Bay Area

Jews of Color Navigate Issues of Inclusion During High Holiday Season

Published

6 years ago

October 3, 2019

The Jewish population is becoming more and more diverse, with Black and Brown people who are born in the faith or converts becoming more visible.

Their experience during the high holiday season, including Rosh Hashanah, the new year, which began on September 28, and the solemn season of Atonement, which begins on October 9 can stand out even more.

Jews of color navigate prejudice as they try to worship and yet there are cultural triumphs as well, in particular the casting of Ja Latinx Jew for the Hannukah and coronation specials Disney show, “Elena of Avalor,” which is to open in December.

In a Washington Post story published on Sunday, Rabbi Joseph Berman planned a new year’s sermon using a term from the Exodus known as ‘Erev Rav,’ which refers to the ‘mixed multitude’ of people who fled biblical Egypt with the Israelites. It was important to Berman, whose New Synagogue Project is in Wash., D.C., to bring voice to Jews whose roots are African American, Middle Eastern, Asian and everything in between.

“There’s this problematic narrative, that Jews of color are new to the community because they’re converts or part of mixed marriages, and that’s not true,” Berman told The Washington Post. “For some Jews of color, that’s part of their story, but there have always been Jews of color. It’s where Judaism started.”

Groups and projects around the country are grappling with the issue of what comprises Jewish identity, belonging for Jews of color and challenges Jews of color face. There are about 600,000 Jews in the United States who identify as Black, Latinx, Native American, Sephardic and Mizrahi.

Their presence is influencing the framing of the Yom Kippur confessional prayer, called Ashamnu, to include mass incarceration, unfair housing and police violence.

The spike in anti-Jewish and attacks on synagogues like the ones in Pittburgh Pa., in 2018 that left 11 people dead and Poway Ca., attack that left one dead on the last day of Passover this year, mean security has been increased, but there are worries about profiling by security guards and police.

“How can Jews of color be totally engaged if they’re profiled on their way to synagogue?” Ilana Kaufman, executive director of the Jews of Color Field Building Initiative and a Berkeley resident, told the Washington Post. “Jews of color are asked: Who do they know here? What’s the rabbi’s name? Someone using the facilities might be asked if they’re janitorial staff.” She said she believes there is some American Jewish anxiety around the topic of nonwhite Jews that’s not unlike American anxiety and racism about national demographic shifts.

“They worry about diluting Jewishness, that people of color celebrating their Jewish identity will eclipse our ‘Jewishness.’ It’s like we’re dealing with a finite pie,” she said.
Carla Mays, who grew up in Los Angeles with a mother and grandmother who considered themselves Jewish but were uncomfortable in institutional settings, is now a board member of the Jewish Multiracial Network, which formed in the 1990s to support multiracial Jewish families.

She joined the group when she moved to San Francisco as she tried to balance between Jewish and African American spaces.“I couldn’t worship in peace, and was constantly questioned about who I was. And I saw [young Jews of color] having to bear that brunt.

That’s why I stepped into this role,” she said of her work in the Network.
On the other hand, news of actress Jamie Lee Sigler, a Sephardic Jew of Cuban American heritage, was cause for excitement for mothers of young Jewish children.

The casting of the Latinx Jewish princess in a Disney vehicle is important to Latinx familes, according to a story written by Ruth Abusch-Magder, for Be’chol Lashon, a magazine focusing on Jews of color.

“As a Latinx Jewish woman, I’m thrilled that my children will be able to see aspects of their heritage and culture represented on a platform where they have largely gone unnoticed,” Stempel told Be’chol Lashon. “We may not be royal, but when we see ourselves positively reflected on the media we consume, it definitely impacts self-image.”

Sarah Aroeste is a Sephardi singer educator who was thrilled to hear of the character and what it would mean for her two young girls.
“To show a Jewish princess – explicitly in the script – is something so exciting by itself,” Aroeste told Be’chol Lashon. “To add the Latina element is an amazing added bonus! I love the fact that people will see a character that is not only Jewish but one that is not necessarily Ashkenazi.

Of course just because she’s Latina does NOT mean she’s Sephardic, but to show a non-standard portrayal of a Jewish girl is something I didn’t think we’d see yet in mainstream kids’ media”

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Activism

Post Newspaper Invites NNPA to Join Nationwide Probate Reform Initiative

The Post’s Probate Reform Group meets the first Thursday of every month via Zoom and invites the public to attend. The Post is making the initiative national and will submit information from its monthly meeting to the NNPA to educate, advocate, and inform its readers.

Published

11 hours ago

February 10, 2026

Oakland Post

iStock.

By Tanya Dennis

The National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA) represents the Black press with over 200 newspapers nationwide.

Last night the Post announced that it is actively recruiting the Black press to inform the public that there is a probate “five-alarm fire” occurring in Black communities and invited every Black newspaper starting from the Birmingham Times in Alabama to the Milwaukee Times Weekly in Wisconsin, to join the Post in our “Year of Action” for probate reform.

Reporter Tanya Dennis says, “The adage that ‘When America catches a cold, Black folks catch the flu” is too true in practice; that’s why we’re engaging the Black Press to not only warn, but educate the Black community regarding the criminal actions we see in probate court: Thousands are losing generational wealth to strangers. It’s a travesty that happens daily.”

Venus Gist, a co-host of the reform group, states, “ Unfortunately, people are their own worst enemy when it comes to speaking with loved ones regarding their demise. It’s an uncomfortable subject that most avoid, but they do so at their peril. The courts rely on dissention between family members, so I encourage not only a will and trust [be created] but also videotape the reading of your documents so you can show you’re of sound mind.”

In better times, drafting a will was enough; then a trust was an added requirement to ‘iron-clad’ documents and to assure easy transference of wealth.

No longer.

As the courts became underfunded in the last 20 years, predatory behavior emerged to the extent that criminality is now occurring at alarming rates with no oversight, with courts isolating the conserved, and, I’ve heard, many times killing conservatees for profit. Plundering the assets of estates until beneficiaries are penniless is also common.”

Post Newspaper Publisher Paul Cobb says, “The simple solution is to avoid probate at all costs. If beneficiaries can’t agree, hire a private mediator and attorney to work things out. The moment you walk into court, you are vulnerable to the whims of the court. Your will and trust mean nothing.”

Zakiya Jendayi, a co-host of the Probate Reform Group and a victim herself, says, “In my case, the will and trust were clear that I am the beneficiary of the estate, but the opposing attorney said I used undue influence to make myself beneficiary. He said that without proof, and the judge upheld the attorney’s baseless assertion. In court, the will and trust is easily discounted.”

The Black press reaches out to 47 million Black Americans with one voice. The power of the press has never been so important as it is now in this national movement to save Black generational wealth from predatory attorneys, guardians and judges.

The next probate reform meeting is on March 5, from 7 – 9 p.m. PST. Zoom Details:
Meeting ID: 825 0367 1750
Passcode: 475480

All are welcome.

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Activism

Community Celebrates Turner Group Construction Company as Collins Drive Becomes Turner Group Drive

The event drew family, friends, and longtime supporters of Turner Group Construction, along with a host of dignitaries. The mood was joyful and warm, filled with hugs, handshakes and belated New Year’s greetings. Guests enjoyed hors d’oeuvres and a festive display of gourmet cupcakes as they conversed about the street sign reveal.

Published

11 hours ago

February 10, 2026

Oakland Post

The Turner Construction group members.

By Carla Thomas

It was a family affair on Friday, Jan. 23, at the corner of Hegenberger Road and Collins Drive in East Oakland as community members, local leaders, and elected officials gathered to celebrate the renaming of Collins Drive to Turner Group Drive. The renaming saluted the Turner Group’s 45-plus years of economic development and community investment.

Special guests included former Alameda County Supervisor Keith Carson, veteran broadcaster Valerie Coleman-Morris, Chevron Senior Public Affairs Representative Andrea Bailey, community leaders Cephus “Uncle Bobby” Johnson and Beatrice “Aunt Bea” Johnson of the Oscar Grant Foundation, and Oakland City Councilmembers Ken Houston, Carroll Fife, and Kevin Jenkins. Members of WEBCORE, the Nor Cal Carpenters Union, the National Association of Minority Contractors (NAMC), Swinerton and Alten construction companies, activists Elaine Brown and David Newton, and many others joined the celebration.

Inside the event tent, an emotional Oakland City Councilmember Ken Houston spoke of his deep connection to the Turner family.

“I grew up on the same street with the Turners,” he said. “When my father passed away, their parents and siblings embraced me like family. This is our city, and it’s an honor to name this street Turner Group Drive because of the love and effort this company and family have given. Many dreams came out of this building. I wouldn’t be where I am today without the Turners.”

Councilmember Kevin Jenkins, whose father once taught the Turner brothers, added, “Len Turner is an amazing person. He’ll help anyone.”

Oakland Mayor Barbara Lee praised the company’s legacy, noting its creation of the Construction Resource Center, which trains and mentors the next generation of builders and developers through partnerships across the region. “This is a great day for Oakland and a profound acknowledgment of the Turner Group’s contribution to our community,” she said.

Fife echoed that sentiment: “This is a day for celebrating Black excellence. The Turner Group has poured into people and the community, showing us what’s possible.”

Among the many family members in attendance was the Turners’ 92-year-old patriarch, whose presence underscored the strength of the family’s legacy.

A touching highlight of the event came when Coleman-Morris was honored for her lasting mentorship of LaTanya Hawkins, now program manager of the Construction Resource Center. In 1979, Hawkins, then a fourth-grader, wrote Coleman-Morris a letter seeking advice. Coleman responded with words of encouragement that inspired Hawkins to pursue her dreams. The two stayed in touch for decades. On stage, they embraced as Coleman reflected on “the power of small acts of kindness to change a life.”

Coleman-Morris also shared reflections on leadership and community spirit, saying, “If we change the way we look at things, the things we see will change.” She then recited the Serenity Prayer, reminding the crowd, “We are a powerful community, we just need to believe it.”

Company leaders Len and Lance Turner closed the ceremony with words of gratitude and humor. Len thanked his mother, wife, family, legal team, and longtime supporters including Carson, Geoffrey Pete, and the late Dorothy King of Everett & Jones Barbecue. He also acknowledged the challenges the company had overcome, saying, “Without all of this support, I wouldn’t be here today.”

Through Turner Group Construction and the Construction Resource Center, the Turners have created new opportunities for underrepresented groups in the construction industry and continue to inspire the next generation of builders.

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Activism

New Bill, the RIDER Safety Act, Would Support Transit Ambassadors and Safety on Public Transit

The RIDER Safety Act would allow public transit agencies to hire transit ambassadors trained in de-escalation, crisis response, and rider education and engagement. Acting as a visible, non-enforcement presence to deter low-level incidents and reduce conflict, transit ambassadors would ease the burden from law enforcement and enhance public safety.

Published

11 hours ago

February 10, 2026

Oakland Post

BART train. Photo courtesy of ABC7.

By Post Staff

A new federal bill would support transit ambassador, or transit support specialist, programs at public transit agencies across the country.

The bill, (D-CA-12), H.R. 6069, the Rapid Intervention and Deterrence for Enhanced Rider Safety Act, or the RIDER Safety Act, was introduced Jan. 30 by Congresswoman Lateefah Simon. (D-CA-12), H.R. 6069, the Rapid Intervention and Deterrence for Enhanced Rider Safety Act, or the RIDER Safety Act.

This legislation is based on Congresswoman Simon’s work at Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) to create a first-in-the-nation Transit Ambassador Program, which previously earned a prestigious nationwide award for “Innovation in Public Safety.”

She announced the bill at a press conference at the 19th Street BART Station alongside BART leaders and other supporters.

The RIDER Safety Act would allow public transit agencies to hire transit ambassadors trained in de-escalation, crisis response, and rider education and engagement. Acting as a visible, non-enforcement presence to deter low-level incidents and reduce conflict, transit ambassadors would ease the burden from law enforcement and enhance public safety.

This bill would also create jobs provide meaningful work, training opportunities, and a pathway for career growth in local communities. In the House of Representatives, the bill is also co-led by Representatives Shomari Figures (AL-02), Nellie Pou (NJ-09), Mark DeSaulnier (CA-10), and John Garamendi (CA-08).

“I am incredibly proud to champion the RIDER Safety Act in Congress and continue my work to ensure transit is safe, accessible, and affordable to everyone. We have seen the success of the transit ambassador programs here in the East Bay, and I am dedicated to bringing this proven public safety model to the rest of the country,” said Congresswoman Simon.

“These are strong local jobs for people who want to support public safety on transit and serve as a resource to individuals who may be in crisis or in need of services,” she continued. “Strengthening safety on transit benefits us all and helps ensure our public transportation systems remain places of opportunity, dignity, and trust.”

“This bill is critical to ensure the safety of every passenger who relies on public transportation across the country,” said Congresswoman Nellie Pou. “The RIDER Safety Act builds on successful transit models already implemented in communities, including the Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) through the leadership of Congresswoman Lateefah Simon during her time as BART President. By providing transit stations with medically trained, unarmed personnel, we can strengthen safety standards, reduce fare evasion, and give riders a greater peace of mind when getting from one place to the next.”