For Jews of every culture and color, identity and belonging are key issues

Randi Cecchine Yavilah McCoy, an African-American Jew and Ayecha’s executive director, right, speaks with Yehudah Rothstein at the Jewish Leaders of Color conference in N.Y.

FOCUS ON ISSUES

For Jews of every culture and color, identity and belonging are key issues

By Loolwa Khazzoom

NEW YORK, March 20 2005 (JTA) — Pele Browner, a 19-year-old Jew of African-American and Native-American heritage, was playing basketball at his local Jewish community center in West Bloomfield, Mich,when one of the other kids on the court asked him if he was Jewish. “Yes,” he said.“How does that work out?” they asked.Adam McKinney, 28, a Jew of African-American, Ashkenazi and Sephardi ancestry, often has fielded similar questions. People say, “How are you Jewish?” he said. “I say, ‘I’m fine Jewish. How are you Jewish?’ ”