Rekindle: Black and Jewish Dialogue Group
APPLICATIONS NOW OPEN FOR COHORT 2
Rekindle’s mission is to create meaningful social change by bringing emerging leaders from the Black and Jewish communities together for thoughtful and challenging dialogue, face-to-face interactions, breaking down barriers, building new relationships, and collective action. By rekindling the strong relationships and collaborative action between the Black and Jewish communities that were built during the Civil Rights Movement, we can accelerate our collective impact and increase equity.
Here's what St. Louis Rekindle alumni are saying:
"Rekindle was an opportunity for me to build bridges in a climate when many bridges are being dismantled."
"I learned about a community I'm not a part of, not from biased information fed to me, but first hand from members of that community. Assumptions and biases I had were broken. The most challenging part was being strong enough to open up and trust the other person to listen and learn."
"We can't wait until tragedy strikes to be there for one another; we need to be forward-thinking and planful so that our experiences together develop organically."
Meet our Cohort 2 Facilitators: Scott Berzon and Joyce Jones
Scott Berzon is the Director of Community Impact at the Jewish Federation of St. Louis and Joyce Jones is the Director of the Office of Racial Harmony and Black Catholic Ministries at the Archdiocese of St. Louis.
Both Scott and Joyce were part of JCRC's inaugural Rekindle cohort who have shown a great passion and commitment to equity and the mission of JCRC and Rekindle.
JCRC's Newmark Institute launched the first St. Louis Rekindle Cohort in Spring 2025. For information about joining our second cohort - or if you would like to recommend someone - please reach out to Elyse Picker, Program Director, at epicker@jcrcstl.org.
Resources on Black and Jewish Relationships
The Unknown Connection Between Black and Jewish Communities in America, Unpacked
To Be a Black and Jewish Woman: The Many Branches of Jewish Identity, Facing History & Ourselves
Koshersoul: The Faith and Food Journey of an African American Jew, Michael W. Twitty
Racial Justice and the Changing Face of American Jewry, Jewish Broadcasting Service
Shared Legacies: The African-American Jewish Civil Rights Alliance, Official Trailer
Shared Legacies (2020) is a documentary about the historic alliance between Black and Jewish communities during the civil rights movement, highlighting shared activism, moments of solidarity like Selma, and the call to rekindle that partnership today.
Rekindle Cohort 1:
Scott Berzon
Anisha Bonty
Rachel Bray
Joyce Jones
Syn McDonald-Freeman
Rick Lerner
Sheryl Lyss
Isaac Pollack
J.T. Snipes
Jonathan Thomas
Facilitators:
Heather Fleming
Cheryl Maayan
