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Jack Rakove
I did not know Virgil well, but everything that has been said about him reinforces my memory. And curiously, when Joe Boggs and I were freshmen in college, and spent a fair amount of time together (at least at the beginning; after a while our ways diverged), I distinctly recall Joe talking very warmly about what a great guy Virgil was. And Joe passed on one story that has long registered with me. It had to do with Joe asking Virgil what it was like to be Black in a public space and Virgil describing how unsettling it could sometimes be (depending on where one was, of course). This was 1964, after all, but it made me think about things I could not have imagined on my own.
On the Class of '64 Rakove prize, to which I remain deeply grateful to Rosanne for doing so much to get it started, to John Ver Steeg and Preston and others who worked actively on the fundraising, and to all my friends and classmates for supporting--yes, it is fully funded, but I have not recently seen who the recipients have been.
Over the long run, which I suppose is getting shorter--except that, as I like to remind my wife Helen, life expectancy improves with age--I plan to buttress the fund somewhat, as a hedge against inflation. But any additional gifts, especislly in memory of one of our classmates, would be greatly appreciated.
And as to Virgil one last time
זיכרונה לברכה
or zichrono l'vracha, may his memory be a blessing, as it surely is
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