Bill Tingling (left) and Reverend Michel Faulkner. Image by Forward Montage

By Cindy Grosz February 26, 2018

Every February when we celebrate Black History Month, discussions within the Jewish community often include the history of our relationships as two minority groups. We compare our days as slaves, our fights for freedom and rights, our history of being excluded and then included. Our communities have deep, rich and varied traditions and values most of us live by and share.

We stood next to each other in Mississippi and were deeply divided in Crown Heights. Nonetheless, Jews and Blacks in 2018 are creating new opportunities to teach historic facts, build new business opportunities and extend olive branches to anyone interested.

Rev. Michel Faulkner, founding pastor of New Horizon Church in Harlem, former New York Jet and candidate for New York City Comptroller, said that “For as long as I can remember growing up as a child my parents and grandparents always had great relationships with people from the Jewish community. It seemed normal to me. But it wasn’t until I became an adult and accepted my faith and Jesus that I understood that connection. It is not only a social, but political, financial and cultural.”

Forwarding the News

Thoughtful, balanced reporting from the Forward and around the web, bringing you updated news and analysis each day.

Terms(Required)

I agree to the Forward's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

Email(Required)

Faulkner just returned from the White House Black History Month celebrations where the discussion of family, security and faith took center stage, something he feels bridges our communities together. “Don’t forget our history, teach truthful facts, learn lessons from them and take the necessary steps to improve our futures,” Faulkner stressed.

Bill Tingling is teaching this shared history. Tingling is the President of School News Nationwide and his “Words of Bonds” project promotes understanding and respect between African American and Jewish children by bringing African-American elders and Holocaust survivors into schools, where they are interviewed by students.

Tingling also spearheads “Tour for Tolerance,” retrofitting buses into high-tech mobile classrooms that teach young students empathy, tolerance, compassion and inclusion. Bill’s vision is for a peaceful, humane world that respects human dignity among all people. By having children meet with Holocaust survivors on luxurious style buses that include interactive electronics, libraries and staff to answer questions, the program highlights our common humanity and the importance of individual and civic responsibility among youth of all backgrounds.

“My journey from the poverty of Jamaica to the plenty of New York should not be an aberration. A secure, fulfilled life — for all — is grounded in tolerance. Let us build a bridge to a better world, that every child may cross,” Tingling said. “Evil still exists. What are you doing about it? This is what we are doing about it now.”

The Forward is free to read, but it isn’t free to produce

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward.

Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.

At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.

Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.

This is a great time to support independent Jewish journalism you rely on. Make a gift today!

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.

$90 $180

$360

Other amount