Black Jewish activists from around the world to appear at JW3 ‘party’

Prominent black Jewish speakers from around the world will feature in JW3’s ‘My Black Mitzvah Party’ event this week. 

The Jewish community centre in London will host activists both physically and virtually to conclude its celebration of Black History Month (BHM). 

Among those who will appear via video link on 29 October are, rapper Nissim Black, from Jerusalem, songwriter Autumn Rowe from Los Angeles and Yiddish singer Anthony Russell from Portland, Oregon. Appearing live from JW3 itself, will be performer and director Rebekah Murrell and vocalist C. Gerod Harris.

Each contributor will give their response to the question: “if you could give your Bar or Bat Mitzvah speech today, what would you say?”

This comes after JW3 held an online panel discussing the Black Lives Matter movement in June, which has been viewed more than 100,000 times.

Speaking ahead of the event on Thursday, JW3’s Director of Programming Rachel Grunwald said: “In June, the Black Lives Matter movement challenged us all to ask what solidarity meant to the UK Jewish community.” 

The event, she adds, “will be the perfect celebration” to draw BHM to a close, saying “we are fortunate to be hosting an outstanding and inspirational line-up, each with their own unique perspective on Black Jewish identity.”

You can purchase a ticket to physically attend My Black Mitzvah Party here, or a virtual ticket to watch the live-streamed event, here.