Black Zion: African American Religious Encounters with Judaism (Religion in America) [Paperback]

Yvonne Chireau (Editor), Nathaniel Deutsch (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 16, 1999 | Series: Religion in America

This volume explores the myriad ways in which African American religions have encountered Jewish traditions, beliefs, and spaces. In contrast to previous works, which have typically focused on the social and political relationship between blacks and Jews, Black Zion places religion at the center of its discussion, thereby illuminating a critically important but little explored aspect of black-Jewish relations in America. The essays gathered here examine groups such as the Nation of Islam and the Hebrew Israelites, individuals such as Martin Luther King, Jr., and Abraham Joshua Heschel, and topics such as the transformation of synagogue space into African American churches and the symbolic role of the Jew in the Haitian religious imagination. This collection draws on sacred texts, interviews, and ethnographic and archival research to discuss the shared elements in black and Jewish sacred life, as well as the development and elaboration of new religious identities by African Americans.
Featuring contributions from a group of renowned scholars and writers, this groundbreaking volume reveals a great deal about both African American religions and the meaning of Judaism in the contemporary world. It is essential reading for students of religion, history, cultural studies, black studies, and American studies.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Many recent studies of Black-Jewish relations assume that the two ethnic categories are mutually exclusive. Not so, according to the two Swarthmore College historians who edited this absorbing volume. A 1990 national survey found that 2.4% of American Jews--about 132,000 people--identify themselves as black and that 239,000 African-Americans claim some personal connection with Judaism. The ten essays that comprise this collection offer "a suggestive sample" of their varied stories. The most interesting chapters examine the terms in which African-American Jews negotiate their compound identities in the context of a wider culture that is generally unsympathetic. Other essays examine such topics as the theological connections between Judaism and African-American varieties of Islam, the appropriation of abandoned synagogues by African-American congregations and the employment of Jewish stereotypes among Haitian practitioners of Vodou. One may quibble with the selection: a celebratory essay on Abraham Joshua Heschel's relationship with Martin Luther King seems decidedly out of place, and there are two chapters on the Hebrew Israelites, a small sect of black Americans who emigrated to Israel in 1969, but none on the Falasha Jews of Ethiopia, whose cause appeals neither to Pan-Africanists nor to Zionists. However, the book's eclectic nature is also one of its strengths, revealing the great diversity and complexity of modern religious responses to the questions of ethnic identity. (Jan.)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Recent events, e.g., the Million Man March, anti-Semitic statements by the Rev. Louis Farakhan, and African American leaders' sometimes vocal support of Palestinian self-determination, have occasioned a public examination of relations between the African American and Jewish communities, making this outstanding collection timely indeed. Chireau and Deutsch (religion, Swarthmore) have collected well-written essays by qualified scholars and journalists that demonstrate just how nebulous are the boundaries and identities of black, Jewish, Christian, and Muslim communities. Topics include the various groups that identify themselves as black Jews or Hebrews; the Nation of Islam's rhetoric; the influence of Martin Luther King on Abraham Heschel; interest in the builder-prophet Nehemiah among black leaders; and the appropriation of former synagogues as urban churches. In all, the essays make clear the intensely human and complex processes by which people build their religious identities. Highly recommended for all public and academic libraries.
-Steve Young, Montclair State Univ., NJ
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA (December 16, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 019511258X
• ISBN-13: 978-0195112580
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 5.8 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #835,425 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating and Little Known, April 20, 2002

By 

J. E. Friedman (Cambridge, MA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Black Zion: African American Religious Encounters with Judaism (Religion in America) (Paperback)

The topic seemed so off-the-beaten-track to be interesting for that reason alone. The book certainly lived up to the promise by providing numerous perspectives of the interaction between Jews and people of African descent in the Americas. Especially fascinating was when the two cultures meshed in the same people: Black Jews. Conceived as a religious take on Black Jewishness, the book wisely steers clear of the political controversies discussed in many books already to focus on the sacred rather than the profane.

Sometimes the writing could be ponderous and overly academic, but by and large intriguing, informative, and worthwhile.