But there’s more to the story. In 2016, as white supremacy regained national prominence in American politics, many pundits and observers wanted leaders in these communities to “get the band back together,” according to , a professor of Jewish civilization at the . 

The nostalgia for this coalition, however, is mostly that – an afterglow, a term that Berlinerblau and his co-teacher, , an associate professor of religion and politics in the , use in their course Blacks and Jews in America. 

Central to their work is a thorough study of the Grand Alliance – one that moves beyond its mythology. Rooted in an honest understanding of that coalition, Johnson and Berlinerblau ask their students to question the conventional narratives around that tenuous movement. Johnson and Berlinerblau are excited to engage a new, broader audience with these same questions in their forthcoming book, .

A Conversation Worth Having 

The book’s subtitle, An Invitation to Dialogue, is reflective of both the work’s form and its function. Much of the writing is transcribed conversation between Johnson and Berlinerblau, or essays in response to one another, often welcoming in a rotating cast of intellectuals and thinkers to weigh in on specific topics. 

The structure of the discourse reflects the nature of the book – using a dialogue between two communities to search for a dialectical truth. That same dynamic energy has been present in the classroom. 

“The great thing about teaching with Jacques is it feels like we’re constantly in a concert,” says Johnson. “He’s a jazz musician –  it is a constant back-and-forth, sometimes Jacques is the lead, sometimes I’m the lead and sometimes the teaching assistant is the lead.”

In the book, as in their class, they aren’t afraid to push beyond polite barriers and confront deeper issues. Blacks and Jews in America is decidedly against self-congratulatory rhetoric. Often, when the historical coalition of African American and Jewish activists is brought up, “platitudes are spouted,” says Berlinerblau. “People nod their heads. And then they nod their heads some more. And then someone says, ‘We’re all in this together.’ Or someone mumbles something about education, the internet and the youth.”

Rather than fall back on these grandiose ideas, they want to push the narrative forward. A pivotal moment occurs every semester when their class confronts the reality that the Jewish community and the African American community are not entirely distinct, they overlap. 

“Non-Jews often see Jews as a monolithic people here in the United States,” says Johnson. “To then get exposure to the range of Judaisms, including Afro-Jews, is pretty shocking for African Americans. The colorization of Judaism jolts both groups – what do we mean by tradition? What do we mean by identity?” 

Breaking down those mental barriers is the real beginning of the conversation. 

Finding Hope for the Future in the Past

While current events “animate” the course, according to Johnson, the substance of their teaching is rooted in the “real, messy history of African Americans and Jews, particularly in the United States.”

Through the course of their study, students are sometimes shocked by just how much the Grand Alliance accomplished despite its volatile nature. It’s valuable, according to them, to remind readers, and students, of the kind of monumental achievements that have been won in the past. 

“Blacks and Jews came together to advocate for voting rights legislation and desegregation,” says Johnson. “Civil rights leader Booker T. Washington and Jewish philanthropist Julius Rosenwald partnered to build more than 5,000 African American schools in the South – a lot of people are profoundly in shock about these prior relationships.” 

Both professors have seen profound growth among and alongside their students. That’s why they enlisted the help of two undergraduate students, Alexander Lin (SFS’23) and Ria Pradhan (SFS’23), as researchers in the process of drafting and editing the book. 

“Terrence and I agree on the importance of undergraduate pedagogy and working closely with undergraduates,” says Berlinerblau. “It’s a better book because they were there during our self-interviews, prompting us and redirecting us. That process of bringing undergraduates into the research space is so important and I wish there would be more of it at Georgetown and across the country. This book is a testament to what happens when you do that.”

Published by Georgetown University Press, Blacks and Jews in America will be available in hardcover and ebook formats beginning February 1. This book, like the course that preceded it, is a call to dialogue and a call to action. 

“My hope is that this will be a starting point for adding nuance to our political imagination, how we talk about the right versus the left,” says Johnson. 

May 17, 2019 — More than 800 seniors will walk across the stage tomorrow morning and officially conclude their academic journeys at Georgetown. Meet Sam Balthazar, Corine Forward, and Sterling Lykes, three members of the Class of 2019 who distinguished themselves by pursuing fascinating academic research projects during their senior years.

All videos by Kuna Malik Hamad/Georgetown ������̳. Versions with closed captioning can be accessed on the .

January 14, 2019 — Corine Forward (C’19) has always been fascinated by the concept of identity, especially identities that seem mysterious or idiosyncratic to most of the world.

This interest brought her to one of the most obscure and isolated communities in the world: the Jewish community of Sefwi-Wiaswo, Ghana, which she is studying for a senior thesis.

DISCOVERING A MINOR

A native of Oakland, Calif., Forward had little to no exposure to Judaism before arriving at Georgetown. Seeking an elective for her planned African-American studies minor, she enrolled in a cross-listed course called “Blacks and Jews in America” with Professors Jacques Berlinerblau and Terrence Johnson. Soon, she was hooked.

“I didn’t even know any Jewish people in Oakland, so it was fascinating to me,” Forward said. “The Center for Jewish Civilization and the minor it runs is one of the best communities around.”

With the encouragement of Berlinerblau, for whom Forward would TA the next year, she elected to pursue a minor in Jewish civilization in addition to her planned English major and African-American studies minor. She’s thoroughly enjoyed her classes since.

“I went on to take a creative writing class with David Ebenbach where we read a lot of Jewish stories, a lot of Jewish authors, and we’d pull from that when we went to do our own writing,” Forward said. “Now I’m in another called ‘Jews on Trial,’ and seeing the atrocities that have happened time and time again — especially through the legal lens, because I want to be a lawyer — has been incredible.”

A LOST COMMUNITY

Forward spent the spring of her junior year abroad in Ghana, an experience she cites as one of the best things Georgetown allowed her to do.

When she began to seriously consider topics for a senior thesis earlier this year, she had a moment of inspiration: Were there any Jewish communities in Ghana?

“I knew that I wanted to write a thesis on something involving blacks and Jews,” Forward said. “I knew there were Jews in Ethiopia, in Nigeria, so I started to wonder if there was anything in Ghana — it would be really interesting subject to look at.”

Not only did a Jewish community exist — in a nation where Christianity is a pervasive aspect of everyday life, no less — but there had been virtually no academic research done on it. The Jewish Ghanaians of Ghana’s Sefwi-Wiaswo region, according to Forward, had been more or less treated as a bit of trivia in most books on the international spread of Judaism.

“There was nothing more than 10 pages or so on this community in any given book,” she said. “I knew it was what I wanted to write about.”

RETURNING TO GHANA

With multiple sources confirming the community’s existence and so little documented about them, Forward had her work cut out for her. But with such an original research topic, Forward’s advisors recommended she conduct on-the-ground research — no easy task, with a full course schedule and no way to make the transatlantic trip.

Enter the CJC. Working with Berlinerblau and CJC Chief of Staff Anna Dubinsky, Forward produced a budget and secured funding for last-minute flights to and from Ghana this October.

Forward’s host family from last year’s study abroad, with whom she had grown close, happily received her and helped set her up with contacts in the town where the Jewish community was located. Georgetown’s Institutional Review Board approved her research plan, and on Halloween weekend she ended up on a plane.

“I got a direct flight, arrived in Ghana, and surprised my host mom, who was so happy to see me,” Forward said. “My host aunt knew someone in the Sefwi, so I got on the phone with him and he agreed to help us out.”

An 11-hour bus ride later, Forward saw what she had come for — though she didn’t quite believe it at first.

“We pulled up to a storefront, and I just assumed it was a friend of our contact,” Forward said. “He’s putting out his fruits and stuff, and then I notice a yarmulke on his head. I thought ‘This man is Jewish!’”

JUDAISM AND WHITENESS

Forward spent the next two days interviewing and observing members of the Jewish community in Sefwi-Wiaswo on topics ranging from specific religious practices to the difficulty of observing as a tiny minority in their country. While her thesis remains a work in progress, she was able to share her general approach.

“When we think of Judaism in America, we usually think of whiteness,” Forward said. “I wanted to examine where this puts Jews of color — especially these Ghanaian Jews, who are written off in a lot of the literature. It didn’t sit well with me, and I wanted to figure more of it out.”

The community’s traditions date back for generations, but they did not begin to identify as “Jewish” until 1976, when a local leader had a vision that his religious community was descended from one of the 12 tribes of Israel. He reached out to the nearest Israeli embassy, who helped him establish guidelines for creating a modern Jewish community.

What does this history mean for how we think about them in the context of global Judaism? Forward will tackle that question head-on.

“They believe they’re Jews. They believe they are descendants of Abraham. That should be just as legitimate as the Judaism of people here,” Forward said. “They know the prayers, they’re learning Hebrew, they light the candles on the Sabbath, they celebrate the high holidays. They observe.”