National Conference for Community & Justice, & Diversity in Charlotte

You may have read in the papers recently about the decision of the Board of Trustees of Davidson College to allow non-Christians to serve as board members. This decision made headlines not only because it was a huge signal that Davidson is making a concerted and sustained effort to diversify its campus, but also because of the response of a couple of well-known and respected board members who disagreed with the decision. The school, however, did not back down and accepted the resignations of these two board members.

As the official rabbi of Davidson College, I have had many opportunities to speak with students, professors and staff members at the College, and hear their response to the recent headlines. Without a doubt, every single individual with whom I spoke hailed the decision as a long time in coming. They unanimously concurred that it is about time that the administration of the college begins to reflect the facts on the ground of the college community. In other words, if the school is trying tooth and nail to diversify its student body, why wouldn’t it want to diversify the entire institution?

As a Jewish community, we should be proud of what the College has done for its Jewish students. Over the past three years, I have helped the Jewish student population create and maintain a very viable Jewish Student Union. At our recent Passover Seder, over sixty people a�ended (including the Dean of the Faculty, the Dean of Students, the wife of the College President, and several other faculty members). In the three years that I have been working with the Davidson students, I have found the administration to be forthright, accommodating and tremendously supportive. I am thankful for all the efforts they have made to diversify their campus, and I look forward to seeing the fruits of those changes in the future.

National Conference for Community & Justice

Speaking of diversity, over the past year, I have had the opportunity to serve as a board member of the National Conference for Community and Justice (NCCJ). The goal of the NCCJ is to promote diversity and communication in all facets of life in Charlotte. Most especially, they work with youth, and offer them experiences for dialogue with other youth from many different backgrounds, traditions and cultures. The youth who take part in NCCJ workshops are exposed to wonderful social and educational opportunities that celebrate religious, ethnic, and racial differences. Students learn how to promote and celebrate diversity in their schools and amongst their peers, and they are trained to speak out against injustice in their community. If you would like your child to learn more about these values and become trained in promoting diversity and cultural differences, then please consider enrolling them in NCCJ activities. Please contact me for more information.

Over the next year, I will be actively seeking to get our Temple youth involved with NCCJ activities. As Jews, we should know firsthand how important it is to teach our youth how to stamp out racism, bigotry and discrimination wherever they find it. If you would like to help me in the effort to help  

L’Shalom,
Jeremy Barras