MadCAB Civil Rights Trip

Last year, the Jewish Federation of Madison launched an emerging Jewish Leadership Program, MadCAB: Madison Jewish Leadership Cabinet. Given the racial reckoning in the wake of George Floyd's murder in 2020, the Federation's MadCAB committee realized how important it was for leaders of the Jewish community to have a deeper understanding of our country's racial history. “Everyone should be compelled to learn the history of their home (town, state, country). It is only by grappling with the past that we can move towards a just future.”

Inspired by one of the Jewish Federation of Madison's guiding values of Tikkun Olam - the repairing of the world, the organization sent a group of 21 young leaders on a 3-day Civil Rights Social Justice Journey to the Southern United States in April to gain, as one participant said, "a deeper understanding of American history and its connection to present-day struggles in our community and society at large," adding, "I'm grateful I had the opportunity to hear firsthand accounts from individuals who fought in the civil rights movement and inspired to work towards a more just world."

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Some trip highlights included:

• Our start in Atlanta, Georgia, at the birthplace of Martin Luther King Jr. We were welcomed as guests at a Sunday morning Ebenezer Baptist Church service, where Rev. Senator Warnock and Dr. King both preached.

• In Montgomery, Alabama: visiting Bryan Stevenson's Equal Justice Initiative's Memorial to Peace & Justice, a powerful memorial dedicated to victims of lynching (a form of racial violence that we learned happened all across the country, not just in the South); and EJI's The Legacy Museum, tracing the evolution of racial oppression from slavery to mass incarceration. We also visited the Southern Poverty Law Center Memorial and Rosa Parks Museum.

• In Selma, Alabama: meeting civil rights activist and survivor Lynda Blackmon Lowery, who at 15 was beaten and arrested alongside Dr. King, Senator John Lewis, and many others on Bloody Sunday crossing the Edmund Pettus Bridge.

• In Birmingham, Alabama: dinner with young leaders from their Jewish Federation and meeting Carolyn McInstry, who survived the 16th Street Baptist Church Bombing as a teenager and has dedicated her life to advocating for peace. We finished the trip by going to see the site of the 1963 bombing.

• Hearing the enduring passion about the movement from (now 90-year-old) Bishop Calvin Woods, long-time Birmingham Southern Christian Leadership Conference president.

I recently talked with Jewish Federation of Madison Executive Director Alan Klugman, who noted the "emotional" and "impactful" result of the trip. Emotional, unquestionably. One participant described how the trip "brought about personal conversations that honed in our values. These beautiful personal connections, I don't think would have happened if it hadn't been for this trip. One of the most memorable experiences of my life."

Impactful? It's in our hands. How we apply and use the inspiration and lessons to make an impact is up to us. As another participant said, "I hope that I can use what I learned to empower me to make changes in my community and work to fight for justice for those who cannot. This is just the start of my own leadership journey, where I can eventually inspire others to also become involved and make positive change."

Our Civil Rights trip concluded, but our MadCAB and leadership journey continues.