African-American /Jewish Mission Civil Rights Trail

The African-American Jewish Mission toured part of the Civil Rights Trail by crossing the Edmond Pettus Bridge, visiting the Lowndes County Interpretive Center, and Dexter Avenue Baptist Church. Everyone was moved and inspired by crossing the bridge.

The group also had the opportunity to hear presentations by staff at the Southern Poverty Law Center and the Equal Justice Initiative. A few participants were particularly impressed by the SPLC's intelligence arm. Though I wasn't present, I understand from a few people that the group reacted to some of the issues that represent modern-day injustices. They ended the evening with a meal at the Fish Market Restaurant in Birmingham.

Rabbi Steve and Pastor Keni's prepared us for this historic journey over the bridge.

2010 African-American and Jewish Mission

On Sunday, June 20, 2010, Birmingham will host African-American and Jewish community leaders from across the country. The Jewish Council on Public Affairs has selected Birmingham as the 2010 site of an annual mission. The Mission is twofold: 1) To strengthen ties between African-American and Jewish leaders and 2) To address systemic poverty. A large portion of the Mission will include visits to popular civil rights and social justice institutions. They will visit places such as the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute, the Lowndes County Interpretive Center, the Southern Poverty Law Center, and Dexter Avenue Baptist Church. Their visit will culminate with visits to local community projects.

Components of the Mission reflect Gordon Allport's "Contact Hypothesis." The "Contact Hypothesis" is one of the most successful means of reducing prejudice or encouraging collaboration among people of different races, ethnic groups or religions. It is often much more sustainable than training or short-term dialogue groups. The contact hypothesis consists of the following components: 1) Pairing individuals from different cultures who are as similar as possible in every other way such as job function, position in the community, socio-economic status...). 2) Set goals and engage in an activity to achieve the goals. 3) Hold participants accountable for their activities. The movie Remember the Titans exemplifies this concept. Denzel Washington was faced with uniting two football teams from schools that had been desegregated. He matched team members by position and required that they get to know each other and work to maintain the winning traditions of both teams. If they did not carry out his requests, they were punished.

The 2010 African-American/Jewish Mission pairs individuals from two different cultures who represent their communities. The entire group will travel, dialogue and work together over a three-day period. In addition to visiting civil rights related institutions, they will hear presentations from local social justice organizations. A representative from Center for Faith-Based Initiatives and Neighborhood Partnerships will also make a presentation. The group will visit an inner city community and help refurbish a home for a family in need. They will spend time reflecting on the experience and strategize for future initiatives.

Though this post was written in the third person, I have the honor of being one of the representatives from Birmingham. Future posts will probably shift from two points of view--observer and participant. I am looking forward to seeing Alabama from the eyes of others and learning something new about the state that has been home to the last five generations of the majority of my maternal and paternal families.