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Heart and Soul: Black Jewish Lives Matter

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Black Jewish Lives Matter

07/05/2021 GMT

BBC World Service - Heart and Soul, Black Jewish Lives Matter

Amie Liebowitz looks at stories of black Jewish American activists and their lives.

Amie Liebowitz investigates how black Jews in the United States have dealt with facing racism and antisemitism and what it means to be a black Jewish activist.

The death of George Floyd Jr in May 2020 started a wave of unforeseen protests. As these protests consumed the United States, groups of people from various beliefs, backgrounds and origins came out in support of the Black Lives Matter movement, which started in 2014. A year later, under a new US president, the US still faces the same challenges even though police officer Derek Chauvin has been found guilty with murder, many still believe that they are still fighting against institutionalised racism in the US. 

Monitoring the news in the US, journalist Amie Liebowitz has repeatedly seen images of groups of Jewish people stand side by side, holding placards and wearing t-shirts that said “Tzedek Tzedek Tirdof” (Deuteronomy 16:20) – a passage from the Torah meaning “Justice, Justice you shall pursue”. This message has been adopted by the Jews for Black Lives Matter movement which has always been associated with the act of social justice. This made her reflect on her own context as a white, Ashkenazi Jew from Australia and what this movement meant for her religious community. 
 
In this episode of Heart and Soul, Amie Liebowitz reconciles with her lack of knowledge about the black Jewish experience and reflects upon the need for further understanding of both privilege and antisemitism. She speaks to four black Jewish community members in the United States who speak frankly about identity dynamics and misconceptions, racism, activism and the support needed to help resolve the issues they face. 
 
Presenter and producer: Amie Liebowitz
Executive Producer: Rajeev Gupta
 
Audio clip contributions: Hannah Roodman, Jews for Racial and Economic Justice (JFREJ), Nissim Black, Westside Gravy, Drake and CBS

(Picture: April N. Baskin at the Women's March in Washington DC in January 2019 representing Jewish Women of Color / Courtesy of April N. Baskin)

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