As they break bread tonight, members of a new student group will be celebrating a renewed alliance.
At tonight's Soul Food Shabbat, student leaders will introduce the Tufts African-American/Jewish Alliance, an initiative that looks to highlight the importance of the historic relationship between the two minority groups.
"It's a kick-off event to show people that we're here on campus, to kind of [invigorate] interest in what we're doing," sophomore Arielle Levy, the creator of the alliance, said. "We want to bring the two groups together to create a mutual understanding of each other and our values so that we can become a positive force on campus."
Leila Rush, the president of the Pan-African Alliance, said that when Levy approached her with the idea, she thought it would be a good opportunity to promote dialogue between two groups at Tufts that had not sought each other out in the past.
"A lot of people think that there was a problem and that's why dialogue needs to be promoted," Rush, a senior, said. "But we just wanted to form an alliance between two groups that don't normally host events together."
Levy, who participated in a black-Jewish alliance program at her high school, said that the idea came about after she noticed a lack of inter-ethnic events on campus.
"Coming to Tufts, I was kind of expecting more collaboration between different ethnic communities on campus, and I was a little disappointed to see that this wasn't here," Levy said. "Naturally, my first instinct was to go towards what I know -- the black and Jewish relationship," she said.
African-American and Jewish groups held similar political goals and community values during the civil rights movement, but since then their relationship has "deteriorated," Levy said.
According to Hillel Assistant Director Lauren Estes, the Jewish community sponsored joint programming with the Pan-African Alliance close to 10 years ago.
The old collaboration featured a full year's worth of programs, including a joint Shabbat dinner and talks from faculty members.
The collaboration, Estes said, ended when the students who were invested in the planning committee graduated.
"I just decided it's time to start it up again," Levy said.
Rush also felt the timing was right for a productive collaboration.
"To be honest, the African-American community hasn't reached out to Hillel and vice-versa," she said. "Why not? Now is a better time than any."
Though the alliance is currently funded by Tufts Hillel, the Pan-African Alliance and the African Student Organization, Levy said that the group aspires to get recognition from the Tufts Community Union (TCU) Judiciary and funding from the TCU Senate.
Levy said that while the alliance plans on retaining its ties to its founding organizations, members are looking to further expand.
"Part of the mission behind this initiative is to involve members of the Jewish and black communities that aren't involved in those groups," she said.
Levy and Rush emphasized that the alliance is still in its infancy stage and many decisions have yet to be finalized; even its name is subject to change.
"The name is very tentative," Rush said. "Everything is still in progress."
Tonight's Soul Food Shabbat will be held in Ballou Hall's Coolidge Room at 7:15 p.m. and will include musical performances, student dialogue and a meal featuring both kosher food and "soul food," Rush said.
According to Levy, close to 70 students from a variety of backgrounds are expected to attend.
