I watched the miniseries of Little Bird (2023), based on a true story, which follows a young Indigenous woman from Canada, who was adopted by a Jewish family, as she reconnects with her past and finds her birth family. According to The Guardian, in an article titled, “Cultural genocide: the …
This week, I went to the theater to see Origin, the new movie directed by Ava duVernay, based on the book Caste by Isabel Wilkerson. The film follows Wilkerson as she develops her theory of the parallels between racism in the U.S., the subjugation of the Dalits at the bottom of India’s caste …
By Z On this eve of the coming New Year, I hope we will all take a few minutes to reflect on our relationship with Race. How many times during the last year did you challenge some racist thought or action in someone else? How many times during the last …
I am the grandchild of Russian Jewish immigrants. Thanks to my maternal grandfather’s memoir, I know that he survived the violent anti-Jewish pogroms in Ryzhanovka, County of Zvenigorodka, in the State of Kiev, in Ukraine, and eventually escaped to America. I come from a story of first generation immigrant parents. …
By Christopher Bowers Dear White Parents of White Children- As fall approaches and those of us with school-aged children are getting ready for the new school year. And some of us, especially with kids just entering school, are trying to decide which school is best for our child. There are …
A friend recently gifted my partner and me with an historical novel that just came out, written by a Southern white woman, Barbara Small: Faith’s Reckoning. It gripped me, touched me to tears several times, educated me. And left me wanting to recommend it highly to all my white, anti-racist …
Dearest RJA Organizing Committee,This is a love letter. I’ve been wanting to share my feelings with you all for a while now. Our shared values and commitment to uplifting racial justice and human dignity and equality against a tidal wave of white supremacy, racial injustice, discrimination and systemic oppression are …
by Wendy Millstine The book publishing company that I work for is finally getting on board with diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) training from top to bottom. It’s long overdue, and I’m personally excited to be learning more about racial awareness and tackling this important issue for the future of …
Review by Judy Helfand I picked up Origin because I have heard of old sites with human habitation being found in South America and also of places in the US where there is evidence of cultures existing earlier than 13 thousand years ago. I wondered, did people sail to South …
by Wendy Millstine I come from a long line of excellent storytellers in my family, so books and writers have always been a passion for me, since I was very young. By the time I reached high school, I became most attracted to dissident writers or stories that offered warnings …