A minority group within a minority group. This is the black Jewish person here in the United States. One can only imagine the prejudices and discrimination they have gone through, even by their own religious group. Many think a “black” person could not be Jewish and some even consider the practice of Judaism strictly a “white” person’s religion. Some have gone so far to think that being Jewish is a race or nationality and not a religion.
First let’s explore what Judaism is and how it is different from other religions. Judaism (n.d.) according to Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary, is a religion developed among ancient Hebrews that believes in one God who revealed himself to Abraham, Moses and the Hebrew prophets, and a religious life according to scriptures and rabbinic traditions. Where Judaism really differs from other religions is that to be Jewish, you can either be born into it through matrilineal lines or you can be converted into Judaism (Rich, 2011). A person who has a Jewish mother, according to Orthodox Jews would be considered Jewish no matter who the father is or whether or not you believe in or practice Judaism. Accordingly, if you do not have a Jewish mother, but a Jewish father, you would not be considered Jewish even if you practice Judaism. One would have to be converted into Judaism in order to be considered Jewish if you do not have the matrilineal lines. Additionally, as opposed to Christians, practicing Jews believe that the Messiah has not yet come.
There have been many Jewish people who have contributed to who have contributed to American culture. We could start with Albert Einstein who was a world famous physicist and pacificst. He also served as a co-chair for twenty years of the American Crusade to End Lynching. Of course, the Holocaust and those that sought refuge in the United States forever changed our culture and how we view genocide.
Unfortunately, Jewish people have been persecuted and suffered throughout history because of their religious beliefs and at times taking on a racial character rather than a religious one. Hostility towards the Jewish people dates all the way back to Ancient times when Roman authorities destroyed the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem and forced the Jews out of Palestine. Fast forward to 1939 and the beginning of World War II, we find the Nazi’s treating the Jewish people as an inferior race and they begin executing them and others who did not fit their Aryan concept of what a superior race should look like (The History Channel, 2014). Additionally, Christians have discriminated against and persecuted the Jewish people for killing Jesus of Nazareth (considered the Messiah in Christianity).
What I have learned about this particular religious group has been eye-opening. Not only have they survived many attempts of genocide, but their basic core beliefs are non-violent and peaceful toward others. I have also learned that just like many other religious groups, their religion has also splintered and fractioned leading to different sects of Judaism.
Now let’s take a look at black culture and history here in America. First, the majority of blacks in American were taken and brought over from West Africa as slaves (Pathways to Freedom, 2014). This is a major difference between blacks and other races in America. While many different races may have been slaves throughout early history, Africans were the only ones that were forcibly brought to America from another country and made to work as indentured servants. By 1860 there were 3.5 million enslaved African-Americans in the United States due to the Atlantic Slave Trade. In 1863, Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation declaring that all slaves that had seceded from the Union were now free.
African-American’s interaction with other groups has, for the majority, been filled with racial prejudice and discrimination towards them. While this has changed today, there are still those out there that feel that African-Americans are an inferior race. For example, when they were brought to the United States, they were enslaved and considered less than bright. So, others in the United States treated them like 3 class citizens or slaves. They still endure hate crimes like many minority groups today.
African Americans have contributed to American culture in many different areas. They have contributed their music, such as the Blues, Folk Songs and Spiritual Songs which still influences our music today. In addition, they have contributed a lot of art in the art world. African American’s have over-come a history of slavery, prejudice and discrimination. As mentioned previously, they were freed in 1863. The source of most of the prejudice and discrimination against African American’s today are because of their skin color. I did not really learn anything new about African-American’s
What is most interesting about both groups is the fact that both the Jewish people and the African American people have a history of being enslaved. They also have a history of people not like them practicing genocide. Both groups have overcome a great deal of prejudice and discrimination. One group is discriminated against because of the color of his skin; the other group is discriminated against because of his religious beliefs. Now, imagine that you are not only Jewish, but an African American Jew. They have suffered enormous prejudices. First they have suffered prejudices because they are black, and then they have suffered more prejudices because they are Jewish. There are certain sects of Judaism that do not recognize a black man as being Jewish, while some of the sects see the African-American Jew as being a part of the lost tribe. For all of the prejudice and discrimination that have been placed on both groups, many still are not tolerant of others that are different from themselves, even while they protest that they have been discriminated against and want people to have more tolerance for them.
References:
Judaism. (n.d.). The Merriam-Webster Dictionary Online. Retrieved from http://www.merriam-webster.com
Rich, T. (2011). Judaism, 101. Retrieved from http://www.jewfaq.org/
The History Channel, (2014). The Holocaust. Retrieved from http://www.history.com
Pathways to Freedom, (2014). Maryland and The Underground Railroad. Retrieved from http://pathways.thinkport.org
Black History in American, (2014). Retrieved from http://www.myblackhistory.net