Black culture is not monolithic. Many people, me among
them, want to be allies and don’t know how. So I’ve come up with a list of what
I’m trying to do. Every day. I mean this to be somewhat nonpartisan. For
example, there are some Black politicians who have platforms I like, and some
who don’t. Look, this plan will be scoffed at by those who say the rate of
change is too slow, and scoffed at by those who say the country does not need change. I'm no politician.
When I was growing up in the 60’s-70’s, for some reason I
felt it was really important to learn about the UK. I read books by English
authors, I studied UK history far beyond any other European country. I followed
UK politics. This was a conscious choice to expand my understanding of the
world beyond parochial Americanism and the mysteries and science fiction I was
already reading. What did I learn? Who knows? When I converted to Judaism I started reading books by Jewish
authors, studying the history of Israel and of course spent much more time
reading the Five Books of Moses. This was also a conscious choice. An America I
never knew existed opened up for me. There are a handful of books that can be
found, for instance, in the homes of most liberal Jews in America. One way in
for me was mystery novels written about a Jewish American rabbi who kept
solving crimes but also talking about Judaism. Not heavy lifting. Learning about a parallel culture can, I believe, be part of an answer for how to move forward to celebrate and embrace that culture. Genuine friends in that culture can be made if you volunteer for a common cause.
For some time, it has become clear White America (me very much included) needs to learn more about, find common cause with, understand concerns of Black America, and importantly, support Black America. Having a few friends who are Black and Jewish is not enough. Learning about Juneteenth is not enough. Reading Just Mercy is not enough. There is a Jewish maxim pulled directly from Exodus, where the Israelites say, “I will do and I will learn.” From this comes the idea that you can take action first and learn about why you are taking action simultaneously, or even take action first, and the understanding will follow. The understanding will of course lead us to more Action steps. Some would say I’ve made contributions to my local Jewish community in the last quarter century. I would say I’ve been greatly helped both by the people I’ve worked with as well the studying and the studying has played a crucial part in reinforcing my interest in working within the Jewish community and my ability to do so.
Opportunities for Action
- Donate to Black political candidates.
- Listen to including buying music by Black artists
- Frequent Black owned businesses, in your community especially, but also online. Many things that Amazon sells can be found other places for pretty much the same price. There are Black bookshops you can order from online for example.
- Donate to Black organizations, or organizations that support and amplify Black causes.
- Donate to Black churches or other predominantly Black religious organizations.
- Volunteer in a way that supports Black people. I'm not doing this yet, but I think it's important and want to work towards it as my life opens up.
- Attend rallies supporting Black people and Black causes
Opportunities to Learn
- Read works by Black authors. Doesn’t have to be the latest NYT bestseller. Pick your genre, pick your time period, but also try and include recent work. Create a Black bookshelf virtually or physically with books you like and/or want to read. You can even put books on there that are too challenging for you now but hope to read sometime. Feel free to be proud of this bookshelf. It will remind you of your goals.
- Read news articles by Black journalists. Follow Black journalists on Twitter.
- Read journal articles by Black academicians, if you like reading journal articles and can access them (often there are paywalls).
- Watch media portraying Black actors in a positive light, watch movies by Black directors.
- Listen to podcasts by Black people/organizations. For example, the National Urban League has a podcast, For the Movement.
- Ally training in your community sponsored by organizations such as Standing Up for Racial Justice might work for you
I don’t know where this country is going or where we’ll be 42 days from now let alone in January, 2021. I am feeling largely powerless in the political arena to do anything other than vote (and donate). I am very concerned, but look at it this way. Whoever wins, racism will still be with us. If the Republicans appoint a Supreme Court Justice before January, racism will be worse. The need to study Black America with an aim to identify and help eradicate systemic racism in us and in our communities and in our nation will still be with us. As Rabbi Tarfon is quoted as saying in the Talmud, “You are not obliged to complete the work, but neither are you free to desist from it.”
Got to run. I’m donating to Mike Espy for Senate today.
Comments
Post a Comment