Applications opened this week for a new national fellowship bringing together students from Historically Black Colleges and Universities with Jewish student leaders, with organizers saying the initiative seeks to strengthen longstanding ties between the two communities.
The Robert M. Beren Bridge Builders Fellowship, launched by the Combat Antisemitism Movement and the African American Mayors Association, will award $10,000 scholarships to 20 students entering or attending HBCUs and place them in a yearlong leadership program focused on combating antisemitism and racism.
According to CAM, Robert M. Beren played a role in efforts to desegregate the Wichita, Kansas, public school system while serving as president of the local school board in the 1960s. Historical records confirm his position on the Wichita Board of Education during that period, when the district faced federal pressure to adopt desegregation measures.
“The fellowship was to honor Beren’s legacy and respond to the need for renewed cooperation between Black and Jewish communities,” Leia Gluckman, a member of the press office of Combat Antisemitism Movement, told JNS.
The initiative comes amid heightened concern over antisemitism nationwide and ongoing racial tensions. Organizers say the program will equip participants with “the knowledge, networks and resources to advance dialogue, confront antisemitism and racism and build lasting bridges between communities.”
A central component will pair fellows with Jewish students affiliated with the Tikvah Fund to develop campus or community initiatives. Selected projects will be eligible for up to $10,000 in additional funding.
Application materials direct prospective fellows to resources on Black-Jewish collaboration during the civil rights era, as well as content highlighting experiences of Black Jews and an interview with former NBA player Amar’e Stoudemire.
