Paul Gauguin Shane was born in 1935, in Sunnyside, NY – a bubble of Jewish culture in Queens. As a child Paul could be seen pulling his red wagon down the street, collecting materials for the war effort. The son of communist parents, Paul was immersed in the Jewish left as a young boy. The Shane family spent summers in a collective community in Shrub Oak, New York known as Lake Mohegan. The New York City Mayday Parades Paul attended with his family as a teen served as events of great wonderment and grandiosity.
After earning a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from Cornell University, Paul was drafted into the army. Following that period, Paul earned a Master’s degree in Social Work from Columbia and eventually a doctorate from John Hopkins University. In 1964, Paul spent time registering voters and fighting for voters’ rights in Jackson, Mississippi. Afterwards, he spent time working with orphans in the Hull House as well as a Jewish Community Center in Chicago. In 1967 Paul moved to Philadelphia and briefly had a stint as a professor at Temple University, where he was part of the committee that started the Woodhaven Center of North Philadelphia. Paul subsequently joined the faculty at Rutgers Newark, where he would remain for the rest of his career.
In the 70s, Paul spent time traveling the world studying criminal justice systems in five different countries. In addition to the many movements and causes Paul supported, he also spent time working with the Free Soviet Jewry Campaign, studying as a Fulbright Scholar, and engaging and building a rich Jewish community through active membership of the Germantown Jewish Center, the Sholom Aleichem Club, the Jewish Children Folkshul, among other Secular Jewish organizations. Paul currently resides in a gorgeous home in Germantown, Pennsylvania.

-Compiled by Timothy Valshtein