Stacey Aviva Clark

Loving G-d and bringing peace between people

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Never Again, Northern Star

May 2, 2019, 8:38 PM

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Being Jewish and a descendent of African American Slaves, I have chosen to put the stars of both my people side by side as I remember Yom HaShoah. One of the most healing aspect of Judaism to me is remembering pain and then transforming that into a commitment to heal myself, help heal others, and stand up for injustice so that our world can be better.

No one ever taught me to mourn for my ancestors lost in the Atlantic waters during the slave trade, or the countless killed just because they would not submit to degradation because of their skin color, those lynched, or killed for learning to read or refusing the Christian religion. Our symbol of hope was the Northern Star, sewed on quilts to direct escaping slaves to go north and follow the stars in the sky to freedom.

I am linked in heart and spirit to every Jew who has ever been killed because they refused to conform or just for being Jewish in ancestry regardless of observance. Our symbol is the Magen David. Once we were forced to wear it as a symbol of shame, now it is a symbol of resistance and boldness, Am Israel Chai.

Jews have always blended their heritage with the unique lands and peoples where we have interacted, and today I proudly do the same.

I am healing as I mourn my people from the depths of the Atlantic Ocean, and the fields of Virgina/KY/Mississippi, to the soils of the lands of the Inquisition to the concentration camps.

I am brown Northern Star, born on the Ohio River aka the Jordan River.

I am the Star of David, a Jewess through and through.

I am all of my people, and will never forget…

About the Author

Stacey Aviva Clark is a Jewish educator, public speaker, urban planner, and a doctoral candidate in Gratz College’s inaugural PhD program in Antisemitism Studies. She serves as the Director of Education and Community Engagement for the Jewish Federations of North America and is a lecturer in Antisemitism Studies at Gratz College. Over her 25-year career, Stacey Aviva has focused on combating racism and antisemitism, fostering Black/Jewish relations, urban economic development, and strategic planning to build capacities around cultures of belonging and Jews of Color. She is passionate about shared humanity and the history of self-determination movements such as Zionism and Pan-Africanism. In 2024, she developed the Perspective Honoring Framework, a dignity-based dialogue model that has positively impacted over 150 participants. Stacey Aviva has designed engagement strategies for synagogues and Jewish educational and civic institutions. She is a nationally sought-after speaker, featuring her writings in The Forward and on her blog at the Times of Israel. Her Eli Talk, titled "Kahal Amim - Many Faces, One Community," has garnered 2,000 views. Committed to giving back, Stacey Aviva serves on the boards of Kamocha (an Orthodox Jewish organization serving Jews with Black heritage), The Hadassah Foundation, and Jewish Family Services of Colorado. She is also a member of the Jewish Life Committee for the Rose Community Foundation and the Advisory Council of Upstart and Global Jewry.

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