On Feb 3. PBS will air “Black and Jewish in America: An Interwoven History,” a documentary that explores the complex relationship between two marginalized groups who have unique but converging experiences in the U.S. To celebrate the premier of the first of four episodes, executive producer and host Henry Louis Gates Jr. will join filmmakers Phil Bertelsen and Sara Wolitzky in a discussion moderated by Senator Cory Booker at Manhattan’s 92NY on Feb. 5.
Henry Louis Gates Jr., who is credited with discovering the oldest known African American novel, has hosted PBS’ “Finding Your Roots,” since 2012. The Emmy-Award winning historian and Harvard University educator has explored and expanded on the public’s contemporary understanding of Black American history, raising questions about institutional racism, and the complexity of relationships across different races and the Black community. “This is a deeply personal subject for me,” said Henry Louis Gates Jr. in a press release. “It’s connected to my own coming of age during the heroic days of the civil rights struggle and is an urgent response to the violent forces I’ve seen reawakened in our society over the last decade. By tracing the long arc of Black and Jewish history in America, I hope we can see each other more clearly, more honestly, and find hope in our mutual stories of survival, resilience, and solidarity. But this series is not only about the past. It is about us — and how, together, we can prevail over the forces of hatred that seek to divide us.” A trailer for the special previews commentary from prominent voices, including Dr. Cornel West, Reverend Al Sharpton, and Anna Deavere Smith. The four-part series will explore the complex and interwoven relationship between the Black and Jewish communities during the civil rights movement and in the wake of the Holocaust, desegregation in the entertainment industry, in the similarities that the pervade both groups in their relationships to white Americans throughout history. “When I was growing up, I only thought of race in terms of Black and white. It wasn’t until much later when I learned about antisemitism that I realized Blacks and Jews face common enemies,” said Gates in the trailer. “But when we stand together, we are a formidable force.”
You can watch “Black and Jewish in America” on PBS starting Feb. 3 and check out your local streaming options at PBS.org. New Yorkers can get tickets to the Feb. 5 discussion at 92ny.org, where livestream tickets are also available for the talk only.