The Risks of Being an Interracial Family
It is true that every family is different, but for multiracial families that difference can bring with it specific challenges. Married to an African American, Russian born Alina Adams struggles with...
View ArticleMy Christian Great-Grandmother, My Jewish Inspiration
Beatrice W. Hudson, known to me as Be Be, was my great-grandmother. She was one of the strongest, and most caring people I have ever met. Born May 10, 1918 in Suffolk, Virginia, she was the oldest of...
View ArticleMy Magen David, My Identity
My daughter Maya and I had been walking along 125th Street in Harlem, past the larger-than-life statue of Adam Clayton Powell, Jr., pastor, politician, and Civil Rights activist; the Studio Museum of...
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How Kosher is “Kosher Soul?”
©2015 A&E Television Networks, LLC. All rights reserved. Photo Credit: Richard Knapp What could be funnier than a black man marrying a white woman? Before you say “Loving v. Virginia,” hold on,...
View ArticleFathers – Look for those (Jewish) teaching moments
“Hey Buddy!” Whenever I hear that term, so common coming from the lips of dads in my generation, I invariably pause to reflect on the Fifth Commandment which instructs children to honor their parents...
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Passing for Black?: Another Perspective
My maternal great-grandfather was a German Jewish immigrant named Adolph Altschul. His wife was a freed slave woman, Maggie Carson. She was so light-skinned she could have passed for white, and one of...
View ArticleBreaking the Cycle of Unwelcome in Jewish Life
For many of us going to a new synagogue or Jewish environment is tough. We spend time beforehand wondering if we will know anyone, will we feel comfortable, or something as simple as will anyone say...
View ArticleThe Year of the Bar Mitzvahs
The “Derby Bunch”, or “Six Pack” as my parents like to call them, are a motley crew of grandkids – three of each gender – born within a six-year span to my two siblings and myself. We are spread...
View ArticleThe Making of A Modern Kosher Baker
On December 1st, baker Brandie Itman moved her small home business into the kitchen of Beth El Synagogue adding a kosher option to the Minnesota landscape. Team Be’chol Lashon caught up with the busy...
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Three Things the Jewish Community Can Do Better, According to a Mixed-Race...
Tema Smith is often mistaken for white, but this mixed-race Jew is proud of both her Bahamian and Ashkenazi roots. She is also one of a growing number of Jews of color who are making careers in the...
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My Interracial Marriage Isn’t That Exotic
Alex and Camille Barnett Those of you who follow my comedy know that my wife is a Black woman who converted to Judaism. What you also know is that we have a young son who is Biracial and Jewish. As a...
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For Cryin’ Out Loud, It’s A Culture, Not A Race!
There’s not a “look” to Jewish, you just are. This is what I was raised to believe in the Jewish family that adopted me. So why is being Jewish equated with race, with a skin color and ethnicity? I am...
View ArticleWhy this Mixed-Race Jew Loves Hanukkah
Do you have any idea how many times I have had the “No, Hanukkah actually is NOT the Jewish version of Christmas” conversation in my lifetime? It usually begins with me having to explain that I don’t...
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Finding Encouragement in MLK’s Words—And America’s Changing Demographics
This year, demographers project that nonwhite children will constitute the majority of children in the United States for the first time. My heart leapt out of my chest when I read this news. It brought...
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Judaism: The Next Chapters
I find it easiest to describe the experience of growing up in 1990’s America as a Black, White, Jewish, genderqueer human as one of eternal yearning. My mother, a White, second-generation Russian...
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