Black History Month
What is Black History Month?
October is Black History Month. This national celebration aims to promote and celebrate Black contributions to British society, and to foster an understanding of Black history in general. What was once African American History Week in the USA has now evolved into Black History Month and is marked every February, the month being chosen because of the birthdays of both Frederick Douglass, the African American social reformer and Abraham Lincoln, the president who ‘freed the slaves'. In the UK it was launched in the 1980s in London and was largely the result of local community activism challenging racism in general in British society and the Eurocentric version of history that dominated the state school system.
At UJS, we are here to celebrate diversity and inclusivity. We want to make sure that anyone from a minority or marginalised background knows that they have a place with us.
Why does Black History Month Matter?
Throughout history black people have always been present in the UK but there has been a lack of representation in the history books and in our media. It is imperative to remember the forgotten people who have shaped the UK into the country it is today. Black History Month is an opportunity to reflect on the diverse histories of those of African and Caribbean descent, taking note of the achievements and contributions to the social, political, economic and cultural development of the UK.
For Black History Month 2021, we highlighted stories and achievements of Black Jews throughout History. Here are some remarkable people, who celebrate the intersection of their identities both as a Jewish person and a person of colour:
Lani Guinier
Starting off with Lani Guinier, an American Lawyer and scholar. Guinier is the daughter of a Jewish mother and civil rights activist, and has spent her career fighting for things like affirmative action and representation of minorities in politics.
Guinier has explored different possible reforms to voting systems that ensure that racial and religious minorities have a say in government, such as proportional representation, where each party gets a number of seats based on their percentage of voters, instead of winner-take-all elections.
Guinier was also a Professor at Harvard Law School, where she became the school's first woman of color to be granted tenure. Guinier has authored over two dozen law review articles, as well as five books. She is also well known for being Bill Clinton's nominee for Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights. In 1981 Lani joined the NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund, later leading their voting rights project.
Guinier is a role model for minorities in politics and academia, and has been a trailblazer for the Black community. She worked tirelessly to make higher education and politics accessible to people from all backgrounds.
Sandra Lawson
Rabbi Sandra Lawson describes herself as a sociologist, personal trainer, food activist, weightlifter, vegan, writer, public speaker, and musician, in no particular order. Her story is absolutely remarkable: Her father was raised in a church in a small village in Arkansas, and her mother was not part of any religious community. After an not-so-easy childhood, she learned that her ancestors who immigrated to the United States were Jewish, but did not marry Jewish and the faith was not passed down. She then got into a relationship with a Jewish woman and got involved in the community. After meeting a Rabbi in a business situation, she attended a synagogue for the first time and decided to convert and attend rabbinical school.
Sandra currently serves as the Associate Chaplain for Jewish Life at Elon University. She became one of the first openly gay, female, black rabbis in the world in 2018. Rabbi Lawson has a particular focus on teaching Judaism anywhere and everywhere, and has a big following on TikTok!
Nissim Black
What would a Black History Month series be without a post about Nissim Black? Born Damian Jamohl Black, Nissim Black retired for a year in 2011 to focus on his conversion to Orthodox Judaism. The rapper and producer then began focusing on writing music from a religious standpoint.
Black was raised a Sunni Muslim but was non-practicing, and converted to Christianity at age 14 after attending an Evangelical summer camp. He renounced his belief in Christianity in 2016, and began his journey with Judaism. He subsequently refused to accept any profits from his previous albums relating to Christianity, and wouldn’t perform on Shabbat.
The rapper has since written several more albums and featured on other singles, including his hit song “Hashem Melech 2.0” with Gad Elbaz.
Ashager Araro
Ashager is a 30 year old Ethiopian Jew, IDF reserve captain, and activist. Araro's family were some of the Ethiopian Jews that were brought to Israel on Operation Soloman. Operation Soloman was a covert Israeli military operation which airlifted Ethiopian Jews to Israel in the midst of their civil war.
Ashager’s father and mother, who was nine months pregnant with Araro, walked for days to Ethiopia’s capital. During the journey, Araro was born. In fact, Araro's first name means "going forward" in Amharic, symbolizing her parent's journey forward to Israel.
Ashager is also the founder of Battae, Israel’s only Ethiopian Israeli Heritage Center. The Battae center serves as a place for guests to explore and appreciate the story of Ethiopian Jews in Israel. Visitors learn about traditional Ethiopian heritage through food, photography, art, music, dancing, and most importantly from hearing our stories.
Check out Jodeci's story here
Listen to Jodeci speak about his experiences of being black in the Jewish Community and hear his call for acceptance.
Significantly, Black History Month is a time to reflect and celebrate the contributions of black people to the world we live in – needn’t I give a spiel on all the things black people have done, not to mention the accomplishments of black Jews. For myself, Black History Month is ultimately a reminder to show that social barriers should not dictate what an individual can and cannot do – something that the Jewish community can also take inspiration from. On a personal level, I take inspiration from my own mother, Sharon; a black and Jewish woman, who’s had to wrestle with certain expectations about herself and has overcome them with great strength and grace; she also turns 60 in two weeks, so if you see her, wish her a happy birthday.
Moreover, black history needs to be included in a much more impactful and consistent way in the formal and informal educational curriculums and a singular month assigned to it is rather insufficient. I have been a student at the University of Bristol for over a year now and in a city where there is a strong Afro-Caribbean presence. However, the evident segregation of class also has a strong presence. It is shocking to think this still exists, but is no surprise since statues of figures such as Edward Colston overshadowed the city until recently. Simultaneously, sites which mark deadly events in Jewish history are unbeknownst to many and thus living in Bristol has made me reconsider the importance of Black History Month: a time to re-evaluate the past and why it should be remembered as a means to avoid becoming complicit in social inequality. As you all will know, a genocide of Uyghur Muslims in China is happening right now and the world’s deafening silence is almost sickening and is something that black and Jewish communities are rightly hyper-sensitive to.
In conclusion, this year’s Black History Month is likely to be one of its most impactful ones, where recent events are dramatically re-shaping the fight for racial equality, and, in the age of information, we are more exposed than ever to resources which can positively educate us on what is happening in the world and how to pursue justice in all areas of society – a central principle in Judaism. Above all, Black History Month is a time to learn about black history and how it has shaped the world we live in, but as an ethnic minority, take inspiration and realise that one’s background should not influence what they can and cannot do.