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Friend—
When future generations ask what we did in the civil rights fight
of our times, we’ll say we showed up as Jews and allies to fight for a
world where all of us are safe and free.
Building capable, visionary leaders is foundational to
successful organizing — when you invest in leadership development,
you're part of the bedrock of this movement.
Here are organizing stories
from 7 cities — Milwaukee, Portland, Louisville, Memphis, Cincinnati,
Long Island, and Los Angeles — where Jews and allies are rising up for
Black lives.
Bend the Arc: A Jewish Partnership for Justice runs an organizing
program called the Jeremiah
Fellowship, which is turning that energy into action.
Jeremiah Fellows in 14 cities are growing Moral Minyans (Bend the Arc
local groups) to create a political home for local Jewish
organizing.
Planning safe actions and mobilizing Jewish
communities:
In Milwaukee,
over 100 people showed up for “Milwaukee Jews for Black Lives Matter”
— a Shabbat in the park planned by our Milwaukee
Jeremiah Fellows with sign-making, speakers, and learning about the
Milwaukee Moral Minyan. On Sunday, many attendees kept up the momentum
with a powerful march carrying their newly created
artwork through the streets.
In Portland,
OR, Jeremiah Fellows put together a powerful
pre-protest Juneteenth Shabbat service. Over 50 people showed
up to connect, sing, and eat challot that fellows baked for
each participant. They joined the local protest after grounding in a
Shabbat service focused on the meaning of Juneteenth and the
importance of fighting for Black liberation.
When
you donate $18 to Bend the Arc, it supports local organizing work
across the country, including the development of local Jewish leaders
in their communities.
Building a political home for Jews and
allies:
Louisville
Jeremiah Fellows kept up the momentum from their successful
sign-on effort supporting Black Lives Matter
Louisville with their first community
meeting! And, they’re making a zine to engage the
Jewish community and others in political education — focusing
on ways to take action in this moment.
In Memphis,
Jeremiah Fellows led a text bank to extend an eviction
moratorium, building support to ensure that everyone in
Tennessee can truly be “safer at home.”
Jeremiah Fellows in Cincinnati planned a virtual
Jews for Black Lives Havdalah and sign-making gathering. They
were joined by 25 members of the community to get to know one another,
ground protest in Jewish values, and make signs at home about
protesting Jewishly. The next day, a fellow and her mom joined the
Cincinnati March for Racial Justice II.
“We’ve been looking for a progressive Jewish community!” is what
community members are sharing with Jeremiah Fellows.
Donate
today to fund progressive Jewish organizing in key cities around the
country in this moment and beyond.
Defunding police at the local level:
Part of local organizing is choosing campaigns to work on. We’re
cheering on Bend the Arc leaders on Long Island who will be
supporting the work of New York Communities for Change to
defund police locally.
Leaders in Southern
California, following the leadership of and in
coalition with Black Lives Matter - LA, are demanding a
People’s Budget in Los Angeles to divest from police and
invest in reimagined community safety. And they’re already
seeing wins, including a new practice of unarmed non-police
response to non-violent emergency calls and unarmed traffic
enforcement!
In Cincinnati, Jeremiah Fellows
followed the calls of Mass Action for Black Liberation Cincinnati and
launched a texting campaign to drive calls to City
Council to urge them to defund the police. Plus, Fellows
wrote and delivered testimony at a public City Council
hearing about why they support defunding the police and
investing in Black communities as Jews.
Thank you for reading this far about the work of
our incredible Jeremiah Fellows, and for supporting these young
visionary leaders who are mobilizing Jewish communities around the
country in this moment, and for years to come.
In solidarity,
Carrie Sterns
Jeremiah Fellowship National Director
PS: Young Jewish adults are building an infrastructure for
progressive Jewish organizing around the country. Support
this work with a gift of $18 today.
The Jeremiah Fellowship is a program of Bend the Arc: A
Partnership for Jewish Justice
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