Interview with Marty Solomon, August 17, 2015

Interview Summary

Marty Solomon speaks about his early life growing up on the south side of Chicago, and how he and his family came to live in the state of Kentucky. His parents worked in the bourbon industry and he grew up working in a distillery where they produced Old Blair Bourbon. Solomon describes his later youth in Louisville and his membership with Pi Tau Pi, a chapter of AZA in the 1940s. Solomon briefly talks about some of the Jewish-owned stores in downtown Lexington from the early 1950s.

Solomon describes his life as an undergraduate brother of the Zeta Beta Tau fraternity, including descriptions of the house, events he participated in, fraternity customs, and the dynamics of chapter meetings. This includes an anecdote about pledging. Solomon talks about his training to be a pilot in the Air Force. He talks about racism in Illinois in the 1950s and how the military helped its Black officers. He then discusses some of the campus climate at the University of Kentucky regarding racism and anti-Semitism. Solomon talks about the time he spent teaching undergraduate statistics and how he became involved with computer science in the early years of the computer.

Solomon compares Jewish life in Salt Lake City, Utah with Jewish life in Lexington, Kentucky. He also compares Jewish life in the conservative temple in Lexington with the reform temple in Lexington. He also describes his current Jewish life in Lexington, and his early Jewish life with his parents. He concludes by discussing his personal positions on a variety of Jewish issues such as spirituality, the Israel/Palestinian conflict, and some reflections on his family's Jewish upbringing.

Interview Keyword

Computer science. Computers. Universities and colleges--Faculty. Jewish businesspeople Anti-Semitism Small business--Ownership Antisemitism Discrimination.

Interview LC Subject

Jewish families. Jews--Identity. Jews--Kentucky--Lexington. Lexington (Ky.) Religion Worship (Judaism) United States--Race relations. University of Kentucky United States. Army Air Forces United States. Army. Reserve Officers' Training Corps Greek letter societies. College students--Social conditions Bourbon whiskey Whiskey industry African Americans--Social conditions

Interview Rights

All rights to the interviews, including but not restricted to legal title, copyrights and literary property rights, have been transferred to the University of Kentucky Libraries.

Interview Usage

Interviews may be reproduced with permission from Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History, Special Collections, University of Kentucky Libraries.