The Foundation is a national non-profit dedicated to strengthening relations between ethnic communities. We are committed to the belief that direct, face-to-face dialogue between ethnic communities is the most effective path towards the reduction of bigotry and the promotion of reconciliation and understanding.

 

 

 

 


Shared Dreams: Martin Luther King, Jr. & the
Jewish Community
By Rabbi Marc Schneier
Preface by Martin Luther King III

Jewish support for Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and the American civil rights movement is widely known. However, this history has another side--one that has not been fully told until now. In the 1960s, while King was consumed in the fight for African Americans to secure full civil rights in this country, he made the time to speak out for the rights of Jews. On January 20, 2009, the day after Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, when Barack Obama was sworn in as the President of the United States of America, many of us reflected on King's legacy of social justice. How can Jews embrace MLK Day and help return social justice to the national agenda?

"King understood that a people who fought for their rights were only as honorable as was their concern for the rights of all people," writes Rabbi Marc Schneier in SHARED DREAMS: Martin Luther King, Jr. & the Jewish Community. "Jews should be proud of their participation in the civil rights struggle. They should hold that up as an inspiration to all generations: it is emblematic of what the sages call tikkun olam, the mandate for Jews to repair the world."

SHARED DREAMS presents the untold story of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s involvement with the Jewish community. Through the use of previously unpublished material and interviews with those who marched at King's side, the long-neglected story of mutual support between King and the Jewish community is brought to life. It is a story that will shed new light on the commitment and the relationship between the Jewish and African American communities as they have struggled together to fight for justice and civil rights in our nation. Even more, it is a story that encourages all of us--people of all faiths, all backgrounds--to continue to fight for justice in our world.

   

 

 

Copyright © 2008 The Foundation For Ethnic Understanding
The Foundation for Ethnic Understanding was founded in 1989 by Rabbi Marc Schneier and the late Joseph Papp.
We are committed to the belief that direct, face-to-face, dialogue between leaders of ethnic communities is
the most effective path toward the reduction of bigotry and the promotion of reconciliation and understanding.

1 East 93rd Street, Suite #1C
New York, New York, 10128
ffeu@ffeu.org
(Tel) 917-492-2538, (Fax) 917-492-2560

Click here to view our Privacy Policy

Website designed and maintained by Webs on Webster