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92ND
STREET Y
Ford
Partners With Y
In Making A Difference
Story and Photos by Tim Boxer
 O other business
enterprise in the 20th century had a greater impact on
the world than Ford Motor Company. They put the world on wheels by
producing a vehicle that the average family could afford.
The fascinating
story is recounted in The Ford Century, an officially
commissioned elaborate volume (San Diego: Tehabi Books) on the
history of the world’s second largest auto manufacturer.
To its everlasting
credit, the beautifully designed coffee table book minces no words
in describing the anti-Semitic screed in Henry Ford’s
weekly newspaper, The Dearborn Independent, in the 1920s.
Ultimately, the auto
pioneer apologized in print for the Jew-hatred material, which he
claimed was written without his knowledge. In a 1942 letter to the
Anti-Defamation League, he flatly denounced anti-Semitism and all
sectarian hatred.
Since then the company has
gone to great lengths to make amends. When he took hold of the helm,
Henry Ford II fired the man responsible for publishing the
hate articles.
In 1972, he visited Israel,
making a pit stop at the Western Wall. The following year he
supplied Israel with Ford trucks during the Yom Kippur War.
For the last 15 years, Ford
Motor Company partnered with the 92nd Street Y, New York’s
premier cultural institution, in developing unique educational
programs.
To kick off Ford’s
centennial this year, the 92nd Street Y honored the
company with its Global Citizenship Award at a gala dinner at the
Grand Hyatt where $1,406,500 was raised for the Y.
President Matthew
Bronfman presented the award, in the shape of a tzedaka box, to James
J. Padilla, president of Ford North America and executive
vice president of Ford Motor Company.
“Our partnership with the
Y prospers,” Padilla said, “because we are both committed to
diversity and reaching out around the world. Together we make a
difference.”
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