Florida Jewish and Black high school students learn from each other

By Sergio Carmona

Throughout the 2022-23 school year, Jewish and Black high school students from Broward County in South Florida united to dialogue, have meals and tour different museums and learning centers. Through these experiences, both groups learned about antisemitism and racism while exploring each other’s cultures and similarities.

The Alcee L. Hastings Broward Black-Jewish Alliance, named in honor of the late politician who died in April 2021, involved the participation of 30 high school students from David Posnack Jewish Day School in Davie, FL who were in a cohort with students from Boyd H. Anderson High School, a predominately Black school in Lauderdale Lakes, FL, throughout last school year.

The alliance, which was founded in July 2021, is under the umbrella of the Jewish Federation of Broward County.

Students

Evan J. Goldman, the Federation›s executive director for public affairs and one of the alliance›s co-founders, said both the Jewish and Black students of the program can learn that “antisemitism and racism are two sides of the same coin.”

“Today, white supremacists and [literal] Neo-Nazis are fueling hate like never before,” Goldman continued, “They’re also working hard to divide people. That’s why the need for collaboration, partnership and friendship between the Black and Jewish communities is more important than ever.”

Audra P. Berg, the Federation’s president and CEO, said, “For our community, I think it’s extremely important for us to be in partnership with the broader community throughout Broward.”

“A lot of what we do is dependent on having strong relationships with other groups,” Berg continued.

Denise Lettau, the alliance chair who is a Jew of color, said, “The reason why I’m one of the [alliance] co-founders, together with Evan Goldman and Alcee Hastings Jr, is to reestablish and restrengthen the historic alliance between the Black and the Jewish communities.”

“I know there were some instances, mostly in the 80’s, that did kind of somewhat fracture the union, but I still believe it’s a very strong coalition,” Lettau continued.

The program last year included Zoom meetings, lunches, discussions, and visits to places like the Old Dillard Museum, which is the site of the first Black school in Fort Lauderdale, FL, and the Mania and Max Nudel Holocaust Learning Center in Davie. The cohort culminated with a trip to Washington DC in April 2023.

Goldman said the synergy between the Black and Jewish students stood out the most during the DC trip, as they had been meeting together for nearly a year.

“By the time they arrived in Washington DC, they were a cohesive unit,” Goldman said.

Among the DC trip’s highlights included both groups of students touring the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum and the National Museum of African American History and Culture together.

Two high school students from Posnack School, whose last names could not be disclosed by the school, shared their thoughts.

“The trip and this whole experience offered me the closest opportunity that I’ve had to really form connections with and have important conversations with members of the Black community,” said Ryan C.

Gabriella S. said,”It was really impactful for me to learn about African American history as well as their experiences in modern society, and to relate that to the Jewish American experience as well the issues that we as Jews faced during and after the Holocaust and how both situations [struggles of Jewish and Black communities] are similar.”

Richard Cuenca, head of Posnack School, said the program provided wonderful educational and social opportunities for students at both schools.

“There’s the socialization piece of it with our Posnack School students having lunch and dinner together with Boyd Anderson students, sharing their experiences together, talking about what teenagers talk about, being on a first-name basis with each other and traveling to DC together,” Cuenca said. “ There’s also the educational piece of sharing about Black racism and Jewish antisemitism. You have these horrific stories in history about hate for just who you are on both sides, and some of it still goes on today.”

Cuenca continued, “I think it was empowering and enlightening for both groups of students to learn about that, hear about that and make it real to them and apply it to their own life and so forth.”

James F. Griffin, II, principal at Boyd H. Anderson, thought it was meaningful for the Black students at his school to get together with the Jewish students, as he felt the alliance helped them learn from another culture and history, while diminishing any fears of the unknown for them.

Aniah Miller, a student at Boyd H. Anderson, said, “In history class, we learn about the Holocaust, but being on this program and going to the museum in Washington really helped me learn more about the depth of it.” ♦