Academic Freedom” bill that he felt was an attempt by far-right activists to target college professors who held political viewpoints different from their own.
He has served as an adjunct professor at Arcadia University, Montgomery County Community College and Rutgers-Camden University, and has been a guest lecturer at Community College of Philadelphia and Camden Community College.
As associate professor of American civilization at the University of the Arts, Philadelphia, Curry developed the curriculum to teach college students and adults about the Holocaust, though he isn’t Jewish. He also developed courses on various aspects of United States history, government and politics, and the value of civic participation.
In 1965, Curry joined Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in the march in Selma, Alabama for voting rights for African Americans. He spoke out strongly against the recent Pennsylvania Voter ID bill.
Curry earned his Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts degrees in history from the University of Pennsylvania.
The Sholom Aleichem Club, a local Secular Jewish organization in its sixth decade, meets the second weekend of the month. The Club offers dynamic, stimulating and entertaining meetings dealing with Jewish culture, Secular observance of Jewish holidays, and a wide variety of current, social, cultural and international issues. Member participation is also encouraged in such groups as Peace and Social Action, Yiddish reading, and publications. Members come from throughout the Delaware Valley. The Club is affiliated with the Congress of Secular Jewish Organizations of North America, the International Federation of Secular Humanistic Jews and the Kehilla for Secular Jews of Greater Philadelphia, which includes seven Secular Jewish groups that plan joint activities such as the High Holidays observances. For more information on this meeting or the Club, please call 215-233-2668, or visit the web site: http://www.sholomaleichemclub.org.
