Polier, Shad

Shad Polier was born Isadore Polier in Aiken, South Carolina on March 18, 1906. He graduated with distinction from the University of South Carolina in 1926, and then attended Harvard Law School, where he received his law degree in 1929 and a Master of Law degree in 1931. He was admitted to the New York Bar in 1930. He devoted himself to the civil rights cause in response to his strong feelings about the lynchings that had taken place throughout the South, particularly in his hometown of Aiken, South Carolina. Polier prepared legal briefs on behalf of the defendants before the High Court in the 1931 Scottsboro case, in which nine black youths were charged with raping two white girls. Partially in response to the Scottsboro case, he became active in the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), serving on the Executive Committee of its Legal and Educational Defense Fund for thirty years. He emphasized the strong parallels between the African-American and Jewish experiences and his belief that liberty and freedom can exist only when all citizens hold equal rights.

In 1946 Polier prosecuted Columbia University’s College of Physicians and Surgeons, maintaining that the university’s admissions policies discriminated against Jewish and other minority students. In 1948 he brought a personal suit against the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company, alleging that its Stuyvesant Town Development in New York was guilty of discriminatory housing practices by not admitting African Americans. Although Polier’s original case was dismissed, the American Jewish Congress, of which Polier was the vice president, continued to fight for fair housing laws and the case ultimately resulted in their establishment. Polier also led the fight for the first statewide Fair Education Practices Law that was directed at ending discrimination in the admission to colleges and universities on the basis of race or religion. This law was passed in 1947, in large part due to his actions. Polier was also involved in the landmark Brown vs. the Board of Education case. Along with several other members of the American Jewish Congress, Polier submitted briefs of amici curiae to the court supporting the students’ rights to obtain equal education.

In 1945 Polier became chairman of the newly-created Commission on Law and Social Action (CLSA) of the American Jewish Congress, which he had helped to found, and he held this position for ten years. The Commission on Law and Social Action was founded to conduct legal battles against antisemitism, segregation, racism, and other discriminatory laws. In this capacity he fought and won a six-year battle against antisemitic job practices by ARAMCO, the Arabian-American Oil Company. Polier occupied prominent positions in the World Jewish Congress, including as a member of its Executive and Governing Council, Chairman of its Budget and Finance Commission and Honorary Chairman of its National Governing Council, the organization’s policy-making body. He was also a member of the board of the Conference on Jewish Material Claims against Germany and of the Memorial Foundation for Jewish Culture.

Polier's wife Justine Wise Polier was the daughter of Rabbi Stephen Wise and Louise Waterman Wise. Rabbi Wise was a prominent rabbi, one of the founders of the American Jewish Congress and the NAACP, a leading advocate of a Jewish state, and a pro-labor activist. Louise Waterman Wise was a prominent artist and social worker who founded the Free Synagogue Child Adoption Committee in 1916 in New York. Justine Wise Polier was the first woman Justice in New York and a judge of the New York Family Court for 35 years, retiring in 1973, as well as an outspoken activist for the rights of the poor and disempowered. Like her husband, Justine Wise Polier was deeply involved in fighting against institutional racism, particularly in the New York school system. Both were involved with the Citizens' Committee for Children and the Free Synagogue Child Adoption Committee, which was renamed the "Louise Wise Services" by Justine Wise Polier, who served as President of its Board of Directors. Shad Polier died June 30, 1976 in New York City.

From the guide to the Shad Polier Papers, 1916-1976 (bulk 1940-1970), (American Jewish Historical Society)