Unity Dinners: Fourteen-City College Tour Will Build Empathy Among Black and Jewish Students
Unity Dinners, designed to promote meaningful dialogue and connection between Black and Jewish college students, launches its 2025-2026 program on September 15
Beginning September 15, the Foundation to Combat Antisemitism (FCAS), UNCF, and Hillel International will lead a series of Black-Jewish Unity Dinners across the country, bringing together thousands of Jewish and Black college students across the country to break bread, rebuild the historical bonds between the two communities, and recognize how they can support each other and work together to fight against all forms of hate.
In recent years, college campuses have experienced a rise in antisemitism and division, with a gap widening between Jewish students and Black students. To bridge divides, FCAS, UNCF, and Hillel have partnered together to create Unity Dinners, which bring together 100 students, with Jewish students from local campuses and Black students from historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) for candid conversations between the two communities, including:
- Guest speakers and interactive activities focused on building understanding and empathy
- Opportunities for students to tell stories of their upbringings and experiences, identify issues of shared interest and concern, and listen to one another
- Dialogue between students to build future alliances to fight anti-Black racism and antisemitism through activism and advocacy
- A dedicated closing exercise where students share some of what they have learned from the experience
For over 100 years, Black and Jewish Americans have maintained a strong connection and mutual dedication to expanding civil rights. The groups’ shared experiences with hate often led them to stand side-by-side – the Jewish community aided the founding of the NAACP and participated in the Freedom Rides, and HBCUs welcomed Jewish professors during the Holocaust. Yet today, not only does hate persist, it is on the rise. Unity Dinners will bring together Black and Jewish Americans together once more to lend their support and collaboration to each other, just as they have in the past.
For the 2025-2026 academic year, FCAS, UNCF, and Hillel are planning to visit 14 cities with 21 dinners. The fall Unity Dinner schedule will include:
- September 15 in New Orleans
- September 17 in Baltimore
- September 28 in Philadelphia
- November 4 in Washington, D.C.
- November 12 in New York City
- November 17 in Atlanta
Participating colleges and universities will be announced separately. The three organizations are also planning dinners for Charlotte, Houston, Los Angeles, Memphis, Montgomery, Raleigh, Richmond, and Tallahassee.
FCAS, UNCF, and Hillel have completed two national series of Unity Dinners – in the fall and spring semesters of the 2024–2025 school year – with events in multiple cities including Baltimore, Philadelphia, New York, and Houston. The events are made possible in part through a $1 million donation to UNCF by Robert Kraft. To date, hundreds of students have attended, with almost all participants sharing that they had at least one meaningful conversation with someone they didn’t know and who identifies as a different race. Following the dinners, organizers will continue the relationship building with attendees through the Tikkun Olam Society.
“Together, Black and Jewish Americans share a long and storied history of battling hate,” said Dr. Michael Lomax, President and CEO of UNCF. “Now we must reinvigorate our partnership. These Unity Dinners are essential in honoring our legacy of working together to confront hate and combat discrimination in all their horrible forms.”
“There’s something different about sitting across the table from someone, sharing a meal, and hearing their story firsthand,” said Adam Lehman, President and CEO of Hillel International. “This series of Unity Dinners is a highlight of our work to build relationships across communities and improve the campus climate for all students.”
“Unity Dinners serve as a model for how different groups can come together to address hate and division,” said Adam Katz, President of the Foundation to Combat Antisemitism. “There is a rich history between Black and Jewish Americans, marked by decades of mutual support and collaboration. By establishing a dialogue and bringing the two communities together, we will continue to find common ground, build empathy, lift up the next generation of leaders, and stand together against hate.”
The Unity Dinner series comes amid rapidly increasing antisemitism and widespread anti-Black racism. In response to these concerning trends, students will unite against hate, discuss how they can serve as role models in the fight against hate on their campuses and beyond, and make plans of action to inspire their networks to take a stand – because nobody can be sitting on the sidelines when it comes to hate.
About UNCF
UNCF is one of the nation’s largest and most effective supporters of higher education and serves as a leading advocate for college-bound students. Since its founding in 1944, UNCF has raised more than $6 billion to support students’ access to higher education, provide scholarships and strengthen historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs). Each year, UNCF supports more than 50,000 students at more than 1,100 colleges and universities across the country including 37 UNCF-member HBCUs. Through its efforts, UNCF has helped generations of students to get to and through college. We believe a college education plays a vital role in fortifying the pipeline of leaders and professionals who contribute to the advancement of our society. Our logo features the UNCF torch of leadership in education and our widely recognized trademark is, ‟A mind is a terrible thing to waste.”® Learn more at UNCF.org or for continuous updates and news, follow UNCF on Instagram.
About Hillel International
Founded in 1923, Hillel has been impacting the lives of Jewish college students for 100 years. Today, Hillel International is a global organization that welcomes students of all backgrounds and fosters an enduring commitment to Jewish life, learning, and Israel. As the largest and most inclusive Jewish student organization in the world, Hillel builds connections with emerging adults at more than 850 colleges and universities. During their formative college years, students are inspired to explore, experience, and create vibrant Jewish lives.
About the Foundation to Combat Antisemitism
The Foundation to Combat Antisemitism (FCAS) was founded by Robert Kraft in 2019 to stand up to Jewish hate and all hate by inspiring Americans to become active allies in the fight. FCAS looks to reach the nearly 50% Americans who are unengaged in the fight against hate and inspire them to stand up to it. In 2023, FCAS established the Blue Square as the universal symbol of unity in combating hate, allowing all allies to wear and share their support.