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- Mnotho Ngcobo
Brandeis relative makes trek to Louisville for scholar's speech
Bonnie McCreary, Melvin Urofsky and McCreary's daughter, Meredith Swindell
What started as a spark of interest about two years ago has led to many adventures for one Brandeis fan, the most recent of which took place last week in Louisville.
Bonnie McCreary is the granddaughter of Amy Brandeis McCreary, a niece of Louis D. Brandeis.
McCreary was born in Louisville but now lives in Raleigh, N.C. In March 2014, she was in town for her father's funeral and began talking with a family member about their Brandeis roots and some of Brandeis' mother's correspondence.
Her interest piqued, she reached out to technical services librarian Scott Campbell, who manages the law school's collection of Brandeis' papers. Campbell was able to get her copies of the correspondence, and McCreary began reading his blog, Brandeis and Harlan Watch.
It was there that she learned that Brandeis scholar Melvin Urofsky would be speaking at the 2016 Kentucky Bar Association convention in Louisville. And as a bonus, he would be speaking on May 11 -- McCreary's birthday.
"Why shouldn't I get to spend my birthday doing what I want to do?" McCreary asked.
So, at Campbell's suggestion, she reached out to Professor Laura Rothstein to see if she could attend.
Rothstein was able to secure seats for McCreary and her daughter, and they made the trip to Louisville. It was the latest stop on McCreary's "Brandeis tour" -- she's also traveled to St. Louis, where Brandeis once practiced law, and to the Czech Republic, where his parents were from.
"It is so powerful to me to know all these people who know so much more about my family than I do," McCreary said.
She had grown up knowing Brandeis as part of the family, not as someone to be awed by, she said. But as she's learned more about him, she has become more and more fascinated.
"The depth of character, the importance of finding the facts," she said. "Yes, he was a brilliant man ... but I do feel like the character has remained in the family. He was true to what is right -- looking out for social justice and the right causes."
