What is the mission of Rekindle?

Rekindle’s mission is to create meaningful social change by bringing emerging leaders from the Black and Jewish communities together for thoughtful and challenging dialogue, face-to-face interactions, breaking down barriers, building new relationships, and collective action. By rekindling the strong relationships and collaborative action between the Black and Jewish communities that were built during the Civil Rights Movement, we can accelerate our collective impact and increase equity.

Connecting rising leaders from both communities through Rekindle’s formal, thoughtful format not only builds new relationships, but will also spur action, cooperation, and collaboration in ways that will have a real and sustained impact. This is also critical to engaging the next generation of Jewish leadership, who can live their Jewish values through working to repair our broken world.

Why Rekindle? Why now?
Our nation is undergoing a radical awakening around racial and social justice, but there is still so much more to do to bring equity to American society. That work can only be done by fostering new collaborations between communities. The American Black (predominately Christian) and (predominately white) Jewish communities have a commitment to social justice and unique strengths and assets in organizing and mobilizing community members around critical issues; however, because of physical and spiritual segregation, the two communities often work in parallel rather than in partnership.

What is the Fellowship about?
Co-founded by Charmaine Rice, a trained DEI facilitator and inclusive leader, and Matt Fieldman, a social entrepreneur and nonprofit professional, Rekindle is a deliberate way to bring our diverse communities together. Comprised of intensive and structured dialogue, Rekindle sessions not only empower participants to become better racial equity change-makers, but also inspire action, both individually and collectively.

The Fellowship includes five learning sessions, during which time the participants reflect on various readings. The readings represent a diversity of Jewish and secular thought: from “Letter from a Birmingham Jail” by Martin Luther King, Jr. to an article on Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel’s Civil Rights activism; from a poem by Langston Hughes to “How Did Jews Become White Folks?” by Karen Brodkin. Fellows also join together on Rekindle Action teams to make a tangible change in their community. We also hold regular social gatherings to help connect Fellows between cohorts and inspire collaboration and progress.

What has the impact been so far?
To date, Rekindle has graduated seven cohorts totaling 103 Rekindle Fellows, who represent a diverse mix of professional roles, including philanthropy, media, business, economic development, and more. Check out the pictures here. Fellows have launched a wide range of collaborative projects around: fostering entrepreneurship, women-focused programming, social get-togethers, criminal justice reform, and more. And when we survey our alumni six months after their Fellowship, they report that they continue to connect with the other community, advocate for the other community, challenge biases they seen in their own communities, and much more.

What Rekindle Is:

• A platform for connection.

• An opportunity to learn, grow, break out of your bubble, and challenge yourself and your beliefs.

• A launching point for action, whether on your own or in collaboration with other Fellows.

What Rekindle Is Not:

• Learning and dialogue simply for the sake of talking. We expect our conversations will lead to real action.

• An “Introduction to Racial Equity” or DEI 101 course like those offered by the Racial Equity Institute (which are fantastic, by the way). Before applying, we expect that you’ve already started your racial equity journey through educating yourself with books, courses, podcasts, etc.

• A “one and done” workshop that will suddenly change everything. Our five sessions are designed to build deep and lasting relationships between Fellows that will bear fruit over the years to come. We’re not a class, we’re a community.

What are the Core Values of Rekindle?

• We are building on our shared history for a better future: We care deeply about our individual and communal heritage, and we work together to create a better world for future generations.

• We are activists: We show courage, inclusion, lifelong learning, and respect in our drive to help our communities. We make a difference through a wide range of activities including volunteering, advocacy, and service.

• We collaborate and co-create: In everything we do, we seek equity, justice, and connection. We partner internally with each other, and externally with partner organizations to accelerate our impact locally and nationally.

How Do I Bring Rekindle to My Community?

We are looking for partnerships with like-minded, action-oriented change agents across the country. Our goal is to grow the Rekindle Fellowship into a national network with each local chapter supporting each other in their social justice efforts. We are happy to discuss starting a local chapter in your community. Contact us to learn more!