Black-Jewish Unity Dinner Series Continues in Baltimore
The Black-Jewish Unity Dinner series is back — this time in Baltimore!
On Tuesday, April 8, 2025, about 50 students gathered in the J. Millard Tawes Center Ballroom at Coppin State University, one of the nation’s Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), located in the heart of Baltimore. An opportunity to “break bread and build bridges,” the dinner brought together Black, Jewish, and Black and Jewish students from multiple schools to highlight shared values, build new connections, and deepen understanding between communities.
“Black and Jewish communities have had a connection for a really long time, especially in the civil rights movement,” said Abby, a Jewish student at Johns Hopkins University. “[And] both the Jewish students and the HBCU students I met tonight joined our respective institutions looking for a sense of belonging and we’ve found that through our communities.”
This unity dinner was the latest in the Black-Jewish Unity Dinner series, organized by Hillel International in partnership with the Foundation to Combat Antisemitism (FCAS) and UNCF (United Negro College Fund). These gatherings, now in their second year, connect Jewish students with students from HBCUs to build on the historic bonds between the Black and Jewish communities. The goal?
To create opportunities for a new generation of young leaders to connect, communicate, build relationships, and work together on the issues that matter to both communities.
Like the other dinners in the series, the evening’s program included both speakers and interactive activities. Dr. John Eaves, founder of BJLOT, emceed the event, and Dani Levine, senior director of social impact at Hillel International, facilitated an activity for students to use discussion cards to share their experiences and connect with one another on social, communal, and intellectual topics.
“Students, you are center stage today,” Dr. Eaves said. “You are the reason we’re here. We can hold complex identities and have complex conversations and reforge our historical communal ties.”
While students had many different reasons for signing up to attend the dinner, from wanting to learn more about other cultures to wanting to make new connections, the takeaways seemed universal: Our communities have a lot in common, and we need to stand together against those who would try to divide us.
“We’re actually really very similar,” said Dasani, a student at Morgan State University. “Even though we formed our connection during the civil rights movement, now we can use our voices to speak out for people and focus on our connections and similarities.”
“It’s good to see young adults from other religions and cultures and connect to each other. We are the face of the future,” she added.
In addition to conversations about racism, antisemitism, campus climates, and civil rights history, students were able to discuss their own perspectives on the issues that have made it harder to build relationships between Black and Jewish communities, and how they can work together to heal those connections.
“Misinformation has pulled our two communities apart, and we want to fight that and bring each other together,” said Gabrielle, a student at Morgan State.
Rabbi Josh Snyder, executive director at Goucher College Hillel, agreed. “We can talk about why it’s important to join together to fight hate, but we have to be in relationship with each other,” he said. “It has to be about our relationships.”
Students, faculty, and administrators from seven institutions participated in the dinner, including Bowie State University, Coppin State University, Goucher College, Johns Hopkins University, Morgan State University, Towson University, and University of Maryland, Baltimore County.
The Baltimore event was the seventh installment in the unity dinner series, which has engaged hundreds of students as of this spring. To invest in the ongoing connections and collaborations between Black and Jewish students, students who attended are eligible to receive up to $1,000 in microgrants to host a follow-up event of any kind, as long as it is organized by at least one Hillel-participating student and one HBCU student.
“To our students, we need your leadership right now. We need you to answer the call to fight for justice and community,” said Dr. Jenkins. “Be the agents of change — even when it’s not easy.”
We’re excited to continue the series this spring with students from across the country. Learn more about past unity dinners.