Public celebrations of Juneteenth have been held in African American communities for generations, especially in the South, but they are a relatively new phenomenon in Jewish communities.
Be’chol Lashon, the Jewish diversity nonprofit founded in San Francisco, held Juneteenth Kabbalat Shabbat services online in 2020 and 2021 and at the Marlene Meyerson JCC Manhattan in 2022.
On Tuesday, June 18, the Jewish Community Center of San Francisco will host its first Juneteenth event — actually an “Erev Juneteenth” event, since it will take place the night before the national holiday. Three prominent Black Jews will preside over the festivities: Ilana Kaufman, CEO of the Berkeley-based Jews of Color Initiative; Anthony Mordechai Tzvi Russell, the Yiddish vocalist and composer who has strong ties to the Bay Area; and award-winning writer and chef Michael Twitty, who inspired and helped organize the event.
“It’ll be our first official Juneteenth celebration, and we hope it will bring Black Jews and non-Black Jews in the area to celebrate together,” Stephanie Singer, JCCSF’s director of arts and ideas, told J. “We’re all very excited about it.”
Juneteenth commemorates the end of slavery in the United States. On June 19, 1865, Union troops arrived in Galveston, Texas, the westernmost Confederate state, and freed 250,000 Black people who remained in bondage more than two years after the Emancipation Proclamation abolished slavery in states that had seceded. Juneteenth became a state holiday in Texas in 1980 and a federal holiday in 2021.
Russell, 43, recalled celebrating Juneteenth at his public elementary school in Norfolk, Virginia.
“My brother’s class learned the song ‘Lift Every Voice and Sing’ for the celebration, and it was the first time I had ever heard it,” he told J. “He used to sing it, and because he used to sing it I used to sing it. That song has always meant so much to me.”
“Convergence,” Russell’s 2018 album of Ashkenazi Jewish and African American music, includes his version of the song — which is often referred to as the “Black National Anthem” — mashed up with the Yiddish song “Hof Un Gleyb” (“Have Hope and Faith”). He plans to perform that song and other selections from “Convergence” at the “Erev Juneteenth” event.
The Atlanta resident and former Oaklander said he could not have imagined that the JCCSF would host a Juneteenth-themed event when he began working on the album nearly two decades ago.
“In the world in which this piece came to its first iteration, the concept that the JCC would have a Juneteenth celebration feels a little fantastical,” Russell said. “I’m pleased to say in the world of 2024, it’s not only happening, but it seems like something that’s been a long time coming.”
He added, “I hope that this event creates a precedent where other spaces within Jewish community will consider what Black Jewish members of their communities have to give.”
The evening will begin with a conversation between Twitty — whose memoir “Koshersoul: The Faith and Food Journey of an African American Jew” was named the 2022 book of the year by the Jewish Book Council — and Kaufman about food, culture and the Jewish and African diasporas.
Then dinner will be served, with a menu of African and African American delicacies prepared by the Virginia-based Twitty and chef Wanda Blake of Oakland: black eyed pea dip, tofu African curry, BBQ chicken, jollof rice, collard greens and roasted vegetables. The chicken will be kosher, and the other dishes will be vegan.
Many of them will be red in color. The tradition of eating red food on Juneteenth may come from the original African cultures of enslaved people, according to Twitty. Red is associated with power and transformation in Yoruba and Kongo cultures.
While guests enjoy a dessert of red velvet cake, Russell will perform with his Tsvey Brider bandmate, accordionist and pianist Dmitri Gaskin.
All three Black Jewish presenters also happen to be queer. Asked if he found that significant, Russell said, “I think that LGBTQ Jews are a dynamic aspect of American Jewish community, and Black Jews are also a dynamic component of American Jewish community. So it’s not surprising to me that Black queer Jews would be very comfortable with the prospect of sharing and bringing the greater community into this kind of celebration.”