For Jewish kids of color, graduating from high school and stepping out into the world often means going from a place where their story is already known into spaces where their identity may be up for question. This week we talked with Aviva Davis, veteran blogger and former Camp Be’chol Lashon camper, to find out how she envisions the transitions ahead.
Team Be’chol Lashon: Mazel tov on graduating high school and going to college! Are you looking forward to this transition?
Davis: I’m going to Brandeis and I’m really excited. When I talk to people in California about wanting to go to college on the East Coast they say, “Do you know it is cold over there?” Lots of people expect me to be scared of the weather. I know it is cold, I am not going to let that stand in the way of my education. I’m most nervous about socializing.
I think of myself as a quirky person, and I want to find people who can match that. I have a perception of myself that differs from how others perceive me.
Team Be’chol Lashon: Is being a Jew of color part of what makes you quirky?
Davis: No, being a Jew of color is separate, my quirkiness is part of being a performing arts person. Being an actress, a violinist, a singer, I have to express a lot of emotion. I have a charismatic personality. Being a Jew of color is not weird at all.
Team Be’chol Lashon: Do other people think being a Jew of color is weird?
Davis: Weird has a negative connotation. Some people think of being a Jew of color as bizarre or out of the ordinary. Mostly non-Jews have that perception. When they meet a Jew of color, it is surprising because we defy the stereotype that has been developed.
Team Be’chol Lashon: Do you get a lot of questions about being a Jew of color?
Davis: Usually it is the “You don’t look Jewish,” because I have darker skin. But often it is about Judaism itself. When I was a little kid, I had a friend who daily asked how I could believe in God and not in Jesus. I was 6 and did not know how to answer her. I had no idea. Even as an older teen I get the same questions about not “looking Jewish” and about Jesus and now I can answer them. I feel prepared.
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