Category: Judaism

  • When Joseph Nathaniel Beckles registered for the draft in the 1942, he rejected the racial categories presented to him and persuaded the registrar to cross out the check mark she had placed next to Negro and substitute “Ethiopian Hebrew.” “God did not make us Negroes,” declared religious leaders in black communities of the early twentieth-century…

  • How Jews Became White Folks — and May Become Nonwhite Under Trump Forward 2016-12-06 Karen Brodkin, Professor Emeritus of Anthropology University of California, Los Angeles Decades before I wrote the book “How Jews Became White Folks and What That Says About Race in America,” I had an eye-opening conversation with my parents. I asked them…

  • For Sephardic and Mizrahi Jews, Whiteness Was a Fragile Identity Long Before Trump Forward 2016-12-06 Sigal Samuel, Opinion Editor Nikki Casey I have lived for 26 years under the illusion that I am unconditionally white…. Recently I have started looking at my face and going, ‘Oh man, do I look too Jewish?’” Sydney Brownstone, the…

  • Between Two Worlds – A conversation with Rain Pryor Connecticut Jewish Ledger 2016-11-22 Cindy Mindell Rain Pryor was born and raised in Los Angeles, the daughter of comedian Richard Pryor and Shelley Bonis (later changed to Bonus), a Jewish go-go dancer. After her parents divorced, Pryor spent time with both grandmothers and in both cultures, forging…

  • Yom Kippur Haftorah: Black Lives Matter Medium 2016-10-12 Chanda Prescod-Weinstein The opening chapter of a handwritten Book of Esther. source: Wikipedia You shall love people — including Black people — with all your heart I shared this with my synagogue during Yom Kippur 5777 Shacharit services. To grow up Black in America is to know that your humanity is always in…

  • This the first of a two part feature on the changing face of the Jewish Community. Read part two here.

  • Last time I worshipped in a synagogue was Sept. 5, 2014. And I won’t be going today. That might surprise my friends, who put up with my bragging ad nauseam about how Jewish I am.

  • Dr. Zebulon Miletsky discusses his journey through the multiple worlds of race and identity as he shares his experiences with researching his own family genealogy, the various “routes” this process led him to and how “tracing your routes” can lead to more than just knowledge about your background–it’s about how we treat one another along…

  • The JewAsian Phenomenon: Raising Jewish-Asian Families JewishBoston: The Vibe of the Tribe 2016-08-10 Judy Bolton-Fasman, Culture Reporter A new book, as well as a conversation with its authors, sheds light on a growing segment of the Jewish population—Jewish-Asian children who are raised as Jews. Helen Kim and Noah Leavitt are the authors of “JewAsian: Race,…

  • Three Takeaways from Interviewing 110 “JewAsian” Couples and Kids The ProsenPeople: Exploring the world of Jewish Literature Jewish Book Council 2016-07-18 Helen Kiyong Kim, Associate Professor of Sociology Whitman College, Walla Walla, Washington Noah Samuel Leavitt, Associate Dean of Students Whitman College, Walla Walla, Washington Helen Kiyong Kim and Noah Samuel Leavitt are the coauthors…