Parents' Guide to Black and Jewish America: An Interwoven History

This outstanding, detailed docuseries offers multiple insights into the parallels between Jewish, Black, and African American experiences in the United States. Black and Jewish America reveals how discrimination against both communities centuries ago creates shared experiences (despite the fact that antisemitism and anti-Black racism are very different things), and how these connections continue to shape U.S. history. But the series doesn't stay away from examining the controversies surrounding these political and cultural associations, including how the rise of nationalism in the United States throughout history has served to reinforce systemic antisemitic and anti-Black racism while breaking fragile alliances between the communities. It also makes a point of noting that the Jewish people have historically enjoyed U.S. constitutional rights and privileges afforded to White people, including religious freedom, since colonial times, making the relationship between the two communities more complicated.

This discussion makes the lived experiences shared by Black and African American Jews especially interesting. As it moves from European, African, and colonial history to the present day, Black and Jewish America: An Interwoven History shows us how the treatment of people who are different than what is considered "mainstream" society will inevitably transform a country. It also serves as an important reminder that bigotry and hatred against those who are different should never be tolerated.