Dillard University Kicks off Black-Jewish Student Unity Dinners
What makes a good meal into a great one? The people you gather with, and the conversations you have.
This week, students gathered together at Dillard University to kick off a series of unity dinners, aimed at bringing together students from Black and Jewish communities. The goal of the series, created by Dr. John Eaves of the Atlanta-based nonprofit Black and Jewish Leaders of Tomorrow (BJLOT) in close partnership with Hillel International, is to highlight shared values, build new relationships, and focus on how students can work together to fight antisemitism, anti-Black racism, the intersection and overlap of both forms of hatred, and bigotry of all kinds.
Tulane University second-year student, Mali Weitzman, shared, “I found this event to be very impactful. All forms of oppression are interconnected and one way to fight that is humanization, which is what this dinner is all about in my opinion.”
By hosting these dinners, BJLOT — in partnership with Hillel International, UNCF (United Negro College Fund), and the Foundation to Combat Antisemitism — seeks to create a unique and critical opportunity for a new generation of Black and Jewish college students to connect, communicate, and build future alliances to fight racism and antisemitism through activism and advocacy.
The first dinner at Dillard University, the oldest Historically Black College or University (HBCU) in Louisiana, welcomed students from Dillard, Tulane University Hillel, Loyola University, and Xavier University, the state’s only historically Black and Catholic university. Over a meal of falafel and chocolate babka, students discussed their differing and overlapping perspectives, identified common ground, and made plans to take collective action as a united and diverse community through further discussion, student-run programs, and connecting with national leaders in the Black and Jewish communities.
Dr. Rochelle Ford, the president of Dillard University and a recent speaker at the 2023 March for Israel, spoke during the dinner and shared the history of collaboration between Black and Jewish communities in New Orleans that led to Dillard’s founding. In reflecting on the evening, Dr. Ford said, “Tonight is about getting beyond politics. We are going to lean into people instead of politics.”
Dr. Ford’s words and her actions at Dillard, including her work to reestablish the Dillard University National Center for Black-Jewish Relations speak to the goals that BJLOT and Hillel International hope to accomplish with further conversations among Black and Jewish communities.