Sara Wallace
Sara Wallace was born in Warsaw, Poland, on May 15, 1909. Her family immigrated to the United States through Berlin, Germany, settling in Boston in 1912. She became a member of Temple Israel in Brookline, Massachusetts in 1943 and remained involved there throughout her adult life. Wallace spent her life advocating for housing justice, voting rights, and Jewish community organizing. Wallace married her husband, Jacob Wallace, in 1931, and they went on to raise three children together before Wallace died in 2005.
Sara Wallace was a community housing activist and lawyer who has been involved with many municipal programs. She opens by reflecting on the environment she grew up in Winthrop, Massachusetts, where she and her family lived. She recalls that her father often hosted visitors and friends and what it was like to grow up in an immigrant community attending public school. Sara describes her accomplishments as one of the few women who entered the Bar Association during the Great Depression, as a social advocate during the Civil Rights Era, and as a board member with urban development programs in Boston and Brookline. She seemed unfazed to work as the first woman and the first Jew with many of these organizations. When she moved to Brookline, she was newly married and tutoring law students. Sara became involved with Combined Jewish Philanthropies, United Way, and the League of Women Voters in Brookline. She recalls bringing her children along with her while canvassing door to door. Later on, in her involvement with the League of Women Voters, she was appointed president, which she served in for four years. It was one of the largest leagues in the country. Sara mentions this wasn't just because of her presidency but because of the McCarthy hearings at the time. Finally, Wallace describes her family's immigration from Warsaw and Berlin to the US and her fifty-five years of membership with Temple Israel Boston.
