Why the Historic Black-Jewish Coalition is Rebuilding Now

Discover the history of the Black-Jewish coalition, why it fractured, and how a new generation of leaders is uniting to fight racism and antisemitism today. Why the Historic Black-Jewish Coalition is Rebuilding Now By Darius Spearman (africanelements) Support African Elements at patreon.com/africanelements and hear recent news in a single playlist. Additionally, you can gain early access to ad-free video content. Reconnecting at the East Hotel In late May 2026, more than one hundred leaders gathered at the EAST Hotel in Miami, Florida (sdvoice.info). This landmark event marked the first National Convening of the Black-Jewish Alliance in over twenty-five years (combatantisemitism.org). Hosted by the Exodus Leadership Forum, founded by television commentator Van Jones, and the Redstone Family Foundation, led by philanthropist Shari Redstone, the three-day summit brought together a diverse group of clergy, activists, educators, and artists (sdvoice.info). The gathering aimed to build a modern response to the rising tide of racism and antisemitism across the United States (combatantisemitism.org). Civil rights icon Dr. Benjamin F. Chavis Jr. stood as a prominent voice during the summit (sdvoice.info). He observed that while the nation faces a severe crisis of growing division, history shows that powerful social movements are frequently born in moments of great challenge (sdvoice.info). The summit sought to transform this crisis into an opportunity for collective movement-building. The Early Foundations of Solidarity The partnership between Black and Jewish Americans began long before the modern era. In the early twentieth century, both groups recognized that a society governed by prejudice was a threat to all minority communities (abhmuseum.org). One of the earliest collaborations took shape in 1911 between Julius Rosenwald, the Jewish president of Sears, Roebuck and Company, and Booker T. Washington, the legendary educator (julius-rosenwald-legacy.com, centerformasonslegacies.com). Driven by Jewish concepts of repairing the world and charity, Rosenwald funded the construction of nearly five thousand schools for Black children (julius-rosenwald-legacy.com). These schools flourished during the dark years of segregation, providing high-quality education to over six hundred thousand children (arkansasheritage.com). This program helped combat the structural limits that arose after the [ways Civil War failed to end slavery](https://www.africanelements.org/news/3-ways-the-civil-war-failed-to-end-slaveryand-3-things-black-fol/) across the American South. Around this same time, Jewish leaders joined hands with W.E.B. Du Bois to help co-found the NAACP in 1909, cementing a shared commitment to legal equality (abhmuseum.org). The Grand Alliance of the Civil Rights Era By the middle of the twentieth century, this partnership transformed into a powerful social engine. The deep friendship between the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel became a moral symbol of the era (ajhs.org, jtsa.edu). Rabbi Heschel, who had escaped Nazi-occupied Europe, marched arm-in-arm with Dr. King from Selma to Montgomery in 1965 (jwa.org). He later reflected that the march felt like his legs were actively praying (beaconhebrewalliance.org). This commitment was also sealed in tragedy during the Freedom Summer of 1964 (civilrightsmuseum.org). In Mississippi, three young civil rights workers were abducted and murdered by the Ku Klux Klan (civilrightsmuseum.org). James Chaney, a young Black Mississippian, died alongside Andrew Goodman and Michael Schwerner, two Jewish volunteers from New York (wikipedia.org). The national horror over their deaths catalyzed the swift passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (civilrightsmuseum.org). Milestones of Shared Resistance Key moments in the Black-Jewish coalition 1909 NAACP Founded