Racial Justice Group

The Racial Justice Group at Temple Beth Or began soon after the death of George Floyd in May of 2020. Our group began by reading White Fragility by Robin DiAngelo. We have made sincere efforts to acknowledge and analyze and examine our own internalized biases.

 

Our projects have included but have not been limited to some of the following concepts: Understanding that we were raised in our families and grew up in a society that promoted the white individual over all others; studying institutional Racism in the education, finance, health care, justice, employment, faith tradition, and housing systems; touring African American historical sites learning the Racist history of Raleigh and bearing witness to how Black communities were built up during Reconstruction and eliminated by Urban Renewal.

 

As a group and as individuals, we have dedicated ourselves to recognizing our own internalized Racism and we are learning to really see the humanity in all people. We have redefined the Jewish value of B’tzelem Elohim, “We are all made in the image of God,” into a commitment to join with our Jewish Black and Brown friends, as well as our Non-Jewish Black and Brown friends and neighbors, to share our knowledge and good will to become true allies and deconstruct and eliminate Racism and Antisemitism from our community and our country. This is a Jewish pursuit because we are members of a multiracial people. Jews of all ethnicities are all around the world. We are a true diaspora. And, as a multiracial people, we are committed to dismantling systems of oppression and are striving to live anti-Racist lives. This is a lifelong process of learning, making mistakes, and persevering.