In the summer of 1960, Howard University students and their white Jewish allies picketed for 10 weeks outside Glen Echo Amusement Park in Montgomery County.
Public celebrations of Juneteenth have been held in African American communities for generations, especially in the South, but they are a relatively new phenomenon in Jewish communities.
A “beef” is just a mean poetry contest, but the stakes of this one felt higher for Jewish fans of hip-hop like me. A loss for Drake, who has celebrated his Jewishness in his art, is a loss for Jews.
“It doesn’t make sense that the most prominent Black Jew in entertainment is going through this right now,” said Y-Love, the rapper and content creator who is also Black and Jewish.
Nissim Black has a minhag before he performs: The Orthodox rapper recites a blessing on stage. The custom is a way to make amends for his past as a gang member and gangsta rapper in Seattle who “used to do the opposite of making blessings.”
