Shared Legacies: The African American - Jewish Civil Rights Alliance

Join us for a screening of Shared Legacies and a conversation about the historic and ongoing ties between Black and Jewish communities.

In the turbulent 1960s Civil Rights era, Jewish and African American leaders stood shoulder to shoulder in the struggle for equality and justice. Featuring vivid archival footage and firsthand accounts from Congressman John Lewis, Ambassador Andrew Young, members of the King family, and others, the film revisits this pivotal alliance and the enduring impact of their shared work. As today’s social landscape grows increasingly divided, the film offers an urgent reminder of what can be achieved when communities unite around shared values of justice and equality, validating that freedom for all requires people to come together across differences.

Following the screening, the conversation will explore how the film’s themes resonate today—highlighting the power of the Black-Jewish partnership and its continued role in confronting antisemitism and racism.

DR. BENJAMIN F. CHAVIS, JR. is President and CEO of the National Newspaper Publishers Association and Board Chair of Spill the Honey Foundation. A civil rights icon who worked with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. as a teenager, Dr. Chavis served as executive director of the NAACP and organized the Million Man March, dedicating his life to advancing justice and building bridges between communities.

RABBI DR. JUDY SCHINDLER is Sklut Professor of Jewish Studies at Queens University of Charlotte. She is also Executive Director of Spill the Honey Foundation that serves as the national hub producing arts and educational content that empowers the Black-Jewish alliance today in combating antisemitism and racism.

This event is free and open to all. Space is limited; reservations required. 

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Funding for BDI's 2025-26 Discussion Series is provided by the Zella I. and Junius F. Allen Fund and the Edward K. Roberts Emerging Needs Fund of the Community Foundation of Sarasota County.

The Community Foundation of Sarasota County is a public charity founded in 1979 by the Southwest Florida Estate Planning Council as a resource for caring individuals and the causes they support, enabling them to make a charitable impact on the community. With assets of $488 million in more than 1,580 charitable funds, the Community Foundation awarded grants and scholarships totaling $40 million dollars last year in the areas of education, the arts, health and human services, civic engagement, animal welfare and the environment. Since its founding, the Community Foundation has been able to grant more than $435.8 million to area nonprofit organizations to our community thanks to the generosity of charitable individuals, families, and businesses. For more information, visit www.CFSarasota.org or call (941) 955-3000.