Reflections from Lenny

Defeating the Ambush of Hate
Black-Jewish Seder
April 1992

Our alliance between blacks and Jews never was one of coincidence. It was never one of mere political convenience. It was required by our experience, different but similar, of facing discrimination and bigotry and racism and anti-Semitism, slurs and indignities, stereotypes and scapegoating. It was rooted in what Dr. King called "our inescapable mutuality." We changed America, but we didn't change it enough. We really only touched the tip of the iceberg. Our alliance never quite finished the job that we set out to do. The alliance between blacks and Jews never was as perfect as some nostalgically like to remember. But neither is it as flawed as some people, particularly in the media, would have us believe, despite Crown Heights, despite Jeffries, and despite Levin, despite all the sound-bite demagogues in the country today who don't care about changing this country but care about their moment in the spotlight of the media and then leave us to clean up their mess. We have a lot of work to do in this country. We cannot allow, to paraphrase Dr. King, demagogues anywhere to cast a shadow over black-Jewish relations everywhere. . . .

In Dr. King's final speech in Memphis, he was very deliberate about his Passover metaphors. He said in that speech, "You know, whenever Pharaoh wanted to prolong the period of slavery in Egypt, he had a favorite formula for doing it." And he asked the group gathered that day in Memphis, "What was that?" He said, "He kept the slaves fighting amongst themselves. But whenever the slaves got together, something happened in Pharaoh's court, and he cannot hold them in slavery." That lesson remains true today. It's easy for us to fall prey to the prejudices of others. It's easy for us to become slaves to hate and self-hate and resentment and desperation and isolation. This seder offers something different.

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More reflections from Lenny
You Must Make a Difference
Taking Your Life Back
No Justification for Silence

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