Tamar Manasseh is the founder and president of Mothers Against Senseless Killings. Follow her on X, @TamarManasseh.
Tamar Manasseh
By Tamar Manasseh
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Opinion It’s time for white Jews to get over Sammy Davis Jr.
When I was growing up, I thought that I was related to Sammy Davis Jr. Whenever people would find out I was Jewish they would instantly ask, “Like Sammy Davis Jr.?” It was as if he was the only Black Jew in the world — besides me, of course. Yet we had nothing in common…
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Opinion Anti-Semitism – And Racism – Are Forcing Me To Choose Between My Black And Jewish Identities
Editor’s note: In observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day, the Forward is resurfacing some of our recent coverage related to the Black-Jewish experience and racial justice. This article originally appeared in May, 2019. On a recent late night run to a chicken shack in my neighborhood on the Southside of Chicago, I felt real…
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Opinion Black Jews Are Being Forced To Answer For Jersey City. It’s Disgraceful.
Being black and Jewish, I’ve heard it all. “What’s your story? How did you become Jewish? Did you convert? Are one of your parents white?” My whole life, the self-appointed gatekeepers of American Jewry, almost always white people, have found my Judaism incomprehensible. Now, after the killing last week in Jersey City of four people…
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Opinion It’s Time For Jews To Say Dayenu And Speak Up For African Americans
On June 19, 1865, the Union army arrived in Galveston, Texas with big news for the thousands of human beings who were enslaved there: They were free! It’s worth noting that these folks had actually been free ever since the Emancipation Proclamation went into effect on January 1, 1863, a full two and a half…
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Community Why Can’t You Let Us Be ‘Just Jewish’?
I recently read about Naomi Wadler, the 11 year-old girl who gave an impassioned and fearless speech at last month’s anti-gun rally in Washington DC, only to be picked on by other kids for being black and Jewish. I know exactly how Naomi must feel because 30 years ago, I was Naomi. I am now…
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Opinion Judaism is My Wakanda
I think I may have been the last black person in America to see Black Panther. For weeks it was all I heard about. Once again, black people were talking proudly of their African heritage and culture; I haven’t seen this much black power since Spike Lee made Jah patches mandatory for the young black…
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Community Why Would Anyone Want To Be Jewish?
Each year, the anniversary of the founding of the African American Jewish community in Chicago is commemorated with a special Shabbat service and a huge party. All of our community rabbis come from far and wide, creating a great sense of unity. The one rabbi who was my greatest influence was Rabbi Hailu Paris, ז׳׳ל….
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Opinion Stop Calling Me A ‘Black Jew’
I’ve gotten a lot of questions since I started introducing my opinions in these pages. Some have been good questions. Some have been difficult ones. And some I won’t even dignify with an answer. But the most common question I’ve received, and the one I feel compelled to discuss this Martin Luther King Day, is…
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