Abraham Lavender
Encyclopedia
Sociology
Sociology is the study of society. It is a social science—a term with which it is sometimes synonymous—which uses various methods of empirical investigation and critical analysis to develop a body of knowledge about human social activity...
at Florida International University
Florida International University
Florida International University is an American public research university in metropolitan Miami, Florida, in the United States, with its main campus in University Park...
in Miami, Florida, where his special areas of interest include ethnic relations, Judaica, political sociology, urban sociology, the sociology of sexuality, and social deviance. He is Editor in Chief of the 'Journal of Spanish, Portuguese, and Italian Crypto Jews', and is past president of the Society for Crypto-Judaic Studies. He has previously been a professor of sociology at St. Mary's College in Maryland, and at the University of Miami
University of Miami
The University of Miami is a private, non-sectarian university founded in 1925 with its main campus in Coral Gables, Florida, a medical campus in Miami city proper at Civic Center, and an oceanographic research facility on Virginia Key., the university currently enrolls 15,629 students in 12...
. He has taught at FIU since 1990.
Early life, education, and career
Born in New Zion, South Carolina, Lavender's formal education started at Salem Elementary School in that town, and he graduated from East Clarendon High School in Turbeville, South CarolinaTurbeville, South Carolina
Turbeville is a town in Clarendon County, South Carolina, United States. The population was 766 at the 2010 census.-Geography:Turbeville is located at...
. He received his B.A. and M.A. degrees in psychology from the University of South Carolina
University of South Carolina
The University of South Carolina is a public, co-educational research university located in Columbia, South Carolina, United States, with 7 surrounding satellite campuses. Its historic campus covers over in downtown Columbia not far from the South Carolina State House...
at Columbia
Columbia, South Carolina
Columbia is the state capital and largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. The population was 129,272 according to the 2010 census. Columbia is the county seat of Richland County, but a portion of the city extends into neighboring Lexington County. The city is the center of a metropolitan...
in 1963 and 1965 respectively. While at USC, he was a member of Phi Epsilon Pi (Zeta Beta Tau
Zeta Beta Tau
Zeta Beta Tau was founded in 1898 as the nation's first Jewish fraternity, although it is no longer sectarian. Today the merged Zeta Beta Tau Brotherhood is one of the largest, numbering over 140,000 initiated Brothers, and over 90 chapter locations.-Founding:The Zeta Beta Tau fraternity was...
) fraternity, and the AFROTC's Arnold Air Society
Arnold Air Society
The Arnold Air Society is a professional, honorary, service organization advocating the support of aerospace power. AAS is open to officer candidates in Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps and at the United States Air Force Academy , and is formally affiliated with the Air Force Association...
, was president of the Hillel Foundation, and was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. He served from 1964 to 1968 in the United States Air Force
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...
and completed his service as a Captain, serving at Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri and in Izmir, Turkey, as part of NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization).
Academic career
After completing his military service, Lavender began his doctoral studies and earned a Ph.D. in sociology in 1972 from the University of Maryland, College ParkUniversity of Maryland, College Park
The University of Maryland, College Park is a top-ranked public research university located in the city of College Park in Prince George's County, Maryland, just outside Washington, D.C...
, with a doctoral dissertation on generational changes in Jewish identity.
Lavender is a prolific author, publishing six books, and over 100 other scholarly publications including journal articles, reference book/encyclopedia articles, book reviews, or research reports, on a wide variety of sociology-related topics. In addition to his books listed below, among his major publications linking multiple areas of interest (Jews, Latins, ethnicity, political sociology) are "A History of Jewish and Hispanic Interaction in Miami-Dade County" (published by the American Jewish Committee) and "Jews, Hispanics, Blacks, and Others in Miami Beach: An Ethnically Divided City or a Cosmopolitan Multiethnic City?" (a monograph published by the Institute for Public Policy and Citizenship Studies at Florida International University) to which the answer is "Cosmopolitan Multiethnic City." He is currently completing his seventh book, "Early Social Life in Miami Beach: From Mangroves and Mosquitoes to Mansions and Millionaires". He also was selected to write the article on "Judaism" for the "Encyclopedia of Sociology", and to write seven articles on the relationship between anthropology and DNA for the "Encyclopedia of Anthropology".
On six occasions Lavender has been honored (Distinguished Citizen Award, Key to the City, Certificate of Apprecation) for his civic activities in Miami Beach. Lavender also has close ties to Charleston, South Carolina, his "second home," where he has lived part time, has many relatives and friends, visits frequently, has been a speaker at the historic (founded in the 1740s) Kahal Kadosh Beth Elohim Synagogue, has conducted extensive research at the Hugugenot Society, and was involved with the International Huguenot Conference held in Charleston in 1997.
Civic and political activities
Lavender also has been active in civic and political affairs, serving as advisor to Miami Beach mayor, Seymour Gelber, serving as vice-chair and Commissioner of the Miami Beach Housing Authority, chairing the city's Homeless Committee, and serving as a member of the city's Safety Committee. He is on the Board of Directors of the Jewish Genealogical Society of Greater Miami, and has conducted extensive genealogical research. An academic and personal area of interest, used in genealogical and historical research, is DNA. His strongest personal genetic matches are in Spain, especially among the chuetas (Marranos) of the island of MallorcaMallorca
Majorca or Mallorca is an island located in the Mediterranean Sea, one of the Balearic Islands.The capital of the island, Palma, is also the capital of the autonomous community of the Balearic Islands. The Cabrera Archipelago is administratively grouped with Majorca...
. His direct paternal ancestor, Benjamin Lavender, settled in the Sumter, Turbeville, New Zion areas of South Carolina c. 1790, and among Dr. Lavender's recent presentations is “Where in the World are Benjamin Lavender’s Distant Male Cousins?” (“¿Donde Están en el Mundo los Primos Distantes de Benjamin Lavenda?”), presented in Turbeville, S.C., in August 2010. With thirteen Y-chromosome markers, the answers are, in order, Italy (especially Marche); Cologne, Germany; Central Portugal; the United States (4 European background, 2 Hispanic background, and 1 African background), Brazil (especially Rio Grande Do Sul), and Warsaw, Poland.
Lavender is also a frequent speaker to academic, civic, and genealogical groups, with frequent presentations about the Sephardic Jews of Spain and Portugal, and their descendants in North America and South America. Recent presentations have included "The Secret Jews of Brazil." Other favorite topics include Miami Beach history, political behavior, and DNA, and recent presentations include "The Secret Society of Moses according to Flavio Barbiero." His academic visits have included Portugal, Spain, and Israel.
Organizations
Lavender is president of the Miami Beach Historical Association and president of the South Florida Association of Phi Beta Kappa. He is a member of Temple Beth Tov in West Miami, and is president of the Men's Club. He is a member of Hibiscus Lodge #275 of F. & A. M., and a 32nd degree Scottish Rite Freemason. He has been a member of MensaMensa International
Mensa is the largest and oldest high-IQ society in the world. It is a non-profit organization open to people who score at the 98th percentile or higher on a standardised, supervised IQ or other approved intelligence test...
, and the board of directors of the Miami chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). He is a life member of the Jewish War Veterans of the United States.
Books published
- Miami Beach in 1920: The Making of a Winter Resort. Charleston: Arcadia Publishing, 2002.
- Black Communities in Transition: Voices from South Florida. Lanham, Maryland: University Press of America, 1996 (edited, with Adele S. Newson).
- Jewish Farmers of the Catskills: A Century of Survival. Gainesville: University Press of Florida, 1995 (with Clarence Steinberg).
- French Huguenots: From Mediterranean Catholics to White Anglo-Saxon Protestants. New York, Bern: Peter Lang Publishing, Inc., 1990.
- Ethnic Women and Feminist Values: Toward a 'New' Value System. Lanham, Maryland: University Press of America, 1986.
- A Coat of Many Colors: Jewish Subcommunities in the United States. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press, 1977 (edited).