Thursday, January 22, 1998
African American, Jewish leaders honored
RACIAL RELATIONS: Memorial ceremony hopes to unite, ease tension
between communities
By Luan Thi Kim Huynh
Daily Bruin Contributor
African American and Jewish students gathered in front of
Meyerhoff Park on Wednesday to remember two of the greatest leaders
of 20th century, Martin Luther King Jr. and Rabbi Abraham Joshua
Heschel.
The memorial ceremony celebrated the greatness of King and
Heschel and encouraged public discourse between the two communities
in troubled times.
"It is not so important to me that people pay attention to the
service, as much as for them to interact," said Daniel Inlender, a
second-year student and coordinator of the event.
The participants, most of whom were students, acknowledged that
there are problems between the African American and Jewish
communities. Many expressed that the two communities can and should
relate, given their histories of persecution.
However, some said that times are different. "(Now), Jewish
people are so well off," said Nate Givens, a fourth-year biology
student of African descent.
While observing the circle of people in Meyerhoff Park from the
steps of Kerckhoff, Terelle Jerricks, a second-year international
development studies student, said that the event was a step in the
right direction but not sufficient.
The memorial ceremony was attended by about three dozen
students, of which about eight were of African decent, and the
remainder mainly Jewish.
Rabbi Chaim Seidler-Feler of Hillel hopes to ease the tension
between the two communities by practicing the values of King and
Heschel.
Seidler-Feler saw the memorial as "a positive opportunity for
blacks and Jews to interact, considering the current mood of
divisiveness and indifference to the plight of the other."
Chaim Seidler-Feler also expressed that it is important to
remember people who have had "transformative impact" in the human
experience.
He said that the attendance of African American students
indicates a desire and a willingness to talk about race, and thus
break boundaries.
"There is an unwillingness to forgive due to the
misunderstandings and lies," Jerricks said.
Inlender said that King and Heschel had a lot in common,
especially when it came to their beliefs in religion and social
justice.
In 1965, Heschel, considered one of the greatest philosophers
and theologians of the 20th century, walked alongside King on the
march from Selma to Montgomery. After the march Heschel was
remembered as saying, "My legs were praying."
Heschel wanted Jews to face their own racism and support the
African American struggle.
"Where in America do we hear a voice like a voice of the
prophets of Israel? Martin Luther King is a sign that God had not
forbidden the United States of America," Heschel said in a speech
at the Rabbinical Assembly on March 25, 1968.
"Martin Luther King is a voice of vision and a way. I call upon
every Jew to harkin to his voice, to share his vision, to follow
his way," Heschel continued.
"The whole future of America will depend on the impact and
influence of Dr. King," Heschel said. Ten days after that speech,
King was shot at a Memphis motel.
The students present knew who King was, but few had heard of
Heschel beforehand.
Some students said they would like to know more about Heschel,
who escaped the Nazis during World War II.
The memorial service ended with the reading of King’s "I Have a
Dream" speech.
MICHAEL ROSS WACHT
Rabbi Chaim Seidler-Feller of the Hillel Jewish Center speaks on
race relations at a memorial ceremony in Meyerhoff Park
Wednesday.