Noted Oral Surgeon Speaking in East Brunswick on School Discrimination

Noted Atlanta oral surgeon Dr. Perry Brickman will discuss his personal confrontation with discrimination – anti-Semitism, in his case -- as the inaugural presenter in the new Daniel Pearl Education Center Speaker Series. 

The program will be held on Nov. 21 at the Daniel Pearl Education Center, located at Temple B’nai Shalom, Fern Road and Old Stage Road in East Brunswick, beginning at 7:30 p.m.

Dr. Brickman will talk about his experiences as a Jewish student at the Emory University School of Dentistry and will answer questions following a screening of the documentary, titled “From Silence to Recognition: Confronting Discrimination in Emory's Dental School History.”

“As a surgeon, this really hits home for me,” said Dr. Andrew Boyarsky, chairman of the Daniel Pearl Education Center. “To think that, back in 1952, Dr. Brickman was excelling at the Emory University School of Dentistry, only to receive a shocking letter that he had flunked out. What Dr. Brickman learned years later was that he was one of one of many Jewish students who faced discrimination at Emory between 1948 and 1961. What an amazing story -- one with great relevance even today.”

Dr. Brickman went on to the dental school at the University of Tennessee and a more than 40-year career as a leading oral surgeon. Last year Emory University, made aware of this disturbing black mark on its reputation, apologized and helped fund the documentary.

The speaker series, like the DPEC, will focus on the ideals of understanding and cooperation – principles reflecting the legacy of the late Daniel Pearl. Pearl, the Southeast Asia bureau chief of The Wall Street Journal,was kidnapped and murdered by extremists in Pakistan in October, 2002. 

The DPEC, a non-profit, charitable organization, sponsors a broad spectrum of community-wide, interfaith programming, highlighted by its annual bus trip for teenagers, along with St. Bartholomew’s School and other houses of worship and youth groups, to the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, DC.

There is a minimum donation of $18 per person for this segment of the speaker series. Please send ticket reservation checks to The Daniel Pearl Education Center, PO Box 957, East Brunswick, NJ 08816. The DPEC is requesting that dentists who would like to co-sponsor the event to donate $50. The event is generously sponsored by The Tanzman Foundation. Light refreshments will be served.

For additional questions or to RSVP, please contact 732-251-4300 or email rbrenowitz1@aol.com.