Grit & Grace: How Jewish Women Built a Better Texas

A longer, earlier trailer

Grit & Grace: How Jewish Women Built a Better Texas is a 52-minute documentary film serving up a sweet & savory Texas-style blend of trailblazing tales. From El Paso to Houston and all points in between, ride along as we explore the lives of five pioneering women who chart their own course, helping others along the way by expanding access to education, healthcare, arts and culture, and the inherently American right to vote.

The Women Featured in the Film

• Olga Bernstein Kohlberg — Established El Paso’s first hospital and Texas’s first public kindergarten.
• Gussie Oscar — Brought major entertainers to Waco, shaping the city’s cultural life.
• Dr. Ray Karchmer Daily — The first Jewish woman to graduate from a Texas medical school.
• Fania Feldman Kruger — A poet whose circle included Allen Ginsberg and Langston Hughes.
• Frances Rosenthal Kallison — Co-founder of the Texas Jewish Historical Society.

About the Filmmaker

For almost four decades in the video and film industry, Barbara Rosenthal has actively sought out projects that educate, inspire and broaden public understanding of important issues. Rosenthal received her BA in history from Western Carolina University in 1987 and although awarded a fellowship from Wake Forest University to earn a master's degree, she opted instead for a career path that allowed her to develop her skills as a filmmaker.

Her most recent film, Grit & Grace: How Jewish Women Built a Better Texas, explores important sociological and cultural developments in 19th and 20th century Texas history through the lives of five influential Jewish women. The film is centered around interviews with direct descendants, as well as experts in the communities that benefitted from these women's significant contributions. Three years in the making, Grit & Grace is the result of her lifelong fascination with the contributions of women in American history and a passion for storytelling.

Her previous documentary work includes Seders & Cigars – A History of Jews in Tampa (2019), which explored a variety of themes including overcoming quotas on Jewish immigration, the challenge of maintaining extended family bonds in a competitive economic environment, cultural assimilation, the nexus of anti-Semitism and segregation, and the rise of women in politics. The film is archived in the Judaic Collection at the Library of Congress in Washington, DC. Rosenthal's other films include You Are the One: A Journey of Recovery, Discovery & Empowerment (2012) and Losing Lois (2001).

Learn More

Website: gritandgracethemovie.com