The Importance of Representation

One of the most consistent parts of my life has been my identity as a Jew. For the last nine years, I have spent my Sunday mornings at synagogue; in 2020, I graduated from religious school student to staff. I have spent many of my summers at URJ Camp Newman, taught countless students the basics of art, and served on our youth group board for five years running. Throughout these last few years, I have solidified a place for myself within my synagogue’s community.

Despite all of this, however, I struggle to feel a genuine sense of belonging within these groups. I am one of few biracial teenagers at synagogue; my mother is a nonreligious immigrant from Taiwan, while my dad was raised a secular Jew. Growing up in the Bay Area, Asian Americans are not uncommon to see; neither are Jews, religious or cultural. The combination of the two, however, is rare. In Jewish spaces—almost always white-dominated—I have always felt conspicuous at best. In many of the places I am open about the intersection of my identities, I am told they have never met an Asian Jew before. Though I know it’s a combination of ignorance and skepticism, I find myself trying to downplay one or the other for convenience’s sake.

When I learned of the Teen Jews of Color Fellowship, a WRJ YES Fund grantee, I jumped at the chance to find a connection to others similar to me. In particular, my interest was piqued by the inclusion of mentors who were Jews of Color themselves. I knew very few teenage Jews of Color; I knew even less adults. I was excited for the opportunity to connect with adults who worked and thrived in their day-to-day lives in spaces made for only one of their identities.  

The Teen Jews of Color Fellowship was, as advertised, uniquely transformative. By bringing together youth from across the nation, I was exposed to a variety of perspectives and people, each individually affected by differing regions, ethnicities, and backgrounds. I found it transformational to enter a space where intersectionality—specifically as Jews of Color—was automatically assumed. For the first time, I was not the only Asian Jew in a room. I was not pressured into explaining each aspect of my identity, my heritage, or my presence. We spent much of our time together discussing a wide range of topics within our various communities, all with the awareness that we, Jews of Color, would have a distinct perspective affected by our backgrounds. Exploring these topics in this particular space was vastly different than any other I had previously experienced; where in other spaces the topic of racism or antisemitism may have been discouraged, this one largely welcomed their discussion.  

Throughout the fellowship, I learned to analyze aspects of my life as direct responses to privilege and disadvantages. Each meeting, we explored themes that we had been taught in our day-to-day lives, including self-care, community, and resilience. Though I had previously been introduced to these lessons, my abilities to truly internalize each of these were impeded by my inability to simultaneously apply them to each one of my identities. In discussion with the other fellows and mentors in the program, I was able to reconcile these ideas across all aspects of my life in a way I hadn’t truly managed to before. On a fundamental level, the TJOC Fellowship has allowed me the opportunity to grow.

The Teen Jews of Color Fellowship has reshaped my perception of myself on both personal and communal levels. Having spent much of my life as the only Asian Jew in a group, it was transformational to meet people with similar experiences as me, learning that I am never the only one. Existing in a space based on interconnection on a minority level allowed us to look past labels and connect on a deeper degree: shared interests, experiences, and lifestyles. Now, when I step into a room full of new faces, I don’t try to look for people who look like me; instead, I search for ways that can bring us together on levels beyond that.

In the future, I hope to adapt the lessons I’ve learned from the Teen Jews of Color fellowship to fit an audience of younger kids. In recent years, I’ve noticed an increase in younger Jews of Color at my synagogue’s religious school, and I want to ensure that they are given the support I didn’t get. I hope to be able to support the people around me despite their backgrounds: Jewish or not, people of color or not. Supporting others is a basic tenet of Judaism, and one I take with me day after day, place after place.

Editor's Note: We are so grateful to the Women of Reform Judaism’s YES Fund, which is helping to continue with Fellowship in its sophomore year of existence. We’ve already seen the impact of the Fellowship on our inaugural cohort, and we look forward to creating an even fuller experience for our second group of Fellows. Fellows from across North America will gather at in in-person retreat, in an affinity space (spaces that provide a sense of belonging and understanding among people who share common experiences) for Jews of Color, mixed race Jews, and black/Latinx/Asian/indigenous Jews, etc. They will emerge empowered and equipped with the tools to shape a future that celebrates diversity, inclusivity, and social justice and our Jewish values.