The Chamber of Commerce of Mauston, Wisconsin, has unanimously voted to discontinue the use of the name “Maxwell Street Day” for its annual business promotion, after the Chamber members were informed of the fact that the name was offensive to Jews and others, it was reported here today in the Chicago Jewish Sentinel.
The designation, “Maxwell Street Day,” which was used for many years by Mauston businesses, referred to the market on Chicago’s Maxwell Street, where Jewish pushcart merchants sold “cheap” merchandise. The offensive nature of the name for the promotion was brought to the attention of the town’s Chamber by an official of the B’nai B’rith Anti-Defamation League.
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
