During the civil rights movement (1954–1968), American Jews and African Americans formed strategic alliances to challenge racial inequality and injustice across the country. This built on earlier solidarity between the two communities, which had resulted in, among other things, Jewish activists taking many of the leadership positions within the early NAACP.[1][2] Jewish individuals and organizations provided financial support, legal expertise, and grassroots activism to support the growing movement nationwide.[1][2] Prominent Jewish organizations involved in this "Grand Alliance" included the Anti-Defamation League and the American Jewish Congress.[3] Prominent Jewish leaders such as Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel and Jack Greenberg marched alongside figures like Martin Luther King Jr. and contributed significantly to landmark legal victories.[4]
While this period is sometimes remembered as a "golden age" of African American–Jewish relations, modern scholars point out that there were still disagreements and tensions between Blacks and Jews at the time.[5] The reasons for collaborating were also diverse, and often motivated by politics as much as moral, ethical and religious concerns.[5][6][7] Since the 1960s, despite disagreements on issues such as affirmative action in higher education, both Black and Jewish communities and community leaders have collaborated on general and specific campaigns to tackle discrimination.[8][9]
- ^ a b "A Brief History of Jews and the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s". Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism. Archived from the original on 2023-12-03. Retrieved 2023-11-27.
- ^ a b "Justice Department Recognizes Jewish American Heritage Month". U.S Department of Justice. 2023-05-24. Retrieved 2024-07-12.
- ^ García, Kristina (2020-11-19). "Then and Now: Black-Jewish Relations in the Civil Rights Movement". Penn Today. Archived from the original on 2023-11-27. Retrieved 2023-11-27.
- ^ Forman, Seth (1997). "The Unbearable Whiteness of Being Jewish: Desegregation in the South and the Crisis of Jewish Liberalism". American Jewish History. 85 (2): 121–142. ISSN 0164-0178. JSTOR 23885481. Archived from the original on 2023-11-27. Retrieved 2023-11-27.
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