By Pastor Carl Day and Jason Holtzman
A few weeks ago, we had the honor of participating in the inaugural Black and Jewish Leadership Initiative at Harvard Divinity School, co-sponsored by Harvard and the Shalom Hartman Institute. The program brought together leaders across sectors —
activists, nonprofit professionals, academics, mental health practitioners, sports professionals and more — for a transformative week of learning, reflection and relationship building.
We attended as co-founders of the New Golden Age Coalition, a partnership between Culture Changing Christians and the Jewish Community Relations Council of the Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia. Our coalition is rooted in Philadelphia and dedicated to renewing and strengthening the historic — though at times strained — relationship between Black and Jewish communities.
The program was powerful, challenging and at times uncomfortable — but deeply necessary. Each day explored a core theme, such as “Building Trusted Ground for Dialogue,” “Diversity Under Pressure,” and “Freedom Dreams: Futures in Formation.” Our cohort was guided by an extraordinary group of educators, including Dr. Terrence Johnson and Rabbi Justus Baird, who designed the program; Dr. Tracey Hucks; Victor S. Thomas, professor of Africana religious studies at Harvard Divinity School; Dr. Brad Braxton, president and professor of public theology at Chicago Theological Seminary; Dr. Yehuda Kurtzer, president of the Shalom Hartman Institute; Dr. Buffie Longmire-Avital, associate dean at North Carolina A&T State University; and others.
As part of the program, we presented our coalition’s approach to authentic activism — anchored in mutual accountability, deep listening and long-term partnership. It was meaningful to share our model as an example of how honest, community-based collaboration can take root and grow.
One of the most powerful elements of the week was the presence of Black Jewish leaders, whose lived experiences brought urgency and richness to every conversation. Dr. Longmire-Avital, a Black Jewish scholar and full program participant, led a session titled “Black AND Jewish: The Pebble in the Shoe?” — an exploration of the tensions and possibilities that come with holding both identities. As we move forward, we are committed to ensuring that voices like hers are not just heard but elevated.
Spending Juneteenth together underscored that our pursuit of justice is a shared endeavor. Our histories are distinct, but they intersect in profound and often painful ways — and so do our futures.
Throughout history, there have been defining moments of Black-Jewish solidarity: Julius Rosenwald’s partnership with Booker T. Washington to fund schools across the Jim Crow South, historically Black colleges and universities offering refuge to Jewish scholars fleeing Nazi Europe, and the visible presence of Jewish allies during the civil rights movement.
But solidarity must be renewed for our present moment. In the wake of Oct. 7, the Jewish community is experiencing a painful surge in antisemitism, often conflated with criticism of Israel. Many Jews are being scapegoated — for things far beyond their control — and intergenerational trauma is resurfacing daily. At the same time, Black communities continue to carry their own generational wounds, born of slavery, segregation and systemic racism. These traumas are not abstractions; they shape how our communities live, lead and relate to one another.
That’s part of what makes the current backlash against diversity, equity and inclusion efforts so painful — and so personal. For Black leaders, it feels like an erasure of hard-won civil rights gains and the history those efforts are meant to honor. For Jewish leaders, it threatens spaces where antisemitism is recognized and addressed. In both cases, the backlash does more than undermine programs — it strikes at our collective memory and generational survival.
Nowhere is this tension more visible than in higher education, where university leaders — often unprepared for today’s complexities — are under immense pressure to navigate protests, encampments and deep polarization. In these moments, grace is rare.
But grace, like trust, must be built.
We’re deeply grateful to Harvard Divinity School and the Shalom Hartman Institute for cultivating space to do that building — with honesty, care and courage. We left the week inspired and grounded in the knowledge that this journey demands humility, persistence and vision.
The road ahead is long — but we are walking it. Together.
Now is not the time to retreat. It’s the time to lean in. We call on leaders in both of our communities to invest in relationships, resist performative allyship and commit to the long, often difficult work of coalition building. Our future demands more than nostalgia for past alliances — it demands action.
Let us meet this moment — with vision, with vulnerability and, above all, with each other.
In Philadelphia, we’re committed to ushering in a new golden age — rooted in clarity, courage and coalition. Let our city be a model of what’s possible when communities come together not just in times of crisis but also with a shared commitment to enduring partnership.
Pastor Carl Day is the founder of Culture Changing Christians. Jason Holtzman is the chief of the Jewish Community Relations Council of the Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia.
