Our latest grants, aimed at fostering resilience, belonging, and empowerment for Jews of Color are amplifying JoC voices on campuses and in ritual music, creating meaningful cohort experiences for teens, and centering our communal healing.
Black and Jewish Leaders of Tomorrow
Black and Jewish Leaders of Tomorrow (BJLT) will convene a cohort of 50 Black and/or Jewish college students in a dynamic leadership forum in Atlanta, Georgia in April 2024. This program will feature expanded curriculum content reflecting the intersectionality of Black and Jewish identities, which will include a dedicated training module addressing the Black Jewish experience and providing tools to combat the unique intersection of racism and antisemitism, and raise awareness among Black and Jewish college students about diversity within the Jewish community and the unique needs of Black Jewish individuals. Perspectives shared by Black Jewish college students in subsequent interviews will then be integrated into the curriculum of the larger program, Black and Jewish Leaders of Tomorrow. In partnership with regional Hillels and Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), this project aims to understand and address the experiences and needs of young adult Jews of Color in the Southern U.S. region.
Moving Traditions
Moving Traditions recently launched Cohort 2 of Kumi: An Anti-Oppression Teen Leadership Program, welcoming 19 new and returning participants. Kumi, which means “wake up” or “rise up,” empowers Jewish teens to confront racism, antisemitism, and other forms of oppression. This year, six participants, constituting 30% of program participants, will participate in the JoC Empowerment Track, which provides a space for Jewish teens to explore and honor their racial identities. Leadership opportunities and creative practices are merged within the program through the creation of rituals, art, and other hands-on experiences that merge their racial identities with Jewish practice. To align with the Jewish calendar, Cohort 2 will use the Passover Haggadah as a guiding framework. Moving Traditions will showcase the participants’ original materials and resources at a virtual event, and will develop a cultural archive to share texts, art, and rituals generated by young JoC members with the broader Jewish community.
Queer Nigun Project
A Queer Nigun Project (QNP) aims to center BIJOCSM (Black, Indigenous, Jews of Color, Sephardi, Mizrahi) community within queer Jewish spaces, gathering individuals who may still experience isolation and discomfort in predominantly white Ashkenazi queer Jewish spaces, fostering connections, belonging, and healing at a complex intersection of identities. By channeling a variety of Jewish spiritual musical practices, from wordless melodies to piyyutim to potent songs of healing, QNP aims to cultivate a vibrant network of queer and multiracial Jews sharing, exploring, reclaiming, and creating musical traditions. QNP will host 3–4 Queer BIJOCSM Singing Circles, each composed of 10–15 BIJOCSM participants. Through Zoom gatherings in BIJOCSM-specific spaces, participants will engage in singing, learning, and healing within a spiritual and supportive environment. QNP will additionally build a virtual library of Jewish spiritual melodies by and for BIJOCSM community, to make a transformative impact on queer BIJOCSM empowerment and community building.
3W Consulting (“Our Journey Towards Healing”)
Through the “Our Journey Towards Healing” initiative, 3W Consulting aims to empower Jews of Color and BIPOC individuals by equipping them with tools for self-care and spiritual resources. JoCI funding supports the planning of this program, which will cultivate a culture of equity and belonging in Jewish life for all, recognizing and addressing the intersection of trauma resulting from oppression, thereby nurturing participants’ growth as leaders within the community. Through a comprehensive curriculum and series of sessions, participants will explore the relationship between antisemitism and racism, connect with one another in virtual healing spaces where Jewishness and other identities coexist meaningfully, and gain resources needed to support thriving leadership roles. A central goal of this initiative is for participants to feel deserving of care and joy; seen, heard, and understood; empowered; and not alone in their experiences. 3W Consulting will use learnings from this pilot planning phase to develop a toolkit and short surveys that can facilitate program replication and expansion.