NNPA NEWSWIRE — Disunity between Blacks and Jews as we approach 2023 is ahistorical and counterproductive. We can’t afford to be casual or indifferent. Smith’s statement encouraging participation in acts of remembrance across the country as we celebrate both Chanukah and Kwanzaa together over a 15-day period this month reminded me of the need to reaffirm Black-Jewish solidarity.
By Dr. Benjamin F. Chavis, Jr.
Regarding problems of racism, violence, and prejudice, I won’t remain silent. I’m making a public statement in support of Robert F. Smith, a wealthy African American businessman and philanthropist, who recently urged people to take action against the rise of racism and antisemitism in the country.
In the United States, blacks and Jews have a long history and tradition of cooperating and sacrificing for freedom, justice, equality, and equity. Lest we forget, we’ve been marching together for over a century. We’ve shared blood before. And in the Civil Rights Movement, we died together for the cause of freedom. Today, both of our communities are increasingly the targets of violent hatred, erroneous stereotypes, and demonic supremacist ideology. Racism and antisemitism are twin evils that must not be overlooked or minimized.
“At a time when racism and antisemitism are on the rise, I am determined to partner with leaders from all faiths to recognize ‘Fifteen Days of Light,'” Robert F. Smith stated in a recent full page paid advertisement in The New York Times. We are coming together to celebrate Chanukah and Kwanzaa together, and we are encouraging communities across the country to join us in our support for one another.”
“Fifteen Days of Light” is a timely national opportunity to do what Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. foresaw as the formation and establishment of a “Beloved Community.” Dr. King envisioned a nationwide multiracial community in which there would be no racism, antisemitism, or hatred towards anyone. People of all races, ethnicities, religions, and faiths would coexist with mutual respect and unconditional love for all.
Disunity between Blacks and Jews as we approach 2023 is ahistorical and counterproductive. We can’t afford to be casual or indifferent. Smith’s statement encouraging participation in acts of remembrance across the country as we celebrate both Chanukah and Kwanzaa together over a 15-day period this month reminded me of the need to reaffirm Black-Jewish solidarity.
I was present at the historic March on Washington in 1963, where Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. gave his eloquent and transcendent “I Have a Dream” speech. I recall strong support for Dr. King and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), the NAACP, and other civil rights organizations from Jewish leaders like Arnold Aronson of the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights at the March on Washington.
That day, I also heard from a fiery young freedom fighter named John Lewis, who emphasised the importance of racial equality. Then there was Bob Dylan, a young Jewish folk singer who performed a haunting song he wrote about the tragic assassination of civil rights leader Medgar Evers in Mississippi at the March.
Other freedom movement speakers on that sunny day in August 1963 in Washington included a number of prominent Jewish voices from across the country, including the outspoken Rabbi Joachim Prinz, who spoke about the “shame and disgrace of inequality and injustice” confronting the Black community.
Later that year, in November 1963, Dr. King appeared at the United Synagogue of America’s Golden Jubilee Convention in New York City with theologian Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel. King and Heschel agreed to collaborate to put an end to racism and antisemitism. When Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., John Lewis, Hosea Williams, and other civil rights leaders marched across Alabama’s Edmund Pettus Bridge for voting rights in 1965, Rabbi Heschel was there marching shoulder to shoulder in solidarity.
From August and Henrietta Bondi’s home in Kansas being used as a stop on the Underground Railroad to Jewish organisations participating in the protests following the murder of George Floyd and the acceleration of the Black Lives Matter movement, the Black community and the Jewish community share a long, shared history of struggle and fighting for civil rights.
According to recent national law enforcement data, there has been an unprecedented rise in hate crimes against the Black and Jewish communities. According to the Anti-Defamation League, 2021 was the most violent year on record for documented reports of anti-Jewish harassment, vandalism, and violence since the organisation began tracking incidents in 1979. So far in 2022, antisemitism has not decreased, but has steadily increased.
Over the last decade, the National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA) has documented a steady increase in racially motivated attacks on Black people across the United States. All forms of racism and antisemitism must be confronted head on. “We must all learn to live together as brothers, or we will all perish together as fools,” Dr. King said.
Robert F. Smith, Founder, Chairman, and CEO of Vista Equity Partners, as well as Chairman of Carnegie Hall, is taking the correct stance at the correct time. “…African Americans and Jews are passengers on the same ship facing the ferocious headwinds of bigotry and hatred,” Smith said in the ad. It is time to set aside our differences and focus on the common values that unite all Americans as God’s children.”
“Join us this holiday season at public events from Los Angeles to New York, or in your own home, to light the Eight Nights of the Chanukah Menorah, followed immediately by the Seven Nights of Kwanzaa and the Kinara,” the call to action says. Post your own photos of Black and Jewish friends, neighbors, and coworkers coming together to #lightthecandles.”
Dr. Benjamin F. Chavis, Jr. is President and CEO of the National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA) and Executive Producer/Host of The Chavis Chronicles, which airs on PBS stations across the United States. He can be reached at dr.bchavis@nnpa.org