Journalism
Some of my recent work, organized by category.
‘How are you supposed to enjoy music by somebody that hates you?’: Jewish fans press pause on Ye’s songs
“I don’t really want to hear his voice anymore because I just associate him with spewing hate," said one former fan of Ye's.
Local Jewish activists are standing with Bay Area Indigenous people
A growing number of Bay Area Jews are engaging in activism around Indigenous rights, raising uncomfortable questions about their privilege in benefiting from colonialism and the genocide of Native Americans, as well as complicity in the erasure of Indigenous history.
![‘Black people are actually Jew[s]’: The historical origins of Kanye West’s inflammatory comments](https://andrewesensten.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Ben-Ammi-Ben-Israel-Credit-Andrew-Esensten-2160x1200-1-400x250.webp)
‘Black people are actually Jew[s]’: The historical origins of Kanye West’s inflammatory comments
In 1892, an Oklahoma preacher born into slavery received a series of divine revelations that compelled him to launch a new church and, with it, a new religious movement in the United States: Black Israelism, better known as the Black Hebrew Israelite movement.
‘Breath of fresh air’: Jewish families of color enjoy a summer camp weekend
“It was a space where we could be ourselves without some of the concerns or worries or discomforts that can come from being a Jew of color in traditionally white Jewish spaces."
‘Yippie Girl’: In memoir, Judy Gumbo writes about 1960s Jewish activists, the Chicago 7 and defeating the FBI
In “Yippie Girl: Exploits in Protest and Defeating the FBI,” Judy Gumbo reveals just how Jewish the Youth International Party was, both in terms of its membership and tactics.
‘Minyan Duty’ short film broaches topic of race … with nothing to say
The decision to cast a Black actor in the role of the non-Jewish interloper plays into harmful assumptions about who does and does not belong in Jewish spaces.
Claire Stanford’s debut novel takes on tech-driven obsession with happiness
Evelyn Kominsky Kumamoto, the protagonist of Berkeley-raised author Claire Stanford’s debut novel, works at the San Francisco headquarters of “the third-most-popular internet company.”
Black Jewish pianist Lara Downes is on a mission to make classical music more inclusive
Downes has been using her platform to expose listeners accustomed to the standard classical fare — concertos and sonatas by mostly white, male and European composers — to more pieces by women and people of color.
Why do the Utah Jazz, in the Mormon capital, play ‘Hava Nagila’ after wins?
The choice of "Hava Nagila" as a victory song has long baffled and amused basketball fans in Utah and beyond.
On vacation in Egypt, I found hope for peace in Israel
One takeaway from my short time in Egypt is that no matter how acrimonious relations between two nations have been over the decades (or millennia), there is always a path toward reconciliation and peace.
Author Jennieke Cohen draws on her Filipina-Jewish heritage in new take on ‘My Fair Lady’
“My Fine Fellow: A Delicious Entanglement” is Jennieke Cohen’s second young adult novel set in an alternate 19th century Britain, and her first with Jewish characters, along with several original recipes.
‘Fun fact’ about Steph Curry’s Hebrew tattoo makes a splash on Twitter
The Hebrew word tattooed on Curry’s left wrist, קרי (kuf-resh-yud), is both a transliteration of the player’s last name as well as a well-known Talmudic euphemism for “accidental emission."