This month, we’re reading 
Peoplehood Papers: Latin American Jewish Peoplehood

Right now we’re in the middle of Latin Heritage Month (el mes de la herencia Latina) — a month that honors the richness, history, and culture of Latin heritage.

To celebrate, we’re reading Peoplehood Papers: Latin American Jewish Peoplehood, a group of essays edited by Analucía Lopezrevoredo, Shlomi Ravid, and Smadar Bar Akiva.

There are many beautiful essays, and we wanted to highlight “Look, Language, Laughter and Love: An Afrolatin Jewish Experience in the US” by Dr. Imani Romney-Rosa Chapman.

Here’s an excerpt from the essay, and keep an eye out for a new episode of Your Safety is My Safety featuring Dr. Chapman soon!

“While my identities as Black and Jewish are inextricable, my identities as latina and Jewish are braided, like challah before you put it in the oven… and maybe even before you spread the egg on top. Unlike with my latina Jewish identity, this is undoubtedly due to both my exposure to and my integration with other Black Jews. And this immersion in Black Jewish community is most assuredly a result of the ways Blackness is a marked identity within both Latin and Jewish communities. As I consider my Latin-Jewish identity, there are, however, four places in which my Jewishness and my latinidad embrace: look, language, laughter, and love.”

— Dr. Imani Romney-Rosa Chapman

You can read Dr. Chapman’s whole essay, and 19 other powerful essays about Latin-Jewish heritage, identity, and experiences in Peoplehood Papers: Latin American Jewish Peoplehood.

With love,
The Bend the Arc team

PS: Celebrate Latin-Jewish heritage this month and year-round with our friends at Jewtina y Co! Follow along with them on Instagram, learn more on their website, and check out their holiday guides.