Racial Justice

Emanu-El strives to live out the demand and invitation of our Jewish tradition to pursue justice and heal the broken parts of our world. We are dedicated to continuing our work to make Emanu-El a community that is committed to racial justice and especially welcoming to Jews of color. We aim to ensure safety, equity, and justice within our congregation and in the wider community.

This commitment is not new for our congregation, yet at this moment of national reckoning and consciousness-raising, we have an opportunity to do even more work for racial justice. When we commit to tikkun olam, we commit for the long haul.

In the coming months, we will share with you more about our ongoing efforts to combat racism. At this moment, we are pleased to invite you to join us in several action steps to help further the cause of racial justice in our country, city and congregation. Please join us for one or more of these efforts:

The San Francisco Black – Jewish Unity Group
The Unity Coalition is a grassroots organization, made up of people of faith and/or social activists, who are committed to the causes of racial, social, and economic justice and dismantling systemic racism at the local, regional and national levels. We hold monthly meetings via ZOOM every second Thursday of the month from 6:00 pm – 7:15 pm. In addition to our regular group meetings, we have identified four main areas of focus and created committees to carry out the work required to achieve our objectives and goals. We welcome people who will volunteer to work with a diverse group of people to make this a better world. We hold committee meetings once each month. The committees are: Criminal Justice & Prison Reform, Health & General Welfare, Community & Economic Development, and Civic Engagement. Click here to learn more.

Jews of Color (JOC) and Multi-Racial/Multi-Ethnic Family Gatherings
Led by congregants who identify as Jews of Color, we are convening regular gatherings of Emanu-El members who identify as Jews of Color (of any race) and/or members of multi-racial, multi-ethnic families, to meet each other, share stories, and explore the needs and hopes of our community. The intention is to create a safe space to share thoughts and engage in conversation. We acknowledge that while this need has always existed, it has been magnified recently within our Jewish community and in the broader society at large. Emanu-El is committed to ensuring safety, equity, and justice within our community and in the wider Jewish community. 

Advocacy
We urge support these advocacy efforts in collaboration with our community partner, the Jewish Community Relations Council (JCRC):

• Reform of the criminal justice system by supporting the goals of the Justice in Policing Act of 2020 (HR 7120)
• Expansion of voter access by providing vote by mail ballots to all California voters, support (AB 860);
• Reform of historically inequitable laws and policies including:
  • Repeal of California Proposition 209 through Assembly Constitutional Amendment 5
  • Study of reparations by California (AB 3121) and U.S. (HR 40) governments; and
  • Greater inclusion of representatives of communities of color and other vulnerable communities in planning for emergency response in California (AB2054, C.R.I.S.E.S. Act)
    

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Other Resources
For suggested books, podcasts, videos, and films, click here.
For parents with young children, click here.
For parents with children of all ages, click here.