Dora (Theodora) Rak (who was born in Western Ukraine in 1910) came to the U.S. with her husband and daughter in 1949 as part of the third wave of Ukrainian immigrants who were displaced persons. She initially settled in Chicago, but by the middle of the 1960’s moved to Maplewood, N.J. Dora was trained as a lawyer in Ukraine.“The Star-Ledger”, Dora Rak obituary, December 28, 2008, p.27.
Ms. Rak played a very important role in the Ukrainian Women’s movement representing their interests on the international stage. She was a member of a delegation of the World Federation of Ukrainian Women’s Organizations in Copenhagen in 1980. And, she wrote an article in that year for The Ukrainian Weekly newspaper about her experiences titled “Ukrainian women in Copenhagen - serving the Ukrainian cause”. “The Ukrainian Weekly”, September 28, 1980, p. 7. She regularly wrote articles about news and issues of the women’s movement and the newspaper featured a column by her on this topic.
Some of the organizations of which she was a member included: the American Association of University Women (AAUW); the Women’s Institute for Freedom of the Press; the Ukrainian Women’s League of America; and the Ukrainian Congress Committee of America. She was also involved with the New Jersey Council for the Humanities (NJCH). The NJCH was established in 1972 to help statewide and community organizations bring meaningful public humanities programming to the local level. Also, Ms. Rak was listed in a human resources guide for Holocaust-Genocide studies produced by the New Jersey Department of Education publication in 1984.
In January 1977, the New Jersey American Revolution Bicentennial Celebration Commission published a book of essays on 31 New Jersey ethnic groups, “The New Jersey Ethnic Experience”. Ms. Rak wrote a long article for it detailing the history of the Ukrainian community in the state right up to the period of the United States Bicentennial in 1976. It offers an excellent overview of the many organizations active in the community at that time.Rak, Dora. “Ukrainians in New Jersey from the First Settlement to the Centennial Anniversary”. In The New Jersey Ethnic Experience, edited by Barbara Cunningham. Wm. H. Wise & Co., Union City, N.J. p. 435-459. Until her essay appeared in print, there was no article published exclusively on the history of Ukrainians in New Jersey.
In 1982, an important event took place for New Jersey Ukrainians. A major project was undertaken with the title: “Hromada: Ukrainian Folklife in New Jersey”. It included a symposium-concert-exhibition on March 27, 1982 at the Newark College of Arts and Sciences at Rutgers University. Dora Rak was a participant in this symposium offering an overview of her history of Ukrainians in New Jersey.The Herald-News, Passaic, New Jersey, “What to do this weekend”, Mar 26, 1982, p. 41. The project was cosponsored by the Regional Council in New Jersey of the Ukrainian Women’s League of America, the New Jersey Historical Commission, Rutgers University, the Ukrainian National Association and the Ukrainian Museum.
It should be noted here that an essential part of this project was a 53-page publication, “Ukrainian-Americans: An Ethnic Portrait”, with photos by Donald P. Lokuta and text by David S. Cohen.Lokuta, Donald P. and Cohen, David S. “Ukrainian-Americans: An Ethnic Portrait”. Trenton, New Jersey, New Jersey Historical Commission, 1982. An online copy can be downloaded from the Academia.edu web site. https://www.academia.edu/8040256/Ukrainian_Americans_An_Ethnic_Portrait?sm=b Published by the New Jersey Historical Commission in 1982, Lokuta and Cohen wanted to document the contemporary folklife of a New Jersey ethnic group. They decided on Ukrainians because looking through the Ethnic Directory of New Jersey they found this group had the largest number of organizations. In choosing their subjects (many were from Northern New Jersey), they wanted to show how folk traditions have become symbols of ethnic identity. This is a fascinating snapshot of part of the Garden State’s Ukrainian community (hromada) and its traditions in 1982.
Dora Rak continued to be active in the New Jersey Ukrainian community throughout her long life. She passed away in Maplewood in 2008.