Black and Jewish Americans Gather for Juneteenth Celebration
Originally published in Haaretz
SAN FRANCISCO – The second annual Erev Juneteenth event at the Jewish Community Center here begins with the Hamotzi prayer, recited over sweet potato cornbread. It concludes with Joshua Nelson, popularly known as the “prince of kosher gospel,” performing soaring renditions of “Adon Olam” and “Mi Chamocha.”
Taking center stage at Wednesday evening’s festivities is Michael Twitty, an acclaimed culinary historian and chef, and one of the most prominent Black Jews in America.
“What’s happening in this room right now is a nightmare for white supremacy and antisemitism, and I love it,” Twitty, dressed in a purple Nigerian-style shirt and rainbow kippa, declares to the sounds of applause. “This is a Black-Jewish joy event, and I’m so proud of that.”
Later, he tempers the mood, alluding to the wars raging in the Middle East. “We’re praying for peace, progression, friendship, growth and the day when we study war no more, and we treat all people the way we want to be treated, as individuals made in the image of Hashem,” he says.
The diverse crowd of 135 Jews and non-Jews is gathered for a unique celebration of Juneteenth, the national holiday commemorating the end of chattel slavery in the United States. The name, a combination of “June” and “nineteenth,” refers to the day in 1865 when Union troops arrived in Galveston, Texas, and a general announced: “All slaves are free.” At the time, roughly 250,000 Black Americans remained in bondage in Texas – even though President Abraham Lincoln, with the Emancipation Proclamation, had freed the enslaved populations of Confederate states more than two years earlier.
For generations, Black Americans in Texas and other parts of the South have celebrated Juneteenth, also known as Emancipation Day, with cookouts, rodeos and parades. Many Jews only learned about the significance of this day in the summer of 2020, when millions of Americans participated in racial justice protests following the police killing of George Floyd.
That June, Be’chol Lashon, a nonprofit that advocates for Jews of color, held a virtual Juneteenth Kabbalat Shabbat service. The service, which was led by two Black rabbis, was viewed tens of thousands of times on social media, and a new greeting was born: “Juneteenth sameach!”
After President Joe Biden designated Juneteenth a federal holiday in 2021, some synagogues and other Jewish organizations began to honor the day by hosting Shabbat services featuring Black Jewish speakers, Juneteenth “seders” (complete with customized Haggadot), theatrical productions and film screenings. Many of these initiatives are led by Black Jews themselves.
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