Black Power, Jewish Politics: Reinventing the Alliance in the 1960s

Brandeis Series in American Jewish History, Culture, and Life

by Marc Dollinger

Marc Dollinger charts the transformation of American Jewish political culture from the Cold War liberal consensus of the early postwar years to the rise and influence of Black Power–inspired ethnic nationalism. He shows how, in a period best known for the rise of black antisemitism and the breakdown of the black-Jewish alliance, black nationalists enabled Jewish activists to devise a new Judeo-centered political agenda―including the emancipation of Soviet Jews, the rise of Jewish day schools, the revitalization of worship services with gender-inclusive liturgy, and the birth of a new form of American Zionism. Undermining widely held beliefs about the black-Jewish alliance, Dollinger describes a new political consensus, based on identity politics, that drew blacks and Jews together and altered the course of American liberalism.

Genres: Jewish, History, Nonfiction, Politics, Race, Religion, American History

272 pages, Paperback

Published June 5, 2018

Reviews

[Scott Schneider · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book reads like a doctoral thesis, which it probably was. It focuses almost exclusively on the sixties and early 70s. There was some interesting historical perspective, like how Jews took inspiration from the Black Power movement to bolster their own identity including support for Zionism. But it was disappointing that Dollinger didn't really address the second part of his title "reinventing the Alliance." The Epilogue fast forwards through the past 50 years and discusses more recent developments, like the rise of Farrakahn, but he never really talks about how to recreate the alliance.

[Brad Eastman · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the foundational myths of American Jews (non-orthodox) growing up in the 70s and 80s was the pride we took in our role in the civil rights movement in the 50s and early 60s. We all saw the pictures of Rabbi Heschel marching with Martin Luther King and of Rabbi Prinz speaking right before Martin Luther king's "I Have a Dream" speech. Somewhere along the line, however, the alliance between African Americans and American Jews frayed. Jews became dismayed by anti-Semitic statements by prominent African American leaders, as well as the statements of support, often in the form of crude historical analogies, for Palestinians, even in looking for the destruction of the State of Israel. In American Jewish conscious, this feels like a betrayal of Jews who risked their lives to fight for civil rights.

Mr. Dollinger reminds us that, like all foundational myths, the truth is far more complicated and nuanced. True, prominent Jews participated in the early civil rights movement, but they were Northern Jews. Southern Jews stayed silent or supported Jim Crow policies. Furthermore, when the movement turned to social justice, as well as civil rights, Northern Jews turned out to be the same landlords, shopkeepers and even drug dealers praying on African American communities.

The civil rights movement occurred just when Jews were transitioning from "other" to White. In pre-World War II America, Jews were excluded from Whites Only neighborhoods, clubs and businesses. By the mid-sixties, Jews were part of the White suburban flight with economic and social prestige power equivalent to White Protestants. As African Americans became increasingly disillusioned because political rights did not lead to social change, Jews became more invested in keeping the status quo. Many Jews reacted similarly to Whites as African Americans increasingly turned to more radical Black Power and other movements.

Mr. Dollinger investigates this period through the archives of national Jewish organizations. The history is fascinating. Many in leadership positions understood early on that African Americans would turn to more radical separatist and social justice issues and the leaders actively supported such movement. Amongst many clergy and leaders of organized Jewish life in America there was an understanding that Jewish assimilation was furthered by similar Jewish Pride and buy-Jewish policies that African American leaders were promoting. If there was some anti-Semitic sentiment, that was understandable since Jewish landlords were also slumlords.

Mr. Dollinger also discusses how the rise of Black Power informed the revitalization of American Jewish life. With the emphasis on universal political rights, Jews tried to fit in and assimilate. They did not want to be different than there White Protestant neighbors. Black Power, however, taught that group pride and celebration of differences also was consistent with America. Jews did not need to be the same as their neighbors. They could explore their own traditions and customs and still be loyal Americans. Mr. Dollinger chronicles the incredible transformation of non-Orthodox Jewish life in America as a result of this re-focusing on what made us different (not disloyal).

I have two criticisms of Mr. Dollinger's work. First, I am not convinced that focusing on the leadership of Jewish organizations makes sense. Judaism has no central authority, no top-down structure. No organization sets the official line for Jewish America. There is no synod, council of bishops or other authoritative organization. Jewish thinking, practice and customs are much more decentralized than Mr. Dollinger's focus. At the same time, the Sixties saw the same decline in respect for Jewish organizations and institutions as all organizations and institutions in America experienced. The gulf between the leaders of the organizations only grew wider and wider during the period covered by Mr. Dollinger.

My second criticism of Mr. Dollinger's work is he starts with the theoretical in his introduction and moves to the historical afterwards. I wished his introduction was the Epilogue and the current introduction served to wrap up the work. Perhaps Mr. Dollinger is writing for a more academic audience and this structure is what is expected. For the general reader, Mr. Dollinger moves from the theoretical and abstract to the concrete. To be honest, I had trouble getting through the introduction and did not want to continue past it. The Epilogue really captured the themes and movement of the story without relying on theory - it told a great story. Mr. Dollinger assumes a lot of familiarity with the story of the civil rights movement and the Black Power movements. He could have added some additional background story for the lay reader, but I do not think that was his intended audience.

[Jesse · Rating 4 out of 5]

A book divided against itself, for reasons that the epilogues make clear. Despite the framing(s)--preface to the revised NYU Press edition, preface to the first (Brandeis UP) edition--at the start, it would make the most sense to read his epilogue first, then Ilana Kaufman's response to the first edition that follows it, THEN the body, and then the two prefaces. That also helps in that the body of the book sounds like it's making one argument when it's making another. The standard narrative is that there was this universalist civil rights movement, as typified by Abraham Joshua Heschel marching with MLK (which, to be fair, the cover photo in this version evokes) and of course the reminder that two of the 1964 martyrs Goodman, Chaney, Schwerner were Jewish, and then that period of unity is disrupted after 1966 by identity politics and Black anti-Semitism, which was particularly potent after 1967. So of course the narrative is that we need to get back to that Edenic moment when we could all march as one. (One version of this is the moronic conservative reduction of MLK to literally one line, about judging people by the content of their character rather than the color of their skin, to claim he'd oppose affirmative action and, you know, woke stuff.)

Dollinger's initial point was to reverse this argument, to in essence argue that (to rewrite Reagan's famous line) it wasn't the multiracial coalition that left Jews; it was Jews who left the multiracial coalition, often taking notes from the Nation of Islam and Panthers even as they retreated from the demands leveled by these post-1966 radical activists, instead arguing for their own separatism: Jewish schools, support for Soviet Jews, Zionism, even Kahane's JDL. (Do I want to read that biography of Kahane? A little bit, yeah, though I should probably reread Yossi Klein Halevi's Memoirs of a Jewish Extremist first.) The phrasing is a bit odd, though, since he keeps describing this as Jewish leaders, for instance, "craft[ing] new ways of expressing an old alliance" when his point really is that the old story of divergence actually is right; it's just that he levels the blame elsewhere, on Jewish groups that retreated into the white privilege they now enjoyed in the post-quota age rather than, as the common story has it, on Black leaders who admittedly spouted some pretty ugly rhetoric in the wake of the Six-Day War (is there a book exploring its ramifications in American culture? The more I read, the more that one almost-week strikes me as absolutely crucial in explaining where we stand right now) and the mid-60s inner-city riots. He's mustered quite a lot of support for the notion that Jewish leaders often looked to these separatist examples (Panthers=Revisionist Zionists, for instance) to justify policies that were classically "good for the Jews," which includes Jewish-studies programs, new spiritual versions of Judaism (as he notes, the relation between piety and activism is inverse, since Orthodox Jews generally did not see Black civil rights as crucial, and Heschel, who came out of Conservative Judaism, suffered for his activism), and a lot more students choosing to study in Israel.

It's just that the phrasing kinda makes that sound like these movements didn't stray from one another, and so you need the concluding sections to fully grasp what he's going for--along with the fascinating, complex tale of his own wrestling with the excluded middle (by positing "Black/Jewish relations," he ignores those who are both, an omission that he recognizes undercuts the central premise of the book, since fully recognizing that "Jewish" may not constitute the only core aspect of one's identity makes it hard to write a book focused on "Jews" without bringing in a racial identifier) and with the Jewish community's wrestling with his arguments, most of all with the notion that Jews enjoy white privilege, after its publication in 2018 and powerfully after 2020. Having been in affinity groups where Jewish students wrestle passionately with how to situate themselves in the American mosaic, I certainly get what a charged issue this has been and continues to be. To keep the thinking going, I ordered Eric Goldman's book on the history of Jews and racial identity, which people just love.

[Bookworm · Rating 3 out of 5]

Author Dollinger looks at the influence of Black Power upon Jewish political culture in the 1960's and the changes that came about. How this affected the relationship between Jewish people and black people, the influences made upon moving civil rights forward, the emergence of programs like Jewish day schools and more.

I'm not sure what to think. It sounded interesting but I suspect that my lack of knowledge in both these areas made it to be a real hinderance. It's also difficult to read. He's also a professor and that academic tone unfortunately really doesn't help here.

It was interesting and it certainly taught me a lot that I didn't know (including how this affected relationships with movements such as Black Lives Matter) but this is definitely a book that is more for someone who has more knowledge on one or both subjects and might be best used in a class setting in the context of other readings, lectures, etc.

Borrowed from the library and that was best for me.

[LaShana Claude · Rating 5 out of 5]

Matt Dollinger is the author of the Quest For Inclusions: Jews and Liberalism in Modern America, and coeditor of California Jews and American Jewish History: A Primary Source Reader. He holds the Richard and Rhoda Goldman Chair in Jewish Studies and Social Responsibility at San Francisco State University

Brandeis series in American Jewish History, Culture, and Life

[Alona · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was surprised by how much this centered the Jewish experience of Black Power, rather than the Black Power experience of Jews. Most interesting chapter to me was about how Black Power influenced Jewish Youth Movements. The rest of the book was pretty much similar to the form of Jewish-written 'Black-Jewish Alliance' literature.

[Walker Jones · Rating 3 out of 5]

Difficult to read but interesting topic nonetheless

[zoë · Rating 4 out of 5]

had to read this for class and found it very interesting and not unnecessarily wordy or anything like that. cool perspective that challenges some other historical analyses

[Adam · Rating 4 out of 5]

What this book lacks in style, it makes up for in concision and methodological rigor. This is a must-read for scholars, activists, and politically engaged people who want to understand the depth and complexity of Black and Jewish coalitions and, even after these coalitions faded, mutual influence as the Black Power and Jewish nationalist movements seemed to go their separate ways.