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.
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.
“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.”
A shofar blast signals the start of the ceremony. The guests, many wearing brightly colored African-style clothing and head coverings, take their seats. A DJ cues up “Grazing in the Grass” by South African trumpeter Hugh Masekela, and the groom two-steps his way to the purple wedding canopy.
“We did not intend to be a demonstration of Jewish pluralism. We just wanted to kill some giants.”