Racial Justice Playlist
In honor of Juneteenth, we created the HUC Connect Racial Justice Playlist, which highlights some of the groundbreaking, critical thinkers who have appeared in our HUC Connect Webinars and College Commons Podcasts.
The first two seasons of HUC Connect featured scholars and thought leaders from a range of fields who addressed issues of racism and social justice as well as arts and culture, religion, and history. Between the College Commons Podcasts and HUC Connect Webinars, we hope you draw on our virtual education platforms to engage with this diverse material, grounded in Jewish learning, including literary analysis, text study, lectures, and intellectual debate.
It has been a pleasure to revisit these sessions and episodes, and to appreciate their depth and breadth. We are grateful for the wide-ranging public conversations that have come to define the HUC Connect and College Commons Podcasts series. We hope you enjoy viewing or listening to this meaningful content anew or for the first time. And we urge you to engage in conversations like these on Juneteenth and throughout the year.
Webinar Recordings Podcast Recordings
HUC Connect Webinars
Recorded in 2020-21 and 2021-22
Black Power / Jewish Politics
Marc Dollinger, Ph.D.,
Richard and Rhoda Goldman Chair, Social Responsibility, San Francisco State University
Andrew Rehfeld, Ph.D., HUC President; Moderator
Was the Jewish ethnic and religious revival of the late 1960s and 1970s inspired from the Black Power movement itself? Join this session to gain a very different understanding of a Black-Jewish alliance.
Jews of Color
In Memory of Rabbi Aaron D. Panken, Ph.D., on His Third Yahrzeit
Rabbi Angela Buchdahl, Central Synagogue, New York City
Bruce Phillips, Ph.D., Professor of Sociology & Jewish Communal Service, HUC/Los Angeles
Andrew Rehfeld, Ph.D., HUC President; Moderator
Join Rabbi Angela Buchdahl and Dr. Bruce Phillips for an informative and enlightening discussion that embraces and celebrates diversity and inclusion among the Jewish People.
Intersectional Identities
Dr. Mijal Bitton, Scholar in Residence at the Shalom Hartman Institute
Andrew Rehfeld, Ph.D., HUC President; Moderator
We often speak of American Jews in ways that elide their differences or that assume they are all Ashkenazi or white. But American Jews are characterized by vibrant ethnic and racial diversity that must be understood by those of us working to build inclusive Jewish communities. Through her sociological scholarship on Sephardic Jews in America and her own identity as a Latina immigrant, Dr. Bitton will help us consider what is required to nourish a Jewish-American diversity project that is complex, rich, and compelling.
Jewish Thought and Reparations
Rabbi Jonathan Crane, Raymond F. Schinazi Scholar of Bioethics and Jewish Thought at the Ethics Center, Emory University; Professor of Medicine, Emory School of Medicine; Professor of Religion, Emory College of Arts and Sciences
Christina Jefferson, Director, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) at the San Francisco Forty Niners
Andrew Rehfeld, Ph.D., President; Moderator
There is no doubt America was built by enslaved people. Though many argue whether anything is owed to their descendants, Judaism strongly disagrees.
Language and Racism in the United States Today
Sarah Bunin Benor, Ph.D., Professor of Contemporary Jewish Studies, HUC/Los Angeles
Jared Jackson, Founder and Executive Director of Jews in ALL Hues
Andrew Rehfeld, Ph.D., HUC President; Moderator
Examine the role of language in racism, which can be found in many sectors of society, from education to employment, from housing to media. Through Disney movie clips and experiments on accents, interrogate the notions of “standard language” and “grammaticality” with a focus primarily on African Americans, Latinos, and Asian Americans, and attention to other groups, including Jews.
More Than A Monolith
Ilana Kaufman, Jews of Color Initiative, Executive Director
Rabbi Jonah Dov Pesner, Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism, Director
Andrew Rehfeld, Ph.D., President; Moderator
Experts meet at the nexus of diversity, faith, and American sociology to discuss how religious groups engage with identity and its intersection with race.
Not the Same as White: Latinx Students Talk about Jewish Schooling
Erik Ludwig, Ph.D., Director, Zelikow School of Jewish Nonprofit Management, HUC/Los Angeles
Sasha Dominguez ‘20, Executive Director and Founder of Kol Connection
Andrew Rehfeld, Ph.D., HUC President; Moderator
Why does race matter? Explore how colorblindness and perceptions of caring inform the way we think about community. Building on the narratives of Latinx students in Jewish schools, these experts take a bold stance on how intersectionality operates and why we should embrace it.
Race, Civility, and American Democracy
Dr. Eddie S. Glaude, Jr., Department Chair, James S. McDonnell Distinguished University Professor, Department of African American Studies, Princeton University
Sasha Baken, Fourth-year Rabbinical Student, HUC/NY
Becky Jaye, Fourth-year Rabbinical Student, HUC/NY
Alexandra Stein, Fourth-year Rabbinical Student, HUC/NY
Daniel May, Ph.D., Instructor, HUC/NYEddie S. Glaude, Jr., esteemed scholar, author, and cultural and political pundit, engage in a compelling conversation about race in America with HUC students and President Andrew Rehfeld. Join us for this presentation to recontextualize your understanding of racial dynamics in the US from the perspective of Jewish texts.
Race and Identity Today
Kerwin K. Charles, Ph.D.
Indra K. Nooyi Dean
Frederic D. Wolfe Professor of Economics, Policy, and Management, Yale School of Management
Andrew Rehfeld, Ph.D., HUC President; Moderator
Join a stimulating conversation about the impact of earnings and wealth inequality, the intergenerational transmission of economic status, race and gender labor discrimination, housing instability, and job loss in today’s society.
College Commons Podcast
At the Crossroads
Marques Hollie
Opera singer and Jew by choice, Marques Hollie discusses his journey and musical inspiration.
Racism in Progressive Jewish Communities
Marra Gad
The compelling journey of a biracial Jew.
Racial Justice and Religion
Pastor John Cager
Lessons and challenges from Black church leadership for Jewish and other allies.
Faith Matters
Reverend Jennifer Bailey
Reverend Bailey explores how people of diverse backgrounds and racial identities can be brought to a space of equality.
