May 7, 2025
Albert Einstein:  Defender for Racial Justice
Elizabeth Romanaux
Founder and Project Director, Princeton Einstein Museum of Science

Elizabeth Romanaux and Shirley Satterfield, introducer

​Minutes of the 30th Meeting of the 83rd Year

George Bustin, Old Guard President, called the meeting to order and presided. Frances Slade led the invocation. A moment of silence was requested in memory of Marcia E. Bossart, recently deceased member. The attendance at Springdale Country Club was 125. There were two guests: Renate Aller (guest of Richard Trenner) and Bob Paulson (guest of John Kelsey).

President Bustin introduced two administrative matters. First, Paul Fitzgerald, chair of the nominating committee, presented the proposed slate of new officers and committee chairmen. A voice vote was called, and the ayes carried. Second, Teri Lemischka, chair of the membership committee, introduced the slate of ten proposed new candidates for membership. The candidate biographies will be emailed to the membership after the meeting and voted on at the next meeting. Finally, Ralph Widner read the minutes of the prior April 30 meeting.

Shirley Satterfield, president of the Witherspoon-Jackson Historical and Cultural Society and Old Guard member, introduced the speaker, Elizabeth Romanaux, founder and project director of the Princeton Einstein Museum, the only such museum in the western hemisphere. Romanaux is an experienced museum professional with decades of experience in museum marketing and public relations. Prior to founding the Princeton Einstein Museum, she held leadership positions at the Liberty Science Center in Jersey City. She is a graduate of Wellesley College with a degree in anthropology and minor in geology.

Romanaux described how Albert Einstein emigrated to the U.S. in 1933, making the town of Princeton and the Institute for Advanced Studies his home. Princetonians know of his contributions to the theory of general relativity and the development of the first atomic bomb, as well as being awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1921. However, we are likely less aware of Einstein the humanitarian and champion for racial justice. She began with this topic, describing how people who knew him in those days described him as a friendly guy who took long walks all over the town.

Because Einstein came to the U.S. from Berlin as Hitler rose to power in Germany, where antisemitism had become rampant, he became known in Princeton as an anti-racist. In particular, he supported the Black population against the discrimination of the era. Romanaux described how the great soprano Marian Anderson gave an outstanding concert at McCarter Theater in 1937, only to be denied a room at the Nassau Inn due to the Inn’s segregation policy. Einstein invited her to stay at his home, which initiated their long-term friendship. Einstein also befriended Paul Robeson, a Princeton native son, who was a concert artist, actor, and activist. And he was a known friend and supporter of W. E. B. Du Bois, the Harvard sociologist, historian and activist. In addition, he gave physics lectures at Lincoln University in Pennsylvania, the nation’s first HBCU (Historically Black College and University).

While Romanaux plans a physical Einstein Museum, the museum is currently virtual - a series of temporary posters and exhibits without a permanent home. Plans and fundraising are ongoing for a building of about 18,000 square feet in Princeton’s central business district. It will comprise both the expected science exhibits and facts about Einstein’s humanitarian persona. Meanwhile, there has been a traveling exhibit since 2023. The speaker reported on the recent exhibit on magnetism that closed in Dohm Alley (a portal of poetry, music, and art off Nassau Street in Princeton), and a current exhibit of physics phenomena at the Princeton Shopping Center. She envisions active learning activities, not dust-collecting artifacts.

Romanaux further envisions “Think Like a Genius” activities. She reminded us that Einstein’s brain had been removed and sectioned for scientific study. She further envisions art- and music-related materials throughout, and a Space-Time Standing Theater for 20 visitors who could experience the “bending of gravity.” A proposed target for completing the Museum is 2033, which corresponds to 100 years since Einstein first came to Princeton.

Finally, as the last order of business, President George Bustin returned to the podium to give Exemplary Service Awards to three individuals who had successfully transitioned Old Guard to a Zoom operation in 2020 when Covid hit. They are Greg Dobbs, Steve Schreiber and Sandy Shapiro.
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Respectfully submitted,
​Julianne Elward-Berry