EREV JUNETEENTH  

Join us on June 18, Erev Juneteenth, for an enlightening evening as we present a special program commemorating the emancipation of enslaved African Americans through food, conversation and music. Celebrate the vibrancy and diversity of African American and Jewish culinary history while indulging in a delicious meal prepared by Michael Twitty, James Beard and National Jewish Book Award winning chef, culinary historian, and author of The Cooking Gene and Koshersoul. Then listen in as Michael joins Ilana Kaufman, CEO of the Jews of Color Initiative, for a dynamic dialogue about food, culture and the intertwined stories of African and Jewish Diasporas, and learn how we can lift up the voices of Black Jews in our community. Delight in a musical performance of freedom, joy and liberation by vocalist Anthony Mordechai Tzvi Russell, with accompaniment by Dmitri Gaskin. 

Space is limited so register today! 

Menu: 
Black Eyed Pea Dip
Tofu African Curry
Carolina Mustard BBQ Chicken
Jollof Rice
Koshersoul Collards
Roasted Vegetables 

Michael W. Twitty is a noted culinary and cultural historian, award-winning author of The Cooking Gene and Koshersoul, and the creator of Afroculinaria, the first blog devoted to African American historic foodways and their legacies. He has been honored by FirstWeFeast.com as one of the twenty greatest food bloggers of all time, and named one of the “Fifty People Who Are Changing the South” by Southern Living and one of the “Five Cheftavists to Watch” by TakePart.com. He has appeared throughout the media, including on NPR’s The Splendid Table, and has given more than 250 talks in the United States and abroad. His work has appeared in Ebony, the Guardian, and on NPR.org. He is also a Smith fellow with the Southern Foodways Alliance, a TED fellow and speaker, and the first Revolutionary in Residence at the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation.   

Ilana Kaufman (she/her) is the Chief Executive Officer of the Jews of Color Initiative. Her work sits at the center of Jewish community, racial equity, and justice, is anchored by the voices and experience of Jews of Color, and is focused on grantmaking, research and field building, and community education. Ilana has been a guest on NPR’s All Things Considered and Code Switch, and her ELI Talk “Who Counts, Race and the Jewish Future” has close to 50,000 views.  

Anthony Russell is a vocalist, composer and arranger specializing in music in the Yiddish language. His work in Ashkenazi Jewish musical forms led to an exploration of his own ethnic roots through the research, arrangement and performance of a hundred years of African American music, resulting in the EP Convergence (2018), a collaboration with klezmer consort Veretski Pass exploring the sounds and themes of one hundred years of African American and Ashkenazi Jewish music.Inspired by an ethnographic trip to Belarus and Poland as a Wallis Annenberg Helix Fellow (2016-17), Anthony formed a duo, Tsvey Brider (“Two Brothers”), with accordionist and pianist Dmitri Gaskin for the composition and performance of original music set to Yiddish poetry. Their recent release, Kosmopolitn, features their settings of 20th century Yiddish modernist poetry for voice and string ensemble. 

No one will be turned away for lack of funds. Please reach out to Forest Reid (Jfreid@jccsf.org) for accommodations that would support your full participation in this event.   

Our community partner for this event is the Jews of Color Initiative. 

All seating is first come, first served.

Questions? Email support@jccsf.org