Abstract
The author examines African-American converts to Judaism and the delicate negotiation of an identity as both black and Jewish in the United States. A group often neglected by scholars of both African-American religion and Jewish studies, these persons who occupy a cultural space in both “black” and “Jewish” communities challenge the rigid socially imposed categories of “black” and “Jewish” that can alternatively refer to ethnic, racial, religious and political loyalties. Drawing on personal narratives from black Jews by choice, the author addresses the process of negotiating an identity with regard to external pressure from the greater Jewish and African American communities. In order to comprehend the way in which this negotiation takes place, the author will explore three factors: (1) the reaction from the black community to black Jews by choice; (2) the reaction from the largely white Jewish community; and (3) the way that black Jews perceive and respond to these outside influences.