Students from a variety of backgrounds came together for the last in a series of Black/Jewish campus events on Wednesday night. Civil rights activist, writer, and educator Michael Thelwell spoke about the histories of Blacks and Jews in a lecture titled "Shalom, Brother... What It Be? Blacks and Jews in Struggle."
Students nearly filled Barnum 008 to hear Thelwell, who teaches literature and writing at UMass.-Amherst. The event was coordinated by Hillel, the African Students Organization (ASO), and the Pan-African Alliance (PAA), groups that have teamed up for several programs this year.
Beginning his lecture on a comical note, Thelwel said his son, junior Chinua Thelwell, was responsible for his appearance at Tufts. "My son was right - the sisters here are very friendly!" he said, garnering laughter from the audience.
From there, he launched into a brief comparison of both groups' entries into American society. Thelwell said the two communities have different histories and are situated in different places in America.
"It's an overgeneralization to talk about a relationship between the Jewish community and the Black community," he said. "It's almost impossible because they are not in a struggle together."
Thelwell said that Blacks came to this country as slaves, and Jews as merchants, allowing them to start from a more socially advantageous point. He said that although both groups experienced the "prejudice and racism of American society," the European immigrants' literate, scholarly tradition was more successfully ingratiated into American culture than were the African immigrants' oral traditions. Blacks were more easily identified as newcomers than were Jews, he said, simply because of skin color.
"[Both are] ancient communities... but that quintessential American-ness was never recognized [for Blacks]," Thelwell said. He said that African-Americans today are still "not particularly empowered."
Immigrants, have two choices, he said: they can try to quietly assimilate into a culture, without combating ingrained attitudes, or they can take a more radical route.
"I'm amazed at the militancy of [the Jewish struggle]," he said. He cited the "militant struggles paid for in blood" as a measure of common ground between the two communities. He said that was the aspect of Jewish history with which he most readily identifies.
Thelwell said that many civil rights supporters and activists were Jewish, and he was impressed by the "spirit of aggressiveness" expressed by those he worked with in DC during the Civil Rights movement. Jews made up about two and a half percent of the American population in 1964, he said, but about 45 percent of the young people he worked with in Mississippi at the time were Jewish.
"That means something... The support of some elements of the Jewish community were disproportionate to their numbers," Thelwell said. "To that extent, we were allies."
Other similarities he noted included Old Testament concepts to which both groups adhere.
"The scriptures talk about a god of justice who freed the Hebrew children, and the African-American community identified with that. The book of Exodus also spoke to their situation," he said. He added that African-Americans also identify with the Jewish values of "tikkun" (improving the world) and justice.
Thelwell said that Jews identified with the artistic and musical aspects of the African-American culture, and managed African-American artists and incorporated African influences into their music.
In response to a student's question, Thelwell said Blacks and Jews should respect each other's "willingness to fight" and that the two groups make "excellent allies." Earlier, he had spoke about the persecution and hardship experienced by both groups.
"The lynch mob in the South looked a lot like the pogroms of Eastern Europe," he said.
Thelwell's speech was preceded by a dinner with faculty members who teach ethnic studies, and a group of Black and Jewish students.
Hillel's Director of Programming Lauren Bloom said she was pleased with the speech, and that similar programming would occur next year. "This was a good way to end the year, and would have been a great way to start the year. He really defined the work we've been doing as a joint committee, and talked about the issues present between Blacks and Jews." Thelwell has published a novel and has authored essays and articles for many American publications. He is a columnist for "Z" magazine, published by African author Chinua Achebe, and is currently working on the autobiography of Kwame Ture, to be published in 2003.
