Tikkun olam, fighting for equality and performing acts of loving kindness, are principles that we Jews strive to live by. These are also core values of Cultural Leadership, a year-long program primarily for Jewish and African-American students that teaches us to be social activists who strive to make the world a better place. I’m privileged to be a member of Cultural Leadership Class 8. 

During my time in Cultural Leadership, I have learned and experienced so much. From weekend retreats, to a three-week “transformational journey” this summer, I have met people and visited places I never would have otherwise. The time I have spent with my Cultural Leadership classmates has been just as educational as the time I spent speaking to Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) while on our transformational journey. 

When I entered Cultural Leadership last January, I was really struggling with my Jewish identity. I didn’t know if I wanted to be Jewish my whole life; I didn’t know what Judaism meant to me. Most important, I didn’t know how to move forward as a learner and teacher of the culture. Our first retreat brought on many deep conversations and made me appreciate the bond I shared with other Jewish Cultural Leadership participants.

As we discussed the stereotypes and hardships we have faced as a people, I knew that the connection I had with my Cultural Leadership classmates and so many others was based around my religion. Later on, the group of non-Jewish and non-African Americans lamented that they felt they didn’t have much of a culture and didn’t have a group to whom they felt connected. I guess I never fully recognized as a Jew, I am lucky to be part of such a tight-knit group of people. I realized how much of my life is about Judaism. After that retreat, I spent the car ride home telling my mom how I now knew that I wanted to remain Jewish and be confirmed in religious school that spring. 

The lesson I learned that weekend will last me longer than this year; it will last me the rest of my life.

Being part of a minority, I understand the automatic connection one can have with those who share a race or culture. My time in Cultural Leadership also has taught me about the special bonds that African-Americans share. From slavery to the Civil Rights Movement, they have had the ability to come together and make change. As I walked across the Edmund Pettus Bridge on our journey, I envisioned the struggle that many endured on Bloody Sunday and felt both thankful and proud—thankful for their hard work and proud to continue it. Even though African- Americans have been mistreated for hundreds of years, that has never stopped them from sacrificing their comfort to overcome their situations. I am inspired by this lesson, one that we must strive to emulate today.

I am so thankful to have had the opportunity to be a part of Class 8 of Cultural Leadership and cannot wait to get out in the real world and practice all the skills I have acquired. I will stand up and speak out when I see racism or oppression. Before entering Cultural Leadership, I didn’t know how to find allies and make change. But now, I don’t know how not to. Cultural Leadership has changed my life—not just for this year or for the next 10 years, but until the day I can no longer march, speak, or even stand.