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Civil Rights During The 20th Century

Decent Essays

Today, we stand at a precipice threatening a definitive split between Blacks and Jews, and Jews of Color and Jews. The recent platform of Black Lives Matters denounces Israel as an apartheid state. A respect for the history of Black political thought demands we not forget Israel and Jews (of all races) remain a vulnerable minority.

Jews and Black Americans are most often linked together during the 20th century Civil Rights movement. These communities were victims of institutionalized discrimination and social shunning. Jim Crow signage proclaimed: “No Jews, No Dogs, No Negroes.” At the height of the Civil Rights era, Jews and Blacks marched together and were martyred during the Freedom Rides for voter registrations.

The 19th and 20th centuries were filled with social and political change from the outlawing of slavery, the Labor Movements advancement of workers’ rights, and WWI and WWII toppling of empires and raising up new nations. Unfortunately, Blacks and Jews continued as subjects of racism and anti-Semitism, with increasing violence. Black enfranchisement was met with government sanctioned White Supremacist aggression (such as the Klu Klux Klan). Similarly, the Holocaust highlights Jewish vulnerability. Esteemed historian and Pan-Africanist WEB Dubois exclaimed, “Every child knows that ancient Jewish civilization and religion centered in Palestine... When it comes therefore to an issue of original possession and ownership, there is no final answer for any

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