MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR. Shabbaton

Sponsored by the Social Action Committee
 

SHABBAT SERVICE, 9:30 AM; Drash ~10:30 AM

Drash by Major Anderson, one of the few remaining Tuskegee Airmen. During the services, we will sing "We Shall Overcome" in Hebrew and English. The Musaf service will include civil rights readings and melodies, and a special reading in memory of Representative John R. Lewis.
Learn more about Major Anderson and the Tuskegee Airmen below

SHALEM PANEL DISCUSSION, 1:00 PM

MODERATOR: 

Carolivia Herron, TI member, novelist and scholar of African-American Judaica.

PANELISTS:

Rabbi Emeritus A. Nathan Abramowitz - TI's Rabbi and Neighbors Inc. leader during Civil Rights Era

Carl Bergman - Neighbors Inc. activist and colleague of Marvin Caplan

Rabbi Chuck Feinberg - Advocate for inmates in solitary confinement via Interfaith Action for Human Rights

Esther Herman - Lactation counselor and social worker/therapist

Georgia Herron - Native Washingtonian and DCPS science teacher, 
Civil Rights Movement participant

Questions? Contact Carolivia.

About Major Anderson 

Major Anderson was an 18-year-old, World War II-draftee when he witnessed one of the most unforgettable scenes of his life. He and the rest of the 477th Bomber Group had just completed a parade at Godman Field, Kentucky. The units’ officers came marching in, medals glinting in the sun. Among them was the first black military officer the private had ever seen.
Click here to read more of Major Anderson's story.

Tuskegee Airmen 

In 1939, Public Law 18 directed the Civil Aviation Authority to allow for the establishment of training programs for “Negro pilots” at designated locations, most notably Tuskegee Institute (now Tuskegee University).

Under the strictures of brutal and demeaning segregation in the nation’s military, 992 African American flight cadets completed the Army Air Corps course between
July 19, 1941 and the end of World War II.

The Tuskegee Airmen were prized and respected for their success in closely protecting Allied bombers flying missions into Axis territories.  Their outstanding performance served to bolster African American pride and facilitated the transition to an integrated military in the post-war years.

Click here to learn more about the Tuskegee Airmen.