Over a year after our launch, we’re reflecting on the intentions of this newsletter and how to cater to our 2,700+ readers—and we want your input!
2021
The data in Beyond the Count illustrate that not only are JoC-only spaces meaningful, but they are essential to fostering and retaining a deep sense of belonging in the Jewish community for Jews of Color.
“I want to see more examples in media, on stages, both commercial and non-commercial, of JOCISM folks being able to take up their full identities and tell their stories.” Though Pinkney doesn’t want to force the artists to create works that are about their identities, he believes that the work that will emerge will diversify who we think of as a Jew.
Riki Robinson, Program Director, New York, has led the fellows through activities to help them explore possible avenues for their leadership in the Jewish community, get to know one another to build community among the cohort, and work on professionalization skills.
Hillel is looking to expand their reach to the Jews of Color community, recognizing that Jews of Color are more highly represented among young adult Jews, their target population at their 500 university campus locations.
One of the most striking learnings from Beyond the Count for many institutional leaders has been the disconnect between the diversity of Jewish people, experiences, and identities that exist in the community and the monolithic institutions that make up the Jewish communal ecosystem.
Using our own familiarity with past studies and connecting with our research team to see which writings on Jews of Color helped inform their knowledge of the community, we’ve developed a list of some research studies and books from the 2000s to today that shaped research on Jews of Color, and on whose shoulders we stand.
A new endeavor into a co-hosted podcast has taken our expansive approach to learning and paired it with a desire to make prominent, diverse leaders accessible to anyone.
Ray Williams just finished their freshman year in high school, but their vision for Jewish leadership is one that reflects experiences of Jews of Color across generations.
An important and exciting part of the Jews of Color Initiative is our ability to advance research about diverse Jewish communities.
Dr. Harriette Wimms is ready to continue her journey as a leader in the community and believes authentic human connection is a driving force for progress.
Now as the pandemic begins to subside, institutional changes are still needed so that Jews of Color are not left by the wayside in moments of crisis.
For Dr. Dalya Perez, it was a no-brainer to join the research team of our ongoing Count Me In study...This work also offers a place of healing for Perez’s own life experience navigating identities that are seen as incompatible.
Stacey Aviva Flint knows that Jews of Color lack communal leaders in which they can see themselves reflected. As Bonai Shalom’s Executive Director, she hopes that she can be a role model for Jew of Color interested in a similar career field.
In an effort to confront the sordid history and current practices of racial exclusion, there is an ongoing, multiracial effort to bring change to Detroit’s Jewish community–and 24-year-old Kendra Watkins is helping pave the way forward.
Qualitative interviews not only provide more detail but reveal the lived experiences of identities. “Our interviewees tell us not just what they experienced, but how they experienced it—how it made them feel, how it shaped how they relate to the space they experienced it in.”
Developed from their personal experiences, their academic knowledge, and their professional insight into how the intersection of anti-Asian racism and sexism have impacted other community members, Gabi and Riki invite you to learn with them through this conversation.
As the first Black Jew or Jew of Color to serve on the 5-person board of the Weinberg Foundation, Pretlow has catalyzed discussions and actions around investment in racial equity in philanthropy in the Jewish community.
While Jewish foundations are turning more and more to supporting diverse Jewish communities, rarely do Jews of Color have a seat at the table to make decisions about how Jewish foundations allocate their funds.
We believed Jews of Color across the U.S. would be ready to share their experiences and perspectives to help make an equitable future for the entire community of Jews of Color. They were.
Queer Mikveh Project wants all humans to feel sacred, and their new JoC leaders are expanding on the mission of QMP to create inclusive spaces for engaging in traditional ritual.
When the Jews of Color Initiative decided to expand on our learnings from our first demographic study, we knew our second study required two essential components: thoughtful questions that dig deeper into the experiences of Jews of Color, and a stellar research team.
Tova’s poetry explores both Judaism and her identity as a Black queer woman. To do so, she often turns to seemingly mundane experiences and reveals how everyday moments hold deeper meaning.
Questioning the Jewishness of Jews of Color or holding higher standards for observance or belief is a common barrier to Jews of Color feeling a full sense of belonging in Jewish communities, despite the high levels of atheism and secularism in the broader U.S. Jewish community.
The Jews of Color Initiative has commissioned a study to be conducted by researchers at Stanford University. This study will go beyond assessing the population counts of Jews of Color, learning about and documenting the diverse and varied experiences and identities of Jews of Color living in the U.S.
In December, Rabbi Shmuly Yanklowitz and Eddie Chavez Calderon asked our Executive Director, Ilana Kaufman, to speak with their community on Jews of Color and inequity.
In racial justice movements, caucus groups have been popular models for collective consciousness-raising—developing one’s awareness of, and ability to challenge, how racism plays out on both individual and structural levels.
“There’s so much energy required for someone to sit down and read something really dense,” Alana Chandler began. “But food? Food is something everyone needs to live. And not only is it necessary sustenance, but there’s so much culture and tradition infused into recipes. Recipes really tell a story.”
As the Jewish community continues to learn from and engage with Beyond the Count: Perspectives and Lived Experiences of Jews of Color, communal leaders are sharing their reflections, wonders, and hopes for what comes next. Adapted from two dynamic panel conversations with Jewish leaders of color, this article shares the voices of Dr. Analucía Lopezrevoredo, Janu Mendel, Ginna Green, Paula Pretlow, Tiffany Harris, and Gamal Palmer.
As the selection of fellows for our Jews of Color Initiative Leadership Fellowship in New York comes to a close, we sat down to talk with Riki Robinson, Program Director of our New York Hub, about how the Fellowship was developed. This conversation revealed how communal learning is at the core of the Fellowship’s design, paving the way for fellows to confidently enter the Jewish professional ecosystem.
Built on data from 1,118 survey respondents and 61 interview participants, our study Beyond the Count is painting an unprecedented picture of Jews of Color. Here are the top five teachings we see emerging from this new study.
I hope the findings empower our community. We have to collectively commit to the path of anti-racism and racial justice. We have to accept that the Jewish community is not sustainable if racism exists among us, especially as our community becomes more and more diverse. I hope there is a chorus of “I’ve had enough” from every person in the Jewish community.
Before we even announced the August 12 launch of Beyond the Count, Ilana Kaufman and Dr. Harriette Wimms, Founder and Executive Director of the Jews of Color Mishpacha Project, held a conversation on why this study matters and how it might impact the Jewish community.
The more that we learn about the Jews of Color community, the more we are able to demonstrate the nuanced and varied experiences within it, or the “mosaic nature of the Jewish community,” as Dr. Lopezrevoredo said. Because Beyond the Count researchers used surveys and interviews, the findings from the study will share real experiences and perspectives of Jews of Color. "We’re anything but a monolith.”
Healing is an essential element of moving toward a multiracial, anti-racist, and just future. In April 2021, Rabbi Mira Rivera partnered with the Bay Area Jewish Healing Center to provide space for what she believes are essential therapeutic and medical resources for the JoC community.