Learning to See My Jewish and Korean Identities as Complementary
I am constantly making mistakes, questioning my identity, and second-guessing myself, but I know that this work is a process.
Finding Encouragement in MLK’s Words—And America’s Changing Demographics
My mixed-race daughter will be part of the nonwhite majority of American youth, which is cause for both celebration and fear.
Armenian, Russian, Mexican and…Jewish
Growing into my Jewish Multicultural heritage and futur.
Wandering in translation, learning to speak the language of my people
Due to diasporic persecution and the pressures of cultural conformity, I cannot speak a language murdered out of my bloodline.
Are Jews White? American History Says It’s Complicated
I appreciate the discomfort that many Jews feel being categorized as white. And yet, this use of the term “passing” is wrong.
Three Things the Jewish Community Can Do Better, According to a Mixed-Race Jewish Professional
Tema Smith’s own experiences as a mixed race person shape her vision as a Jewish professional.
A Special Father-Son Duo and Their Unique Indian Charoset
A recipe for making Indian Passover Seder treat
Loving Day is Every Day for Our Family
What 50 years of Loving Day means to our Black, white and Jewish family.
For Many Multicultural Jewish Families Passover is About Tradition
For multiracial and multicultural Jewish families, the Passover seder is an opportunity to share elements of their racial and cultural backgrounds.
Choose Your Own Identity
I never realized how little I understood about race until I tried to explain it to my 5-year-old son. I’m Chinese-American and my husband is white, an American of English-Dutch-Irish descent; when I asked him the other day if he was Chinese, he said no.
Jews With Asian Heritage Pose Growing Identity Challenge to Jewish Establishment
Owning My Identities
I’ve always known that I was somehow different in the Jewish community. I didn’t look like the other kids in Hebrew school. And I eventually took on the expectation of providing the perspective and feelings of Black people to my Jewish friends in youth group and at camp.
Not the Jewish James Bond: Parenting in Unchartered Waters
Without exception, every multiracial person I’ve interviewed has responded that one of the things they’ve encountered most and like the least is the question: “What are you?”
Passing for Black?: Another Perspective
My maternal great-grandfather was a German Jewish immigrant named Adolph Altschul. His wife was a freed slave woman, Maggie Carson. She was so light-skinned she could have passed for white, and one of Adolph's and Maggie's daughters did when she grew up.
Just Because I'm Jewish Doesn't Mean I'm Not Black
Growing up as a half-Black and half-White person who is also Jewish definitely raised some interesting questions and responses upon “revealing” my identity to my friends.