Jews Talk Racial Justice - Ep 50: It is In Our Bones: Liberation and Grief

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QUICK EPISODE OVERVIEW

In this week’s episode, Tracie and April both react to recent experiences they have had which have deepened their consciousness or understanding around racial justice and healing. For Tracie it was a neighbor’s reaction to an activist campaign to Free Keith Davis, Jr., and for April, a weekend at a virtual Black liberation retreat. This leads them to a conversation on the need to balance the work of liberating individuals and communities from oppressive systems with also grieving the collective trauma that is caused from generations of being targeted by and struggling against these same systems. For it is only by grieving that we can become better change agents for our collective liberation. 

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DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

  1. Tracie begins by discussing the activism In Baltimore around Keith Davis, Jr. and his experience with the criminal legal system and admits to not knowing the full details. What local campaigns around racial justice are happening in your area? What do you know about them and where can you learn more? If you haven’t heard of these before, why might that be?

  2. Tracie describes an email she and her husband received through their email listserv about a neighbor’s encounter with an activist with the Keith Davis, Jr. campaign. There are a few reactions in this story—of Tracie who was upset at her neighbors ignorance and her neighbor who was disturbed enough to send a “warning” to their neighbors, and lastly, her husband who thanked her for sending it out. Can you think of times you may have been each of the people in this story? Who would you like to be in this story? What keeps you from acting like Tracie in the times you might not ?

  3. Tracie references Mariame Kaba’s work again and the importance of balancing the need for changing the system with advocating for those currently in it. How does this manifest in other areas of our society and your activism? 

  4. April talks about a recent Black liberation and healing workshop she attended and how helpful it was for her to talk about how oppression shows up within Black spaces. What are the ways in which oppression shows up in your own communities centered around shared identities?

  5. April shares a powerful quote from the weekend: "Not grieving your losses, or not grieving losses, makes you weak." How does this land with you? What are the ways in which it resonates? 

  6. As a global people, Jews have faced persecution in many different countries around the world, not just in Europe as many white and/or Ashkenazi Jews know. What are other places and moments in our history that Jewish people collectively grieve?

  7.  How does this need to grieve our losses impact the teaching of history, as Tracie points out? How can it inform how we approach the past and heal from it? 

INSIGHTS FROM THIS EPISODE

“Jews, as a global people, have an immense amount to grieve; no wonder this is in our bones.”
— April N. Baskin

COMMENTS OR QUESTIONS?

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