Gamal Palmer: Talks About Being Black, Gay, And Jewish in America

LGBTQ&A

Jeffrey Masters

Society & Culture

4.7 • 703 Ratings

🗓️ 20 August 2019

⏱️ 35 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

As a young boy, Gamal Palmer — Senior Vice President of Leadership Development at the Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles — would sit in his local synagogue, wearing a yarmulke and in mid-prayer, as people would routinely approach to ask if he was Jewish. As a Black man, his participation, even his presence, was treated with disbelief.

There are many stereotypes about Jewish people; that they are Black or People of Color is not one of them. In fact, a recent study found that the American Jewish community has been chronically undercounting the number of People of Color who are Jewish. They estimate the number is roughly 12-15 percent.

Talking on this week's episode, Palmer says he has just now begun to feel comfortable voicing his blackness in Jewish spaces, and also talks about why he's been comparatively less vocal about his sexuality. "A lot of it had to do with my own not wanting to lead with my queerness. Therefore, not only did I not lead with it, but I actually didn't really explore it."

LGBTQ&A is hosted and produced by Jeffrey Masters. @jeffmasters1

Transcript

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0:00.0	So here's the thing. Black people can also be Jewish.
0:10.0	And that is what we're talking about today with Gamal Palmer.
0:14.0	He's black and as he tells it, he would be sitting in temple as a kid, mid-prayer,
0:19.0	and people would interrupt him to ask if he knew where he was.
0:22.5	They would ask if he actually was Jewish, implying that he didn't belong there.
0:27.1	So today we talk all about that, about how his different identities intersect and not.
0:32.0	Just a reminder, this is the fourth and the last episode in our series on Judaism and
0:36.3	queerness.
0:37.4	If you missed an episode, go back and start with our very first one with Denise Egger.
0:41.5	She is a rabbi in one of the most famous lesbian rabbis in the world.
0:45.7	All right, on to Gamal.
0:47.3	From Luminary Media, I'm Jeffrey Masters, and this is LGBTQ and A.
0:58.8	Thank you. This is LGBTQ and A. There are a lot of stereotypes about Jewish people that all of us grew up hearing, and I think that
1:04.8	one of them that we don't hear is that black people can also be Jewish, but that it's just
1:10.4	something that I think we don't necessarily think about
1:12.5	or talk about when we talk about Jewish people.
1:14.4	We really are talking about white Jewish people.
1:17.5	It's a big conversation actually right now nationally.
1:20.6	There are several people who are a part of the JOC or Jews of Colors community and conversation that are really moving the needle on this topic in terms of awareness and inclusivity and understanding that actually the Jewish population in America will inevitably increase by almost 20 or so percent to be Jews of color within the next 20 to 30 years.
1:48.3	But ultimately, it's still a pretty pervasive thought that there are no Jews of color.
1:53.9	And they're very surprised when they find out that there are.
1:56.9	And the stereotype is if someone's black and Jewish that they're an Ethiopian Jew, right? That's like the only narrative we have. Yeah, exactly. You're an Ethiopian Jew or it's just you're unique or you're like an anomaly or something. And I guess to be like blunt, what I'm wondering is like what are the typical reactions that you hear when people find out that you're Jewish?
	...

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