Chizuk Amuno’s Andrew Miller to Discuss Jews and Race at Virtual Symposium

Dr. Andrew J. Miller (Provided photo)

For Dr. Andrew J. Miller, Jewish values are social justice values.

On Sunday, Feb. 28, at 4 p.m., Miller, chair of Chizuk Amuno Congregation’s social justice advocacy committee, will speak at “Making Commitments: The Path Forward,” a virtual conversation about “Not Free to Desist”, an open letter calling on American Jewry to “not sit idly by when we see injustice before us.”

He will be joined Lindsey Newman, director of community engagement for Be’chol Lashon, a national organization that strives to raise awareness about diversity in the Jewish community.

The talk will be presented by Chizuk Amuno, the Jewish Museum of Maryland and The Associated: Jewish Federation of Baltimore.

Miller, 66, a professor of geography and environmental systems at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, recently spoke with Jmore.

Jmore: Why did you start Chizuk Amuno’s social justice advocacy committee?

Miller: What galvanized me was the shooting in Charleston [South Carolina] in 2015. I was sitting in a service, listening to [Chizuk Amuno’s] Rabbi Debi Wechsler speak, and I thought to myself, ‘Here I am, sitting on the bimah, and the shooting [of nine African-Americans during a church bible study session] is an affront to people of every religion.’ I decided to take on social justice by resurrecting the synagogue’s former tikkun olam [repair the world] committee. We renamed it the social justice committee, and instead of focusing on national issues, we decided to focus on local issues.

How did you become active with Jews United for Justice?

Around 2015 and 2016, I became acquainted with JUFJ. I attended an event at Chizuk Amuno sponsored by JUFJ about police accountability. After that, some of us decided to form our own social justice in the synagogues roundtable. It’s organized by Jews United for Justice and a number of synagogues are represented, each of which has their own social action committee.

We are looking to build more robust communication and collaboration. Our work in the synagogue doesn’t overlap 100% with JUFJ’s agenda but we work with them on a lot of the same issues. Some of us are on issue and leadership teams with JUFJ. We speak with our legislators about bills at the state and local level, and we advocate on behalf of issues that are consistent with fundamental Jewish values and that support the call for just treatment of underserved communities.

Those issues relate to things like police accountability and criminal justice reform, renters’ rights and right to counsel in eviction cases, protection of immigrant rights, and paid family and medical leave.

Our common goal is to share information, stay informed about what everyone else is doing, to have co-sponsorship and collaboration where possible, and to multiply our efforts by communicating both within and between our own communities.

And you’re involved in programming concerning Jews of color.

I got a call from Abe Kronsberg, a member of Chizuk Amuno’s social justice committee who’s also on the board of the Jewish Museum of Maryland. Abe was interested in setting up a series on Jews of color.

It’s become increasingly clear that Jews of color are not being treated the way [white Jews are] treated. We’re becoming more conscious of this. So Abe wanted to put together a virtual series between Chizuk Amuno and the JMM with nine sessions. The last session is a conversation about ‘Not Free to Desist,’ a letter telling white Jews that they must do more to fully recognize Jews of color.

Will there be more programs this spring?

Yes. In May, Ilana Kaufman [executive director of the Jews of Color Field Initiative] will be coming back to Baltimore. I’m hoping she’ll talk about how we actually make connections with Jews of color. The population of Jews of color in Baltimore numbers somewhere between 3,000 to 6,000. Where are they? Why are we not seeing them in synagogue? It’s because we aren’t recognizing them. There’s not a lot of trust. We’re all the poorer for not knowing them.

What are you hoping will come out of your work on racial justice?

My goal is to use my privilege to push the needle. Justice is a fundamental Jewish value. Just read our texts — they’re screaming all the time about social justice. You don’t have to read very far to find many different sources that tell you about your obligations. Whether it’s how you pay workers or how you treat the stranger, it’s clear that it’s fundamental.

How did you feel about some members of the local Jewish community objecting to Chizuk Amuno posting a Black Lives Matter sign on its campus several months ago?

Overwhelmingly, the majority of responses were positive. Some said it was too political. Was Moses too political? Issues of morality often have some political aspects. Is it too political to say people should not be murdered? If you held that litmus test to us, we’ve committed crimes. Some people say that BLM is anti-Semitic. That’s a red herring. The vast majority of people involved with the movement aren’t anti-Semitic. If you listen to the stories of police brutality, they’re heart-rending.

For information about “Making Commitments: The Path Forward,” click here.

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