Summer service learning seminar for high school students will focus on African American and Jewish History

The Jewish Community Project of Lower Manhattan announces JCP Service Corps, a summer program for high school students entering grades 10-12. JCP Service Corps will hold its inaugural session during August 1-14, 2019 and will be led by Rabbi Andy Bachman, Executive Director and Senior Rabbi at JCP. This program will be held in partnership with the Goldring/Woldenberg Institute of Southern Jewish Life in Jackson, Mississippi.

This two-week program is a service learning seminar focusing on African American and Jewish history. Participants will explore a number of topics, including the history of slavery, Jim Crow, Civil Rights and the singular contributions of both communities to American civic life. In addition, students will be exposed to the rich and celebratory musical and culinary traditions of the American South.

During this trip, participants will visit:

• Memphis, Tennessee
• Cleveland, Mound Bayou, Shaw, Indianola, Greenville and Clarksdale, Mississippi
• Montgomery, Selma and Birmingham, Alabama

Volunteer work will include:

• Local church and synagogue clean-up and maintenance in small towns throughout the Mississippi Delta
• Cemetery maintenance and lawn work
• Tutoring and volunteer work in the Jackson Public Schools and the Jackson Hinds Public Library

Topics for learning and seminars include:

• Exploring Southern Jewish Identity
• Southern Jews and Civil Rights
• Legacy of Jewish Volunteers in Mississippi
• Contemporary Inequity in Mississippi
• Public History and Collective Memory
• Reflection and Commitment to Building a Better World

Eligibility

JCP Service Corps is open to any Jewish teen entering grades 10, 11 or 12. Scholarship assistance is available. For more information and to apply, visit jcpdowntown.org/service-corps.