The American narrative is composed of stories of struggle, triumph and coexistence. The promise of happiness and freedom is literally written into the fiber of our country, but it is a promise systematically kept out of the reach of the country's minority populations. Between two of America's most culturally conspicuous minority groups, blacks and Jews, there has been a tumultuous discourse that follows both groups in pursuit of these promises through a shared history of oppression, disparities in the allotment of privilege, rise in socio-political awareness and access to the American power infrastructure.

And it is these themes in our history that have led the two groups from zenith to nadir to hiatus over the last six decades. If we posit Brandeis, like all colleges and universities, as a microcosm of society, we can follow these trends in the social interactions between black and Jews on campus.

A mass influx of Jews to the North following WWII was met by a mass exodus of blacks from the South-the Great Migration. It was in the North that the first substantial contact between black and Jews was made. Until this point there was little to go on in terms of black and Jewish relations.

Out of this northern context grew the first strands of tensions between the two. While both groups faced discrimination, Jews, who typically were seen as white, were in a more privileged position.

As Civil Rights picked up during the mid-50s there was massive Jewish interest in the fight against injustice in the South.  The majority of whites involved in the movement were Jewish as well as its funders.  

This is the atmosphere that Brandeis University was created in, the 'zenith of the coalition' both groups drawing on their oppressive histories working together for the greater good. Our University's history offers a unique approach in addressing the need for greater diversity on college campuses.  

The institution was founded in response to quotas place on Jewish applicants at elite institutions. Since its inception, Brandeis has been dedicated to promoting the virtues of equality and social justice in honor of our namesake Louis Brandeis. But there came a time when more radical identity politics were necessary for the true advancement of the black race and this created an awkward space for white involvement. At Brandeis, the 60s witnessed what was happening at universities throughout the nation when black students voiced their needs and demands in radical ways. Black students forced Brandeis to take more aggressive steps to bridge the gap between diverse communities and different peoples.

While there are currently no major tensions flaring, black and Jewish relations, on- and off-campus, are embarrassingly stagnate. We are two sub-cultures that have drifted so far from our beginnings-our world changing marches, our paradigm shifting clashes of opinion. We have become so content in this distance that there is no room for mutual growth.

This is dangerous in a society so drenched in hierarchy that silence implies consent.
With this in mind, the leaders of Brandeis Black Student Organization, MLK and Friends and the Brandeis Israel Public Affairs Committee, have joined together, despite their different interests, to challenge our communities to candid discussion, hoping to change the way black and Jewish students at Brandeis interact with one another.

In an effort to 'lay the wood' for these fires, these groups have joined to create a joint pilgrimage to Israel with a delegation of five black and five Jewish students. The aim of this trip is to use education and cultural immersion to bridge the gap of cultural differences and create an environment in which the participants understand each other better, and bond over what brings us together, rather than what separates us.

Called Brandeis Bridges, the intercultural pilgrimage will be the first step in enhancing and developing student leaders of various backgrounds knowledge and appreciation for all the Brandeis has to offer -exposing non-Jewish students to the importance of Israel in the lives of Jews around the world, as well as exposing students of Jewish descent to a culture that often goes overlooked on campus with a second pilgrimage to a site of equal importance for people of African descent.

Additionally, the trip will expose students to the holiness and history that Judaism, Christianity and Islam holds in Israel. Most importantly, Brandeis Bridges will serve as a vision of unity for current and future Brandeis students to reach out to the strange and unfamiliar.

Many say that Brandeis is the microcosm of the greater American Jewish community, a center of thought that produces innovative and forward looking ideas during any given generation.

We would like to go further; to see Brandeis become the microcosm of intercultural dialogue on college campuses across the United States.

We hope to change the way peoples of different backgrounds, cultures and religions interact with one another.

The only way to achieve this is through our common voice and action. Bringing together the Black and Jewish communities at Brandeis will serve as the first step.

Alex Thomson and Ryan Yuffe are the co-presidents of Brandeis Israel Public Affairs Committee, Amanda Dryer is president of MLK and Friends, Ra Imhotep  is president of Brandeis Black Student Organization and D'Andre Young is treasurer of Brandeis Black Student Organization.