Arts & Culture, Black Jewish Relations Zoominars, Books Zoominars, Latest, Music Zoominars, Zoominar Library, Zoominars

The Story of Art Rupe and Specialty Records with Nadine Epstein and Billy Vera

Art Rupe, who died in April at the age of 104, was an independent record producer known for launching the musical careers of Lloyd Price, Little Richard, Sam Cooke and others, paving the way for Black music to crossover to White audiences and the new genre of rock n’ roll. Moment editor-in-chief and Billy Vera, a singer, songwriter, actor, record producer, Grammy Award winning music historian and author of Rip It Up: The Specialty Records Story is in conversation about Rupe’s impoverished childhood in a Pennsylvania town, his early affinity for gospel music, and how he turned down a scholarship to become a rabbi and instead headed to Hollywood, his legendary career, life philosophy and more.

This program is in celebration of Jewish American Heritage Month.

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Arts & Culture, Black Jewish Relations Zoominars, Latest, Music Zoominars, Villages, Wide River Project, Zoominar Library, Zoominars

Blacks, Jews, Jazz & Blues with Loren Schoenberg, Eric K. Ward and Nadine Epstein

In the 19th century Black spirituals were inspired by biblical stories in the Old Testament, especially those we remember during Passover. In the early decades of the 20th century, Black and Jewish musicians, often living side by side in the same impoverished neighborhoods, connected through legacies of oppression. With the music industry one of the few fields open to them both, it’s no surprise that blues and jazz became rich, crossover genres. Join Loren Schoenberg, senior scholar at The National Jazz Museum in Harlem, Eric K. Ward, executive director of Western States Center and Nadine Epstein, Moment editor-in-chief, for a conversation about these musical connections, the bonds and tensions, and a taste of the music itself including Joshua Fought the Battle of Jericho and Go Down Moses to Bei Mir Bist Du Shein.

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Black Jewish Relations Zoominars, Latest, Wide River Project, Zoominar Library, Zoominars

Black and Jewish views on Critical Race Theory with Janet Dewart Bell, Mia Brett, Eric K. Ward and Nadine Epstein

Nothing shines a light on the political divide in the United States more than three words – critical race theory. What is CRT and why has it become a lightning rod issue at school board meetings, state capitols and around dinner tables across the country? Is systemic racism something we should be worried about, even in the Jewish community? What are memory laws and are they a threat to our democracy? And shouldn’t we all feel uncomfortable when learning about uncomfortable issues? Dr. Janet Dewart Bell, author of Race, Rights, and Redemption: The Derrick Bell Lectures on Law and Critical Race Theory and writer Dr. Mia Brett, joins Eric K. Ward, executive director of Western States Center and Moment editor-in-chief Nadine Epstein to discuss how intellectual conversations about the intersection of race and law developed in the 1970s have been misunderstood and led to this latest buzzword tearing communities apart. Our thinkers also discuss how CRT fits into the Black – Jewish conversation.

This program is part of The Wide River Project, a yearlong, joint initiative of Western States Center and Moment that will take a deep dive—and fresh look—into the art, history and issues that both unite and divide the Black and Jewish communities.

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Head shots of Nadine Eptein and Eric K. Ward
Black Jewish Relations Zoominars, Holocaust Zoominars, Latest, Wide River Project, Zoominar Library, Zoominars

The Holocaust Through the Lens of Black-Jewish Relations with Eric K. Ward and Nadine Epstein

Eric K. Ward, executive director of Western States Center and senior fellow with the Southern Poverty Law Center and Nadine Epstein, Moment editor-in-chief, grapple with the complicated conversations taking place around the Holocaust today and lay out some of the many “channels” of the complex relationship between Blacks and Jews in the U.S., starting in the early 20th century through today. Ward and Epstein introduce The Wide River Project, a yearlong, joint initiative of Western States Center and Moment that will take a deep dive—and fresh look—into the art, history and issues that both unite and divide the Black and Jewish communities.

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Black Jewish Relations Zoominars, Latest, Zoominar Library, Zoominars

The Kings and Rothschilds: Working Together for Civil Rights with Janice Rothschild Blumberg and Nadine Epstein

Janice Rothschild Blumberg and her husband Rabbi Jacob Rothschild, whose synagogue in Atlanta was bombed by white supremacists in 1958, were close friends with Coretta Scott King and Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr, working together championing civil rights.

Janice Rothschild Blumberg and Moment’s editor-in-chief Nadine Epstein are in conversation about Dr. King’s and Rabbi Rothschild’s partnership that brought the Black and Jewish communities of Atlanta together in the pursuit of justice against racism and antisemitism. Rothschild will share personal anecdotes and also talk about her soon to be released book What’s Next?: Southern Dreams, Jewish Deeds and the Challenge of Looking Back while Moving Forward.

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Antisemitism Zoominars, Black Jewish Relations Zoominars, Latest, Zoominar Library, Zoominars

What to Do About Antisemitism & Racism with Eric K. Ward

Eric K. Ward, an internationally known expert on the intersection of white nationalism with anti-Semitism, is in conversation with Moment editor-in-chief Nadine Epstein about how anti-Semitism is at the core of white nationalism—and how combatting anti-Semitism is the most efficient way of fighting white nationalism. They discuss the anti-Semitism evident in the recent attack on the U.S. Capitol, the relationship between authoritarianism and white nationalism, racism, Black Lives Matter and more.

This event is a tribute to the memory of the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., whose work inspired Ward in his lifelong pursuit of Civil Rights, hosted by Moment Magazine with the support of the Joyce and Irving Goldman Family Foundation.

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Black Jewish Relations Zoominars, Books Zoominars, Latest, Zoominar Library, Zoominars

The Message of Martin Luther King Jr. and Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel with Susannah Heschel and Richard Michelson

Susannah Heschel, professor of Jewish Studies at Dartmouth College and Richard Michelson, author of As Good As Anybody: Martin Luther King and Abraham Joshua Heschel’s Amazing March Toward Freedom, discus the partnership between these two great leaders and what it means for our time.

This zoominar is part of the Martha’s Vineyard Jewish Book Festival, in partnership with Moment Magazine, the Chilmark Library and the Martha’s Vineyard Hebrew Center.

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