Stephen Wise Temple and American Jewish Committee present
The Jewish Community and Race

Though we aspire to be “colorblind” when it comes to race, the truth is that such a position is actually counterproductive. By pretending that race does not matter, we are actually failing to address the inequities that are persistently a part of our society specifically because of race. In addition, by minimizing the uniqueness of racial experience, we fail to recognize the distinctiveness of Black culture. Like most cultural and religious identities, race is a “construct.” It is created by society and can either be a means of identity that unifies (as when we speak about the Jewish community) or one that can be used destructively by those on the outside. Of course, the misuse of Jewishness by antisemites is such an example. Our identities shape us, ground us, and link us to those who share those designations. Blackness is a construct that allows for a common cultural experience for many Blacks (Jewish and not Jewish) and it is as much a part of that shared identity as Judaism is for Jews (Black or of-color). We would no more wish to be told that our Jewishness doesn’t matter than would a Black person wish to be told that Blackness isn’t meaningful. Having said that, identity is complicated. Jews have many different cultural identities layered on their Jewishness—so, too, do members of the Black community.

Watch our three part webinar series on Judaism and race, co-sponsored with the American Jewish Committee and recorded in the fall of 2020. Together with an eclectic and exciting group of panelists, we explored the complexities of race, Jewishness, and American identity. Our speakers were predominantly Black Jews and experts on the intersection between Judaism and race.