Various high-profile players from music, film, TV and beyond have joined forces for the newly announced Black-Jewish Entertainment Alliance, an initiative designed to fight racism and antisemitism through cultural and political solidarity. Among the high-ranking music execs in the mix are Motown boss Ethiopia Habtemariam, Columbia Chairman Ron Perry, Warner CEO Aaron Bay-Schuck and Maverick founder Guy Oseary.
Acknowledging a shared history of oppression and also of historic collaboration in the struggle for equality, the participants hope to pool their efforts to counter a rising tide of hate and intolerant propaganda in America.
The new org’s “unity statement” appears below; stay tuned for updates on planned actions. The BJEA website also features resources for those wishing to educate themselves about the history of racism and antisemitism.
Industry folk who wish to join the BJEA effort are urged to become signatories. Rumors that participants would receive their own Jewish space lasers could not be confirmed at press time.
We acknowledge that the Black and Jewish communities have a shared history of subjugation and persecution.
We recognize that the Black community in America has faced a history of racism that continues to this day, while the Jewish community is currently encountering record levels of antisemitism...
As members of the entertainment community, we pledge to work to bring our two communities together in solidarity, to support one another in our struggles and to better understand each other’s plight and narratives.
The Jewish community must continue to speak out against racial injustice and work to effect change, while the Black community must continue to speak out against all forms of antisemitism.
In the spirit of Martin Luther King Jr., Rabbi Abraham Heschel and the many Blacks and Jews who stood together in the fight for civil rights, we come together to support each other in the struggle against hatred and bigotry.
In the words of the late John Lewis, “We are one people, one family, the human family, and what affects one of us affects us all.”
