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  • Editor’s Introduction
  • Dianne Ashton

This issue of American Jewish History on Jews of color has been a labor of love for our Associate Editor, Michael Alexander, for more than two years. The high quality of the articles that he and his co-editor, Bruce D. Haynes, have assembled attest to their dedication and to the importance of this topic.

As we prepared this issue for publication, an article about the former head of Hillel at my university appeared in my local Jewish newspaper. The young man, Jared Jackson, is a Jew of color — his mother is Jewish and white, and his father, now deceased, was a gentile African American. Now aged 32, Jared recalls that he felt a strong connection to Judaism despite what he described as “rejection and clear messages that (he and his family) were unwelcome by some” in their local Jewish community. Dinner at the home of an Orthodox rabbi sealed the deal for Jackson. After graduating from university he founded an organization called Jews in All Hues (JIAH). More information can be found at www.jewsinallhues.org.

Contributor Bruce Phillips recently informed us about the growing number of Jews of color — people like Jared Jackson — in the U.S. As Jackson’s life shows us, this issue could not be more timely. [End Page vii]

Dianne Ashton
Rowan University
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