ADATH'S ANTIRACISM COMMITTEE

Creating Cultural Change Around Racism

Adath’s Antiracism Committee formed in Summer 2020 as part of the Keruv Committee. Keruv historically identifies and addresses the ways in which members of our community have felt marginalized, and how to thoughtfully respond to those concerns.
 
We formed Adath's Antiracism Committee in response to the murder of George Floyd and the protests that followed, as well as to our Board of Trustees’ unanimous support for a national Jewish statement to say Black Lives Matter.
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Our congregation is centered around the pillars of Torah (lifelong learning), Avodah (prayer), and Gemilut Hasadim (acts of kindness). Those pillars do not endure without introspection continually, but particularly as we prepare for the High Holy Days. Systemic racism is difficult to change and requires an intentional engagement by each of us. As Jews, we are acutely aware of how policy and practice were used historically to discriminate against us, and that as a community we remain vigilant about rooting out antisemitism. Antiracism requires the same thing--an intentional, regular effort to make sure old policy and practice used to create inequalities are not allowed to remain and that new ones are not allowed to be created. . 

We have created this Antiracism Committee page in order to provide resources to assist you. More will be added over time. They will include books, documentaries, articles and information about upcoming events and opportunities to get involved with actions we are taking. You can also reach out to us with questions, requests or suggestions at antiracism@adath.net or by contacting one of our co-chairs: Sharon Garber, srgarber@comcast.net or Dudley Deshommes-Kohls, ddeshommes@gmail.com.
 
Sincerely,
 
Adath’s Antiracism Committee
Dudley Deshommes-Kohls, Co-Chair
Sharon Garber, Co-Chair
Mitchell Bender
Sheree Curry
Rabbi Harold Kravitz
Michelle Kuhl
Alisha Litman-Zelle
Riv-Ellen Prell
Linda Stone
Rabbi Aaron Weininger
​Julie Ziessman
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Must-See Moments

Watch Video
Original broadcast: Monday, September 28 - Yom Kippur​
5:10 p.m. Central: 
Feeling Safe and Welcome at Adath: Security and Antiracism
Adath Jeshurun Congregation's Yom Kippur Forum this year featured
a panel discussion of such questions as:

• What makes Adath members feel secure and safe when we are in the synagogue?  
• How might this be different for our members who are Jews of color, or for our guests who are people of color? 
• What are the different ways that members respond to people who are armed and in uniform as members walk through the parking lot, or on their way into the sanctuary? 
• What are best practices for those who provide security for us?

Featuring: 
Riv-Ellen Prell, Prof. Emerita, Dept of American Studies, U of MN, Moderator. 
Dudley Deshommes-Kohls, Co-Chair Adath's Antiracism Committee
Rafi Forbush, Teacher at Heilicher Jewish Day School and Youth Director at Beth Jacob
Dan Plekkenpol, Director of Community Security, JCRC Minnesota and the Dakotas
Rabbi Harold Kravitz, Max Newman Family Chair in Rabbinics

The 50-minute Yom Kippur Forum can now be watched here: https://youtu.be/m9iCeJIe0pU​by 


Co-sponsors:
Adath Jeshurun Congregation Antiracism Committee
JCRC of Minnesota and the Dakotas 
Jewish Community Action
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Teshuvah, Racial Justice and Inclusion – Listening to Black Jewish Voices (go to 1:35 for recording)

Facilitated by Adath member Sheree Curry, with Dr. Michelle Kuhl, Dr. Lewis Gordon and Robin Washington. Was livestreamed on Sept. 12.

An opportunity to witness the many perspectives and experiences of our Black and Jewish sisters and brothers at this time of internal and external reckoning. A round table discussion about antiracism in the wake of George Floyd’s (z’l) murder, with voices from Adath Jeshurun Congregation (MN) and beyond.

Watch recording at time stamp 1:35

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Rabbi Kravitz Yom Kippur Sermon on Antiracism
Monday, September 28 2020
Watch Recording (1:46:23) | Read Sermon

USCJ's #BlackLivesMatter Statement in the New York Times

Read Rabbi Jacob Blumenthal's September 2, 2020 blog post here.
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Past Events

Thursday, September 10
#BlackJewishUnity Campus Convo on Instagram Live
10:30 a.m. Eastern, 9:30 a.m. Central,
8:30 a.m. Mountain, 7:30 a.m. Pacific

As part of AJC’s #BlackJewishUnity week, this Campus Convo will focus on elevating the voices of Jewish students of color including what steps the Jewish community can take to tackle the complexities of racism within our own spaces. Tune in live on AJC’s Instagram @ajc.global. Powered by AJC’s Campus Affairs team - a division of AJC’s Young Leadership Department.

Featuring: Ari Hawkins, NYU Abu Dhabi


Thursday, September 10
12:00 p.m. Eastern, 11:00 a.m. Central,
10:00 a.m. Mountain, 9:00 a.m. Pacific
#BlackJewishUnity and Faith: Is the Spirit of King and Heschel Still Alive?

Featuring:
Rabbi Angela Buchdahl, Senior Rabbi, Central Synagogue
Bishop Kenneth Ulmer, Senior Pastor, Faithful Central Bible Church
Moderated by Rabbi Noam Marans, AJC Director, Interreligious and Intergroup Relations
Opening Remarks by:
Representative James Clyburn, Majority Whip; Chairman, Democratic Faith Working Group
REGISTER HERE


Thursday, September 10
Instagram Live: The Future of #BlackJewishUnity
6:00 p.m. Eastern, 5:00 p.m. Central,
4:00 p.m. Mountain, 3:00 p.m. Pacific

Join AJC for a special conversation about the shared and differing challenges facing the Black community and Jewish community in this moment. As part of #BlackJewishUnity week, this conversation will explore what young leaders can do today to continue the legacy of Black-Jewish relations, embrace allyship, and support one another in our communities. Tune in live on Instagram via @ajc.global and @NatUrbanLeague. Powered by AJC’s Young Leadership Department

Featuring:
Antonesia “Toni” Wiley, National Urban League Director of Advocacy
Belle Yoeli, AJC Chief of Staff and Chief Innovation Officer

Antiracism Resources

Adult Audience
BOOKS

• The Price of Whiteness: Jews, Race, and American Identity, by Eric L. Goldstein
  
• ​White Fragility, Robin DiAngelo
• So You Want to Talk about Race, Ijeoma Oluo
• How to be an Antiracist, Ibram X. Kendi
• The Color of Water, James McBride
• African Americans in Minnesota, David V. Taylor
• A Good Time for the Truth: Race in Minnesota, Edited by Sun Yung Shin
• The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America’s Great Migration? Isabel Wilkerson
• Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents, Isabel Wilkerson
• The Vanishing Half, Brit Bennett
• Ariel Samson: Freelance Rabbi, MaNishtana​

 
ARTICLES, ESSAYS & WEBSITES

• Rabbi Blumenthal: USCJ's #BlackLivesMatter Statement in The New York Times
• The Mapping Prejudice Project
• Exodus & Equity:  Who the Folk with Kirsten Delegard of The Mapping Prejudice Project, Podcast 
• Exodus & Equity Part 1 of 4: Reckoning With The Jewish Connection To Minnneapolis’ Equity Problem
• Exodus & Equity, Part 2 of 4: Shared Experiences. And Then A Split.
• Myths about Black Power in Jewish Politics
• Jews and the African Slave Trade
• Living and Leaving the North Side
• 103 Things White People Can Do for Racial Justice
• I’m not White, I’m Jewish: Standing as Jews in the Fight for Racial Justice, by Paul Kivel

 
VIDEOS

• Jim Crow of the North

 
OTHER RESOURCES

• Kaddish for Black Lives from Jewish Multiracial Network
• Talking to Young Children About Race and Racism (PBS Kids Resource Roundup)

Resources: High School Youth and Up

• Thoughts from a Unicorn, MaNishtana
• Between the World and Me, Ta-Nehisi Coates
• Just Mercy, Bryan Stevenson 
• Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria?: And Other Conversations About Race by Beverly Daniel Tatum, PhD
• Resources: Middle School and up
• Stamped: Racism, Antiracism and You, Jason Reynolds and Ibram X. Kehndi
• The Hate You Give, Angie Thomas
• American Born Chinese, Gene Luen Yang
• What Lane, by Torrey Maldonado 

 
Resources for Younger Families

• Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Black Boy, Tony Medina and Thirteen Artists
• When We Were Alone, David A. Robertson Illustrations by Julie Flett
• Something Happened in Our Town, Jennifer Zivoin
• Can I Touch Your Hair, Charles Waters and Irene Latham 
• Antiracist Baby, Ibram X. Kehndi
• All the Colors We Are: The Story of How We Get Our Skin Color/Todos los colores de nuestra piel: La historia de por qué tenemos diferentes colores de piel, Katie Kissinger 
• Intersection Allies: We Make Room for All, Chelsea Johnson, LaToya Council, and Carolyn Choi

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