In 1999, wealthy Jewish donors founded something called Birthright Israel. I was in college in the late 1980s and 90s, so unfortunately, the program wasn’t available to me.
But the idea was this.
Jewish American kids were beginning to feel less connected to their Judean ethno-religious roots. The more accepted Jews felt in America, the more many Jews started feeling like they didn’t need to be so connected to being Jewish anymore. They could just assimilate and be liked. They were losing their 3,000-year ancestral identity.
Of course, in the wake of the Israel-Hamas war beginning Oct. 7 last year, with anti-Jewish crimes up a staggering 300–400%, and Jewish college kids harassed and even beaten on college campuses, we know Jews weren’t nearly as accepted as they thought.
Still, Jewish leaders knew that the best way to reinvigorate Jewish identity wasn’t to hope for more hate. It was to ensure young Jewish adults could positively connect with their ancestral homeland and feel their Judean tribe in their bones.
They started and funded a foundation called Birthright Israel.
A free, 10-day trip for every Jewish college student who wants to go to Israel on a planned program. Airfare. Lodging. Tours and education. All free. Regardless of a student’s financial condition.
Having been to the Holy Land six times myself, there’s something magical about the place and the people, particularly for Jews. I cried the first time I touched the Western Wall, the standing remnant of the 2,000-year-old Jewish Temple in Jerusalem, when I visited after law school in 1996.
After 25 straight years of sending Jewish college students to Israel, Birthright Israel is accomplishing its mission. There’s a renewed spiritual and ethnic energy among Jews who participated in the program. More pride than any in recent memory.
On their return from Israel, many of these young Jews reported they felt a sense of belonging to something bigger than themselves. Finally confident in their identity opposite an American culture that cajoles them into blending in and passing.
But for Black Americans whose ancestors were kidnapped and chained on slave ships and taken to America, their ancestral connection to their homelands was temporarily severed.
As a result, most Black Americans don’t know what country or tribe they came from unless they immigrated here voluntarily in the last 50 years.
We know from historians and more recent DNA research, though, where people came from. We know their ancestral lands. In some cases, we can even trace people to their specific tribe, as a few of my friends already have done.
And we certainly know the locations of the physical platforms and dungeons where their ancestors were loaded onto ships.
Whether in today’s Cameroon, Ghana, Senegal, or some other place, Black Americans now have the opportunity to reconnect with their roots—their homes.
The problem is that, like most college students, most don’t know how to connect with these roots and most certainly can’t afford it, even if they did.
It’s not rocket science to figure out that when people have a strong bond with their roots and ancestors, they also have the tools to feel much better about who they are. They have more confidence in building upon their ancestors' strengths, talents, and contributions.
It’s why the main Jewish prayer starts with a connection to the Jewish forefathers: Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. The ancient teachers who developed the prayer knew that people get tremendous strength and confidence from their ancestors.
As Marcus Garvey put it so eloquently:
“A people without the knowledge of their past history, origin and culture is like a tree without roots.”
People are indeed like trees. The stronger the roots, the more vibrant and grounded they will be.
When Jews learn that they are more than the survivors of the Holocaust genocide, Spanish Inquisition, Crusades, and other massacres, they gain the confidence to do better in life. To walk through life proudly rather than as a victim of hatred.
Their identity transcends trauma.
It’s the same for Black folks, and the proof is in the pudding.
Numerous groups are now taking adult Black Americans to Africa, and it’s paying dividends.
Groups like the Maryland-based Roots to Glory have taken hundreds of travelers on custom-designed pilgrimages to countries all over West and Central Africa. One participant from Ohio described the experience:
“The very first village that I went to was the village where my ancestors walked… I was more myself there than I am in Ohio. I didn’t have to think about my Blackness. I felt freer—fully free.”
While I was finishing this essay, I discovered a group that already calls itself Birthright Africa, which organizes trips for Black Americans ages 13–30. Each student trip costs $5,000, but the money needs to be raised each year for each student.
This is a very tiny but good start.
What I’m talking about, though, is creating a national endowed program to guarantee free trips for all Black college students.
In its almost decade of existence, this wonderful group, Birthright Africa, has taken 27,000 students on trips to Africa, compared to the over 800,000 students Birthright Israel has hosted.
This is important because there are 50 million Black people but only 7.5 million Jews in America.
I’ve seen firsthand how connecting Black Americans to their ancestral roots can be remarkably impactful.
In 2023, The Urban Leadership Foundation of Colorado took ten Black Americans to West Africa.
Participants were welcomed in Ghana and given membership in one of the tribes. They participated in a ceremony where each was given a name. One was even appointed to a position in the tribe to help liaison with other Black Americans.
When I asked one of them about his experience, he smiled widely with a confidence in who he is.
“I finally felt seen. That I belonged.”
Now if we can provide this experience to all young Black men and women in their post-high school, college and vocational-training years, imagine how we can change the trajectory of so many people.
To give them that same sense of belonging, the same roots that will help them grow with confidence and pride, a real connection to the strong shoulders of their ancestors.
Birthright Africa. Let’s go!
This post originally appeared on Medium and is edited and republished with author's permission. Read more of Jeffrey Kass' work on Medium.
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