Yavilah McCoy, just another Jew of ColorContrary to popular belief, I’m not the only Jew of Color in the world, even if I happen to be the only Jew of Color many of my friends know or come in contact with on a daily basis. Every now and again, it’s nice to lay down the mantle and let someone else fight the good fight for representation. So it was just incredible to stumble upon an article in The Forward that showcased another voice for Jews of color.
Check out:
“A Voice for Jews of Color: Yavilah McCoy Advocates for Jewish Multiculturalism”
Memoirs of a Jewminicana 
My Hebrew school principal had dreadlocks and her brother taught there (the children of a Jewish community activist and an African American civil rights lawyer I believe), so as a child I never knew that most people think all Jews are white.
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That’s really cool. Hopefully, that’s how most kids will be raised in the future.
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I also sort of thought everyone was Jewish until I started kindergarten.Maybe I was just a strange kid.
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Not at all! for a long time as a child, I thought everyone was Catholic and Dominican!
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Although it seems impossible, once one manages to escape the little tiny worlds of Riverdale and Washington Heights, there ARE more accepting “white”/Ashkenazi Jews out there, people for whom Yavilah McCoy (however awesome) is old news, and who know so many converts they’re bored by them. It just takes time to find them (in Boston, Chicago, LA, Park Slope…).
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I don’t disagree. I have been to many other communities and despite what the narrow view from my blog may have painted for you, I do think there are many white/Ashkenazi Jews who are accepting in Riverdale and Washington Heights.
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