The LUNAR Collective is trying to create this same space for teen Asian American Jews. As a bonus, being able to see Jews who looked like her online made her feel more comfortable in her Jewishness. “It was almost disheartening to find out that an organization wouldn’t want somebody because they’re mixed ,” said Rodriguez, who lives in Delray Beach, Florida and is a mix of Ashkenazi and Ethiopian Jewish, Liberian, Cuban, Irish and Dutch ancestry.įortunately, Rodriguez sees the conversation changing, something she credits to social media. As a Latino Jew, she felt she didn’t fit the stereotype of what a JOC should look like. One MOCA member, Morgan Rodriguez, 16, felt turned off by other organizations’ JOC groups until she found the club within BBYO. “Almost within less than 24 hours I had texts from all sorts of BBYO staff telling me they have my back for MOCA and want to help me make it a reality,” Pierandri said. Late last year, the youth group released a new form for BBYO members to create any type of club that they desired. Pierandri was able to form MOCA through On Demand, a virtual platform of BBYO. “While the club is more racial justice-based I try my best to make sure it’s still fun and everyone has an amazing time,” said Pierandri. Sometimes, members just get to chill with each other. MOCA members usually meet online through Zoom to discuss racial justice, learn from speakers, play games and provide cultural exchanges. The 12-member group provides a space specifically for teens of color to come together and connect with others similar to them, something Pierandri didn’t see existing before. “I fought and fought until I did and here we are.” “I knew that if someone wasn’t going to stand up for other MOCs within BBYO I knew I could make that change,” she said. Pierandri said the staff handled it well enough, but that she wanted to build on her experience. The club came about after she was called slurs at a BBYO summer camp in Pennsylvania by, according to Pierandri, participants who were “a mix of people of color and not.” BBYO did not respond to requests about the incident. However, Pierandri, who is African American, wanted to connect more with JOCs, so she started the Members of Color Alliance through BBYO late last fall. For example, she loved meeting Olympic gymnast Gabby Douglas at the youth group’s International Convention. To address this gap, organizations and synagogues are developing programs to help Jewish teens of color feel at home.įor BBYO member Micah Pierandri, 17, the experience of being part of her local chapter in Tulsa, Oklahoma has been great. Jews who are synagogue members or have someone in their household who is a member. Jews live in households in which at least one child or adult is Black, Hispanic, Asian, multiracial or some other non-white race or ethnicity.īut, as the Jews of Color Initiative found in its own study, only 18% out of the 1,118 Jews of color it surveyed belong to a synagogue - compared, according to another Pew study, to the 35% of all U.S. “When we even unintentionally leave out or marginalize parts of our community, we all lose.”Ī 2020 study by the Pew Research Center found that 8% of American Jews said they are Black, Hispanic, Asian, other minority races or multiracial, and that 17% of U.S. “Diversity is one of Judaism’s greatest assets,” said Newman.
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