Black, Jewish and challenging ideas about the face of federationPosted in Articles, Judaism, Media Archive, Religion, United States on 2015-07-28 17:33Z by Steven |
Black, Jewish and challenging ideas about the face of federation
Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA)
New York, New York
2014-12-01
(JTA) — When Ilana Kaufman, a program officer at the San Francisco Jewish Community Federation, arrived at San Quentin State Prison for a meeting with the Jewish chaplain at California’s oldest correctional facility, the chaplain couldn’t seem to find her — even though Kaufman was standing in plain sight.
As Kaufman waited in the receiving area, a security officer by her side, the spiritual leader of the prison community — largely composed of men of color — turned her head left and right trying to locate the federation representative whose name she knew but whose face she had never seen.
“Finally the officer says, ‘Chaplain, this person standing right next to me,’” Kaufman recalled. “And the chaplain says, ‘You know, you are not who I expected.’”
It wasn’t the first time that Kaufman, 42, had heard such a comment…
Read the entire article here.