CBI Blogs

In a Jewish community, we constantly read the Torah to remember the history of our ancestors so that it may never be forgotten. This is very important because if one were to forget the struggles and strife that their ancestors went through, then they will not know who they are or where they are going in the future. Additionally, those that oppress the minority population are working twice as hard to make sure that the minorities forget their ancestors. The age-old adage, “History is written by the victors” is certainly true. When I read through the U.S. History books during my undergraduate courses, there were multiple chapters on all the topics, except slavery and all other topics related to Black culture which had just a few pages. As though it was an inconvenience to even mention the subject. African people were kidnapped from their homes, had their names and culture stripped from them, handcuffed and chained, packed on ships tighter than cigarettes in a carton, and shipped over 8,000 miles away to the United States and other countries where many would die before they even made landfall. For over 400 years, more than 15 million men, women, and children would be worked on plantations, beaten with whips, traded on the auction block, separated from their families, and killed outright. This is something that we should always remember and say, “Never again.”

Then, once slaves were released and started trying to put together some semblance of life, they attempted to participate in democracy, which has been an ongoing struggle. Once again, those that oppressed the minority population came up with creative ways to prevent Black people from voting, such as poll taxes, literacy tests, and requiring Black people to own property in order to vote. They even have Ku Klux Klan members guarding the voting polls intimidating Blacks who were trying to vote. They imposed Jim Crow laws that mandated that Blacks be segregated. They even imposed a practice called redlining where they designated all Black neighborhoods and only Blacks could live in these areas so they were not able to move into white neighborhoods. And now, a disproportionate number of Blacks are incarcerated when compared to those that oppressed the minority population. This has parallels to the same ongoing struggles that the Jewish community has had. This is something that we should always remember and say, “Never again.”

The Israelite/Jewish community were subjected to slavery in Egypt. Then, due to Hitler and the Nazis, the Jewish community were all removed from their homes, separated from their families, and put into separate housing areas called ghettos guarded by Nazi soldiers. They were likewise stripped of their names and given numbers to be identified by. Hitler and the Nazis committed mass murder on an unprecedented scale by murdering six million Jewish men, women, and children during the Holocaust. This is something that we should always remember and say, “Never again.”

For these and so many other reasons, it is essential for us to remember the history of our ancestors so that it may never be forgotten. We must remember the trials and tribulations they went through in history so that they may never be forgotten. We must remember important figures in history that fought alongside each other during the American Civil rights movement such as Doctor Reverend Martin Luther King Junior, Malcolm X, Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel, Jack Greenberg, and so many others. For these reasons, it is important for a synagogue to celebrate Black History Month. As those that oppress the minority population don't just oppose blacks, but they oppose all other minorities. They are anti-Black, anti-Jewish, anti-LGBTQIA+, anti-anything that is different from them. As such, it is imperative that the Black community and the Jewish community together celebrate Black History Month as a means to always remember and say, “Never again.”

Author's Bio:

I have three kids. I’m a Military disabled Veteran. I work fulltime in IT as Technical Support. I’m currently pursuing an Ed.D. in Higher Education Administration-Organizational Leadership. And I’m originally from Philly, so the Eagles are my favorite football team, of course.