TheNeighborhoodisShomerNegiah: BlacksandJewsinMidwoodandFlatbush,Brooklyn
In1993,Valentine’sDayfellonSunday,soArtSpiegelman’sillustration,variablycalled “TheKiss”and“Valentine’sDay,”appearedonthefrontcoveroftheMonday,February15 editionofthe New Yorker. 1 Inthe New York Times opinionsection,BetteAnnMoskowitz characterizedtheimageasthefollowing:
…aHasidicmanwithalonggrayishbeard,longblacksidelocks,inthetraditionalblack hatandsuit,hisprimpinklipspressedagainstthevividly,slightlyopenredlipsofa cocoa-brownwomanwithatastefuldreadlockhairdo,dressedinalow-cutyellow sleevelesstopandcomplementaryearringsandnecklace…TheHasidleansoverher,his noseobliteratinghers.Hislips,juttingoutofhisbeard,havethatparticularlynaked, fleshylookthatlipsthataresurroundedbyhairhave.Itisastylized,stylishpicture,its borderasquigglywhitelinecorneredwiththreehearts.2
LambastingSpiegelman’scharacterizationofthecoverasa“gift,”shewrites,“Wouldhe arrangeaheterosexualdateforahomosexualfriend?Wouldheendowanabortionclinicinthe Pope’sname?Givechocolatetoadiabetic?”3
ForMoskowitz,theimageofaHasidkissingaBlackwomanisblasphemous.Buther voicewashardlyafringeone.Othersconcurred.IntheLosAngelesTimes,RabbiJoseph Spielmansaid,“ratherthanhealing,thisjustmakeseverythingludicrous.”4
But,asrecentlyas2008,Spiegelmandidnotregretthecoverthatdrewuniversalireand accusationsofinsensitivity.
IofferedthisupasaValentine'sDaycoverbecausethere'sthisthingcalledirony,you know.Ifyoushowpeoplewhoaremurderingeachotherkissing,itmakesonethink aboutwhytheymighthavebeenkillingeachother.Itopenssubjectsuptodiscussionthat
1 Spiegelman,Art. “Valentine’s Day.” February13,1993.NewYorkerMagazineCover Personalcollection.
2 Moskowitz,BetteAnn.“AValentineNobodyCouldLove.” New York Times,February13,1993,sec.1. https://www.nytimes.com/1993/02/13/opinion/a-valentine-nobody-could-love.html.
3 Moskowitz,BetteAnn.“AValentineNobodyCouldLove.”
4 Associated Press “RacialThemeofNewYorkerCoverSparksFuror.”February1993.L.A.TimesArchive. https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1993-02-09-mn-1303-story.html.
otherwisewerejusttakenasgiven.AndIthinkthiscovermanagedtounitethat communityinawaynothingelsehad.Theybothhatedmeforit.5
WhenSpiegelmansaidthatthetwofiguresinthepicturewere“peoplewhoare murderingeachother,”hewasnotnecessarilyexaggerating.OnAugust19,1991,the Chabad-LubavitchRebbeMenachemMendelSchneersonaccidentallystruckandkilled 7-year-oldGavinCato,thesonofGuyaneseCaribbeanimmigrants,inCrownHeights, Brooklyn.6 Fromthere,noonetellsthesamestory What is certainisthat,onAugust20,1991, YankelRosenbaum,avisitinggraduatestudentfromAustralia,wasmurderedbyatleastone BlackmanandthatbetweenAugust19andAugust21,chaosovertookCrownHeightsinwhat manysaw—thenandnow—asthecataclysmicendofthe“GrandAllianceera”ofBlackand JewishcollaborationinAmerica.
Aftertheriots,acommunityfacedwithneighborsyelling“Heil!”and“GettheJew!”at neighborsandtwodeathswereforcedtoconfront what happened, how ithappened,and,most precariously, why ithappened.7 In“InterpretationsoftheCrownHeightsRiot,”EdwardShapiro pointsoutnumeroustheoriesthatarosetoanswerthatquestion,frominsideandoutsideofthe community,writingthat“theriotbecameaRorschachinkblotinwhichpeoplesawwhatever theywanted.”8 SomepositedthattheissuewasOrthodoxJewsrefusingtoformcommunity connectionswithBlacks,a“lackofcontact”theory.9 Othersthoughtthatnegativecontact betweenthegroupshadboiledover,followingwhatWesselcalledconflicttheory.10
5 Chideya,Farai.“ArtSpiegelmanDefends‘NewYorker’ObamaCover.”Transcript. News & Notes NPR,July15,2008. https://www.npr.org/transcripts/92555693.
6 Shapiro,EdwardS.“InterpretationsoftheCrownHeightsRiot.” American Jewish History 90,no.2(June2002):97–122. https://doi.org/10.1353/ajh.2003.0035 97.
7 Shapiro,“InterpretationsoftheCrownHeightsRiots,”112.
8 Shapiro,“InterpretationsoftheCrownHeightsRiots,”119.
9 Shapiro,“InterpretationsoftheCrownHeightsRiots,”110.
10 Wessel,Terje.“DoesDiversityinUrbanSpaceEnhanceIntergroupContactandTolerance?” Geografiska Annaler: Series B, Human Geography 91,no.1(March2009):5–17.https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-0467.2009.00303.x 6.
ThepervasiveattitudeamongCrownHeightsresidentswasthat it wasnot them.The narrative,ofquestionableveracity,that“mostoftherioterswerenotCaribbeanimmigrantsfrom thatareabutAmericanBlackswholiveoutsideofCrownHeights”wasendorsedbyBrooklyn DistrictAttorneyCharlesHynes,evenwhenthesourcefortheclaimwas“informationonthe streets.”11 ThevariouscommunityinitiativesthatweresetuptohealrelationsbetweenBlacks andJewsintheareawerethesamethatmadecleartheirdisapprovalofSpiegelman’s “unfortunate”12 New Yorker cover;Spielman’ssonswereinSchneerson’scarwhenhehitCato.13
WeseetwodepictionsofinteractionbetweenBrooklyn’sBlacksandJews.Thefirstis love(aforbiddenkiss),andthesecondishate(raceriots).Bothsparkire,discomfort,and divisionamongobservers.BothsharestatusascornerstonesincontemporaryBlacksandJews (theBerlinerblau-Johnsontermfor‘Black-Jewishrelations’)dialogue.Andbothareprincipally concernedwithtouch.
Thecityisrifewithtouch–throughinteraction and contact–andnotallofitresultsin rioting.Here,wesetourBlacksandJewsinBrooklynCommunityDistrict14,14 consistingof Flatbush,amajorityBlack(CaribbeanandAfrican-American)neighborhood,andMidwood,a majorityWhiteneighborhoodwithaprofoundOrthodoxJewishpresence.15 Thecity government’sneighborhoodtabulationareaforMidwooddrawstheboundaryonAvenueH,a
11 Feiler,AlanH.“BrooklynD.A.SaysCrownHeightsLivesOn.” Baltimore Jewish Times,Baltimore:BaltimoreJewishTimes, January17,1992.222851003;SFLNSBJWT0192BJLR025000202.EthnicNewsWatch;ProQuestCentral. http://ezproxy.cul.columbia.edu/login?url=https://www.proquest.com/magazines/brooklyn-d-says-crown-heights-lives-on/docvie w/222851003/se-2?accountid=10226
12 AssociatedPress,“RacialThemeofNewYorkerCoverSparksFuror.”
13 Kifner,John.“YouthIndictedinFatalStabbingInCrownHeightsRacialRampage.” New York Times,August27,1991,sec.A. https://www.nytimes.com/1991/08/27/nyregion/youth-indicted-in-fatal-stabbing-in-crown-heights-racial-rampage.html.
14 “2NTAs|Brooklyn:Flatbush[BK1401],Flatbush(West)-DitmasPark-Parkville[BK1402]USCensus,”2020.NYC PopulationFactFinder. https://popfactfinder.planning.nyc.gov/explorer/selection/df8405f189629c2402e248e9d912a8369a587439?compareTo=BK1403.
15 “UJAFederationNewYork2023CommunityStudy.”UJAFederationNewYork,2023.BermanJewishDataBank. https://communitystudy.ujafedny.org/explore-data/flatbush-midwood#:~:text=Flatbush%2FMidwood%20is%20home%20to,Mid wood%20include%20a%20Jewish%20person.
distinctionalsomadeinseveralbooksprofilingBrooklyn.16 Theoriginofthislineisinitially obscure—theboundariesaredrawninsuchawaythatillogicallyplacesthemaincampusof BrooklynCollege,forexample,inlimbo.
Whatmakesthisstarksociopoliticallinesurprisingisnottheexistenceoftworacially distinctcommunities.EthnicenclavesarehistoricallyandculturallyendogenictotheAmerican city.17 Ifviewedastwoentirelydetachedneighborhoods,thisviewissalient.Flatbushis consideredtheSouthernmostelementofBlackBrooklyn,aclassificationforagroupof neighborhoodsthatalsoincludesCrownHeights.18 Historicallyredlined,19 theseareasbecame predominantlyAfrican-AmericanfromtheirpreviousethnicWhiteinhabitantsafterWorldWar II.20 Jews,arrivinginthearealargelyintheearly20thcentury,wereuniquefromIrishand ItaliansinthattheyremainedduringBlacksettlement,formingtheenclavestructure.21
Statistically,themajordivergencebetweentheseneighborhoodsisindeedracial. Midwoodisdecisivelytheendof’BlackBrooklyn.’Flatbush’spopulationis39.8%Black, comprisingapluralityofresidents.InMidwood,thatdemographicdropsto5.4%.Non-Hispanic WhitesmakeupamajorityinMidwood(66.4%)andaminorityinFlatbush(23.4%).22
Atfirstglance,AvenueHmightseemtosimplyseparatethe“Whiteneighborhood”from the“Blackneighborhood.”Thismightmakesenseinthatwedon’tseeinBKCD14whatwesaw inCrownHeights.Alackofcontactand expectation forcontactsupportsbothconflicttheory(if thesecommunitiesweretointeract,therewouldbenegativeresults,sotheyavoidinteraction)
16 Helmreich,WilliamB. The Brooklyn Nobody Knows: An Urban Walking Guide Princeton:PrincetonUniversityPress,2016. 237;SeeNote4;Jackson,KennethT.,JohnB.Manbeck,andCitizensCommitteeforNewYorkCity,eds. The Neighborhoods of Brooklyn.2.ed.TheNeighbourhoodsofNewYorkCity.NewHaven,Conn.London:YaleUniversityPress,2004.159.
17 Shortell,Timothy Everyday Globalization: A Spatial Semiotics of Immigrant Neighborhoods in Brooklyn and Paris RoutledgeStudiesinHumanGeography60.NewYork,NY:Routledge,2016.36.
18 Chronopoulos,Themis.“‘What’sHappenedtothePeople?’GentrificationandRacialSegregationinBrooklyn.” Journal of African American Studies 24,no.4(December2020):549–72.https://doi.org/10.1007/s12111-020-09499-y.553.
19 Chronopoulos,“‘What’sHappenedtothePeople?’GentrificationandRacialSegregationinBrooklyn,”557.
20 Allbray,NeddaC. Flatbush: The Heart of Brooklyn Charleston,SC:ArcadiaPub.,2004.154.
21Allbray, Flatbush,132.
22 “2NTAs|Brooklyn:Flatbush[BK1401],Flatbush(West)-DitmasPark-Parkville[BK1402]USCensus.”
andcontacttheory(lackofcontactisacceptablebecausethereisno basis forinterethniccontact betweenthetwo separate neighborhoods).
Thisintuitivelyfollowsfromcertainobjectivebarrierstocontactbetweenthegroups.
Certainspacesatthecenterofingrouplives cannot be“contactzones,”23 mostnotablyplacesof worshipand,notably,religiousschools.TheUJAreportsthat98%ofJewswithchildrenliving inFlatbush/MidwoodsendatleastonechildtoaJewishdayschool,comparedto74%in Brooklynoverall.24 TheOrthodoxJewishcommunityinBKCD14’sparticularfocusonJewish educationiscommunity-defining,emphasizingaflawinapplyingtraditionalcontacttheory approaches.Inthecasethatcertaincrucialaspectsofcommunitiescannotincludecertain kinds ofinteraction,wouldforcingcontactamongthesegroupsnotbe,ascommentatorson Spiegelman’sfantasyproposed,akinto“settingupaheterosexualdateforahomosexual friend?”
25
IfAvenueHwasabarricade,itmaybeplausibletorestatthisconclusion,whichmay implicitlyantiquizeandcondemnthe“Lubavitchwayoflife”inawaythat,incertainreadings ofCrownHeights,almosttendedto“justifytheviolenceagainstthem.”26 Thepotentially antisemiticimplicationsaresomewhatavertibleinpreferringrelativelysecularvaluedifferences betweentheneighborhoods.Forexample,inastudyexaminingdiscursiveneighborhood constructionof place forBrooklynneighborhoods,Flatbushintervieweesdefinedtheir communityex-negativoofStarbucks,characterizingthechainasaconventionalmarkerof
23 Askins,Kye,andRachelPain.“ContactZones:Participation,Materiality,andtheMessinessofInteraction.” Environment and Planning D: Society and Space 29,no.5(October2011):803–21.https://doi.org/10.1068/d11109.805.
24 “UJAFederationNewYork2023CommunityStudy.”UJAFederationNewYork,2023.BermanJewishDataBank. https://communitystudy.ujafedny.org/explore-data/flatbush-midwood#:~:text=Flatbush%2FMidwood%20is%20home%20to,Mid wood%20include%20a%20Jewish%20person.
25 Moskowitz,“AValentineNobodyCouldLove.”
26 Shapiro,“InterpretationsoftheCrownHeightsRiot,”111.
gentrification.27 Thispointofprideinbeing“ungentrified”forFlatbushresidentswasironically counterposedwiththethreeclosestchainlocationsbeingsituatedlessthanamileawayin Midwood.OneisoppositetheYeshivahofFlatbushontheintersectionofAvenueJandEast 16thStreet,nexttotheAvenueJsubwaystation.
Somethingprobablyjuststruckyou.ThedividebetweenMidwoodandFlatbushis seeminglyemphasizedandreifiedbyMidwood’sreligiousschools—includingtheYeshivahof Flatbush JoelBravermanHighSchoolintheheartofMidwood.Hereisanotherqualitative examplethatstatisticsdonotgrasp;manymembersoftheOrthodoxcommunityinMidwoodsee themselvesaslivinginFlatbush.
Thisattitudeisnotjustsemantic.Lookingatsourcesproducedbyandfortheingroupin contrastwiththoseofoutsideobservers,thesemanticconsistencyoftheFlatbushlabelprovides perspectiveonperception.Thoughtheframingofeventsthroughoutthesourcestheseexamples originatefromdoesnotsubstantiateunquestioningacceptanceoftheirnarrative28,theyholduse inprovidingevidenceofdiscursivepatternsamongtheMidwoodingroup.Ina2023newsarticle aboutthreeantisemiticincidentsintheMidwoodarea,theauthorfortheJewishPressquotesa tweetfrom@nyscanner,asecularorganization,about“attacksonOrthodoxJewishvictimsin Midwood BrooklynontheSabbath”[emphasisadded].29 Thestreetlocationsforallthree incidentslieunambiguouslyinMidwood,butthearticleisstilltitled“Gangof3HuntsOrthodox JewsinBrooklyn’s Flatbush Neighborhood.”[emphasisadded].30 Thevideousedinthetweetis
27 Berberich,Kristin.“DiscursiveConstructionofNeighborhoodacrossBrooklyn:ACorpusEthnographicApproach,”2021. https://doi.org/10.11588/HEIDOK.00030106 98.
28 Inotherwords,thesourcescitedarenotscholarlysourcesusedasexplicitevidenceforcommunityoutlookorongoings,but ratherprimaryexamplesthathinttowardslinguisticpatternswithintheingroup.Theyareexamined,therefore,bytheirlinguistic andempiricalmerittotheextentthatitcanbeevaluatedunderthescopeofthispaper
30 LeviJulian,Hana.“Gangof3HuntsOrthodoxJewsinBrooklyn’sFlatbushNeighborhood.” Jewish Press,November26, 2023. https://www.jewishpress.com/news/us-news/ny/gang-of-3-hunts-orthodox-jews-in-brooklyns-flatbush-neighborhood/2023/11/26/. 29 (@nyscanner) “MOREVIDEO:"FreePalestine"andHamasterrorsupportersatoneofthreeviciousattacksonOrthodox JewishvictimsinMidwoodBrooklynontheSabbath.ThislookslikeGermany1938.@NYPD70Pct@NYPDHateCrimes @NYCMayor@FlatbushShomrim” X,25Nov.2023,9:18p.m.,https://x.com/nyscanner/status/1728599073119441180
31
takenfromahomesurveillancecamerawatermarkedwith“Shomrim Flatbush SafetyPatrol” [emphasisadded].
Inbothcrucialintragroup(yeshivot)andintergroup(hatecrime)instances,theOrthodox JewishcommunityofBKCD14groupeditselfwithFlatbush.Thisdissonancereflectsother complexitieslostundercontacttheory;namely,itpresumestworelativelymonolithicgroups: suchasFlatbush/MidwoodandWhite/Black.
Flatbush’spopulationis19.1%Caribbeanand12.2%AfricanAmerican.32 Midwood containscomplexrelationsbetweenMizrahim,Sephardim,andAshkenazim.33 Writinginthe Forward Jewish Press in1999,AmyKlein,agraduateoftheYeshivahofFlatbush,writesthat thethenmajoritynon-Ashkenazilowerschoolshows“theAshkenazic,modernOrthodox communityhasfledFlatbushandceasedtoexisthere.”34 AsHelmreichpointsout,visualsigns oftheModernOrthodox,“StrictlyOrthodox,”andUltra-OrthodoxHasidim–whichhe distinguishesbytheiryarmulkes,fedoras,andshtreimels–composethe‘OrthodoxJewish’ space.
35
Thecontacthypothesisemergedfromendeavoringabehavioristapproachtorelations betweensociallydistinctgroups.36 Ithighlightswhathasbecomedogmaticin ‘post-segregationist’dialogue:thereasonthatpeopledon’tgetalongisbecausetheydon’tknow
31 (@nyscanner).
32 “2NTAs|Brooklyn:Flatbush[BK1401],Flatbush(West)-DitmasPark-Parkville[BK1402]USCensus.”
33 Hootnick,Alexandra.“ARISINGTIDEOFSEPHARDICJEWSBRINGSCHANGETOTHEYESHIVAHOF FLATBUSH.” The Brooklyn Ink,July26,2011. http://brooklynink.org/2011/07/26/26821-a-rising-tide-of-sephardic-jews-brings-change-to-yeshivah-of-flatbush/.
34 Klein,Amy.“LetterFromFlatbush:AChangedYeshiva.” Forward,1999.367753116;SFLNSFRWD0399FWDM104000003. EthnicNewsWatch;ProQuestCentral. http://ezproxy.cul.columbia.edu/login?url=https://www.proquest.com/newspapers/letter-flatbush-changed-yeshiva/docview/36775 3116/se-2?accountid=10226.
35 Helmreich,WilliamB. The Brooklyn Nobody Knows: An Urban Walking Guide Princeton:PrincetonUniversityPress,2016. 241-242.
36 Valentine,Gill.“LivingwithDifference:ReflectionsonGeographiesofEncounter.” Progress in Human Geography 32,no.3 (June2008):323–37.https://doi.org/10.1177/0309133308089372 323.
eachother.ContactisidealizedinSpiegelman’sironicconceptualizationofhispictureofa halachicallybarredkissasafantasy“beyondthetragiccomplexitiesofmodernlife.”Even whereitisunattainable,Americanstendtobesympathetictoatleastthespiritunderlyingthe ideathat,inSpiegelman’swords,“allweneedislove.”37
ContemporaryscholarslikeValentinepositseveralissueswithcontacttheory.Among themisthe“increasingevidencethatcontactbetweensocialgroupsaloneisnotenoughto producerespect”38 andthedifferencebetweenbeing“allowed”andbeing“welcome”ina space,39 distinguishingbetween“tolerance”and“mutualrespect.”40 Butevenifwecanagree contactiscapableofproducingpositiverelations—anda complete embraceofconflicttheoryis empiricallydisprovable41—thereremainsthequestionofwhat“contact”comprises.
Whyisitso visceral tocrossAvenueH?AspectsoftheCrownHeightsriotposean answer.Whatarosecommunitytensionswasnottheaskingiftheriotswerenegative—thatwas undeniable.Rather,thediscoursebecame linguistic.“Riot”itselfwasandisacontentiousterm. Immediatelyfollowingtheriots,someresidents—includingHolocaustsurvivors—preferred “pogrom”42 or“Kristallnacht.”43 WhenMayorDavidDinkinsrejected“pogrom”infavorof “lynching,”wordinghehadaclaimtoasanAfricanAmericanandthatemphasizedtheforemost consequencesoftheriots(Rosenbaum’smurder),hemanagedtoupsetallparties.44
Symbolicinteractionismisasociologicaltheorythatpositsan“interpretativeprocess”as continuallyaugmentingthemeaningsofobjects–includingotherhumans–whichweinteract
37 Spiegelman,Art,andTinaBrown.“Spiegelman’sCommentson‘Valentine’sDay.’” New Yorker,1993. https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/poking-serious-fun-by-making-frivolous-art/.
38 Valentine,“LivingwithDifference,”236.
39 Valentine,“LivingwithDifference,”236.
40 Valentine,“LivingwithDifference,”239.
41 Wessel,“DoesDiversityinUrbanSpaceEnhanceIntergroupContactandTolerance?”8.
42 Shapiro,“InterpretationsoftheCrownHeightsRiot,”107.
43 Shapiro,“InterpretationsoftheCrownHeightsRiot,”104.
44 Shapiro,“InterpretationsoftheCrownHeightsRiot,”108.
with.45 Shortelleffectivelysummarizessymbolicinteractionismwhenhewrites:“Weactinthe socialworldbasedoninterpretationsofothersandouranticipatedinterpretationsbyothersof ourowncharacteristics:thewayweseethemandthewaywethinktheyseeus.”46
InCrownHeights,termsfortheriotsservedassymbolicobjects.Theinvocationof “pogrom”heldadeepsymbolicmeaningtoJewishresidents,oneformedfromacollective memoryofgenocidalexpulsionsinEasternEurope.Therefore,therefusalofcertainoutgroup memberstouse“pogrom”isborneofadifferent“contextofsymbolicmeanings”47 thatresulted, whetherconsciouslyornot,inadissonanceinterpretableastheoutgroup condoning notonlythe riotsbutpogromsasawhole.Thisdevelopedashared memory ofCrownHeightsinextricable fromthebreakdownofaBlack-JewishallianceandBlackantisemitismingeneral.
Readingtheriotswithonlyconflictandcontacttheoryhadtangibleconsequences.There isnodoubtthattheCrownHeightsRiotswereantisemitic.Buttoreducethecollectiveaction andterrorofacomplex,diversecommunityculminatingintheevents,capturedunderthe historicallabelsrangingfromlynchingtoKristallnachttoBlackantisemitism(and,inmore radicalaccounts,Jewishracism)engendersacommondeathspiralthatisascongenitaltoBlacks andJewsdialogueastheriotsthemselves.JamesBaldwin’sperpetuallyreferenced“Negroesare AntisemiticBecauseThey’reAnti-White,”attimesstillerroneouslyviewedasthedefiningtake of“Blacks on Jews,”isanexample.JacquesBerlinerblauandTerrenceJohnson,leadingscholars onBlacksandJews,co-authoredaretrospectivein2022arguingthattheessay,popularlyreadas ajustificationforBlackantisemitismduetonegativecontactwithJews,ismoreaccuratelya
45 Meltzer,BernardN.,JohnW Petras,andLarryT Reynolds. Symbolic Interactionism: Genesis, Varieties and Criticism 1sted. Routledge,2020.https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003074311 1.
46 Shortell,Timothy Everyday Globalization: A Spatial Semiotics of Immigrant Neighborhoods in Brooklyn and Paris RoutledgeStudiesinHumanGeography60.NewYork,NY:Routledge,2016.1.
47 Shortell, Everyday Globalization,1.
critiqueof“racialcapitalism,”manifestinginfactorslikethedistributionofurbanspaceand increasingeconomicinequality outside ofBlackandJewishintergroupcontact.Usingthe techniqueof “signifyin[g]theword,”theessaywasan“intellectualfalseflagoperation”that evokedsymbolsandculturalcontextsthatweremisreadbymembersofbothgroups.48 The foundationaltextbackingupthecynicalconflicttheoryapproachtoBlacksandJewsisnoteven necessarily about conflicttheory,anditsmisinterpretationwasduetoculturallyrelative symbols. Whatisleftimplicitorunaddressedundercontacttheorymodelsisunveiledunder symbolicinteractionistframework,evadingthelossofthedissonancesdiscussedearlierinthe contextofFlatbushandMidwoodand,ultimately,thereductionto“Blackantisemitism/Jewish racism.”Already,weseehowconventionsinBlacksandJewsapproachesfailinMidwoodand Flatbush;presumedideasofwhatis“shared”amongAmerica’sBlackandJewishAmericans, mostobviouslyDemocraticpolitics,differinBKCD14.49
Acrucialelementofthesymbolicinteractionistapproachisthatourinterpretationsare shapedby“referencegroups,”50 bothforwhatweperceiveofthemandwhatwethinkthey perceiveofus.Behavioriscausedbythe interpretation of“whatliesbetween”internaland externalforces.51 Whetherornotinteractiontransformsintocontactcanthendependonwhich symbolsfactorintotheinterpretiveprocessandhowtheydoso.Thescopeof“symbol”iswhat makessymbolicinteractionismadvantageousinlookingatBlacksandJews.Alackofphysical contactdoesnotprecludethepresenceofintergroupsymbolicinteraction.
ButisAvenueHitselfasortofsymbol?TheOrthodoxJewsofFlatbush/Midwoodare,in theirinterpretation,residentsof Flatbush,butinsofarastheyareinterpretedtoberesidentsof
48 Berlinerblau,Jacques,andTerrenceJohnson.“BlacksandJews:Fifty-FiveYearsAfterJamesBaldwin’s‘NegroesAre Anti-SemiticBecauseThey’reAnti-White.’” Literary Hub,April9,2022. https://lithub.com/blacks-and-jews-fifty-five-years-after-james-baldwins-negroes-are-anti-semitic-because-theyre-anti-white/.
49 “NYCElectionAtlas.”CUNYGraduateCenterforUrbanResearch,2024.https://www.electionatlas.nyc/maps.html.
50 Meltzer,Petras,andReynolds, Symbolic Interactionism,62.
51 Meltzer,Petras,andReynolds, Symbolic Interactionism,2.
Midwood,boththeiridentity and theidentityofBKCD14arealtered.Ifcertainsignsbeginto signifyMidwoodtoacertainpopulation,thenthatassociationisformalizedinthatgroup’s referencegroup for that population,affectingfutureintragroupandintergroupinteractions.
Hebrew-languagesignsinMidwoodareanexample.AmemberoftheOrthodoxJewish ingroupmaynotethedifferencebetweenYiddishononesignandHebrewonanotheras signifyinganolderAshkenazicversusnewerSephardicorMizrahipresence.Thatdifference, likethedifferencebetweenAfrican-AmericanandCaribbeanBlacks,maybelostinthe outgroup’sinterpretation;HebrewandYiddishsharealphabetletters–interpretablesymbols–that aredifficulttodistinguishfornon-readers.Theingroup(OrthodoxJews)hasknowledge(the distinctionofHebrewandYiddish)ofthosesymbolsthattheoutgroupdoesnot–andtheideas thattheingroupformsabouttheoutgroup, assuming theirlackofknowledge, also shapefuture intergroupinteractions.Therefore,incompleteideasofoutgroups(here,aperceptionof homogeneity)areinterpretedandnormalizedinintragroup(includinginternallyforindividuals) settings,andimplied,bytheirformalizationintoreferencegroups,infutureintergroup interactions.
AvenueHisnotonlyabarrierbecauseofnumericaldemographicsoneithersidenordue toitslegalrecognitionbythecity Rather,certaingroupshaveassignedcertain meanings to neighborhood symbols—includingboundaries(AvenueH),coffeeshops(Starbucks),and clothing(yarmulkes,shtreimels,andfedoras)—basedonahistoryofinteractionsthathave nurturedthatspaceandformedreferencegroups.Becausetheseinteractions(likehistorical memory)wereinterpreteddifferently,symbolicinterpretationswillnotalwaysalignin intergroupinteractions.Thesedesignations,formedbyourperceptionofothersandwhatwe thinktheyperceiveofus,compounduponthemselves.Meaningsdonotnecessarilyimplyvalue
judgments,thoughtheytendtoincorporatethem.Nooneissuggestingtheeliminationof ingroupidentitiesthroughacculturation.Instead,weaskhowandifgroupscanbecomeawareof differentinterpretations,howtheyaugmentsymbols,andwhatisgainedand/orlostinthat awareness.
Abetterunderstandingofanothergroupisnotnecessarilydesirable.Statedsimply,even ifthereissomethingforBlacksinMidwoodorOrthodoxJewsinFlatbush,symbolicand materialinfluencesmaypreventthemfromwantingtofindout.ItisenoughthatmanyFlatbush residentscannotreadHebrew(orYiddish)orthatmanyMidwoodresidentswouldnotbeableto eatatanunkosherrestaurant.Butconsideringtheembeddednessoftheenclavemodelinboth urbanspaceandingroupculture(calledurbanculturalism),52 theideathatfurtherinteractionmay leadtochallengingthedesignationsofsafeorsacredspacesisnotbenignfortwovisibleethnic minorities.Symbolsthatimplyasocialdanger–throughantisemitismand/orracism–are somewhatinextricablefrommanyBlacksandOrthodoxJews.Thesystemsofracialcapitalism thatBaldwinidentifiedarestillathreat.Tobringupmisinterpretationinawaythatmayshift whatiscurrentlyarelativelypeaceful,dividedstatusquomaybeinterpretedasanactof violence.Whylamentapeacefuldetente?
Inthelate1950sand1960s,thematerialinterestsofBlacksandJewsincertainpartsof Americaaligned,givingbirthtothemosteffectiveinterracialalliancetheUnitedStateshasseen. MajorinteractionpointsofBlacksandJewsinBrooklynarefrequentlypolitical,fromDavid Dinkins’closerelationshipwiththeJewishcommunity53 toMartyMarkowitzcallinghimselfan “honoraryCaribbean”54 toformerOrthodoxUnionNewYorkStatePoliticalDirectorMichael
52 Shortell, Everyday Globalization,34.
53 Shapiro,“InterpretationsoftheCrownHeightsRiot,”106.
54 Flateau,JohnLouis.“BlackBrooklyn:ThePoliticsofEthnicity,Class,andGender.” ProQuest Dissertations and Theses Ph.D.,CityUniversityofNewYork,2005.ProQuestDissertations&ThesesGlobal(305006110). http://ezproxy.cul.columbia.edu/login?url=https://www.proquest.com/dissertations-theses/black-brooklyn-politics-ethnicity-classgender/docview/305006110/se-2?accountid=10226 92.
Cohen’sforaysintoBlack-Jewishrelationsatthefederallevelbeforeservingthecommunity councilofBKCD14.55 Butnow,racistcaricaturesofKamalaHarrisinnewsstandsonAvenueJ andreportsofantisemitichatecrimesintheaftermathofOctober7aremuchmoreovert–and current–symbolsthanmemoriesofaffinitybetweenBlacksandJews,outpacingandoutsizing theimpactofinteractionsof“mundanefriendliness”56 orotherwelcomingsymbols.Wheneven dialoguesupposedtouniteBlacksandJewsfallsintoearlierdescribedreductiveparadigms, symbolsofsharedidentitybecomefragile.
OnAvenueH,itisdifficulttoresistcontacttheory.Thedevastationand disappointment aroundCrownHeights—andthegrieffortheGrandAllianceera—reflectanemotional dimensiontowhatseemstobeagraveyardforBlacksandJews.InJanuary1992,District AttorneyHynes,speakinginBaltimore,lamentedwhattheriotssymbolizedforhim.“‘I wondered,‘howcouldtwoofthemostpersecutedpeoplesinhistorywhoweresuchcloseallies inthecivilrightsmovementbecomesuchhostileenemies?’”57
Andsomethingbeinga symbol doesnotmakeitscausesorimpactsintangible.In1988, fouryearsbeforeCrownHeights,aMidwoodsynagogue(nowmergedwiththeMidwoodJewish Center)wasvandalizedandsetaflamebytwo(non-Black)children.58 InJune1978, sixteen-year-oldVictorRhodeswasbeatenbyacrowdofHasidicJewsinCrownHeights, variablyreportedtoconsistof“fifty”adultmenoraroundtwentyyeshivastudents,and
55 OUStaff.“OUHiresMichaelCohenasNewYorkStatePoliticalDirector.” Orthodox Union,January10,2012. https://www.ou.org/news/ou_hires_michael_cohen_nys_political_director/.
56 Valentine,Gill.“LivingwithDifference:ReflectionsonGeographiesofEncounter.” Progress in Human Geography 32,no.3 (June2008):323–37.https://doi.org/10.1177/0309133308089372 324.
57 Feiler,AlanH.“BrooklynD.A.SaysSaysCrownHeightsLivesOn.” Baltimore Jewish Times,Baltimore:BaltimoreJewish Times,January17,1992.222851003;SFLNSBJWT0192BJLR025000202.EthnicNewsWatch;ProQuestCentral. http://ezproxy.cul.columbia.edu/login?url=https://www.proquest.com/magazines/brooklyn-d-says-crown-heights-lives-on/docvie w/222851003/se-2?accountid=10226.3.
58 Saphire,William.“BrooklynShul,SixTorahsTorchedbyVandals.” The American Israelite (1874-2000),September29,1988. 1007216032.ProQuestHistoricalNewspapers:TheAmericanIsraelite. http://ezproxy.cul.columbia.edu/login?url=https://www.proquest.com/historical-newspapers/brooklyn-shul-six-torahs-torched-van dals/docview/1007216032/se-2?accountid=10226 24.
rememberedbysometohavebeenprovokedbyRhodes’removingoneoftheirkippahs.59 As Shapironoted, memory oftenshapespeoplemorethan history. 60 InMidwood,whereresidents associatethemselvesstronglywiththelarger“Brooklyn”label,61 orFlatbush,wherethestrong Caribbeanpresenceisapointofpride,62 thisisclear
Butif Brooklyn isimportant,thenwecannotignoreotherlocalmanifestationsofBlacks andJews.Inanoralhistoryaccount,poetJoelOppenheimerrecalledwatchingJackieRobinson ataDodgersgameonEbbetsField,whichwasasportsstadiuminBrooklyn.
Duringthegame,Jackiemadeagoodplayonthefield,atwhichpointeveryonewas yelling,‘Jackie,Jackie,Jackie,’andIwasyellingwiththem.AndsuddenlyIrealize someonebehindmewasyelling,‘Yonkel,Yonkel,Yonkel,’whichisYiddishforJackie. Withgreatwondermentandpleasure,IrealizedthatherewasthislittleJewishtailor—I alwaysassumedhewasatailor—theonlywhitefaceinacrowdof[B]lacksasidefrom me,andhe’syelling,‘Yonkel,Yonkel,Yonkel.’Itwasaverymovingmoment.63
JackieRobinson’snameinYiddishtransliterationseemsnothingshortofamiraclewhen juxtaposedwiththecurrentstateof“Black-Jewishrelations”inNewYork.Butisit?Itseems herethattheinterpretationofRobinson(materiallyBlack)tothepointthathisnamewas appropriatedintoYiddish(materiallyJewish)movespastevenapeacefuldivideofthegroups.It appealstoourcontacttheorysensibilitiestopicturethis“whiteface”inthe“crowdofBlacks.”
Ifso,whywasMoskowitzsoenragedby“Valentine’sDay”?Spiegelman’sportrayalwas ultimatelyironic,butitemphasizedreal,meaningfulsymbols.ThecoverinvokedtheCrown HeightsRiots.Theriotsinvokedlynchingsorpogroms.Lynchingsorpogromsinvoked genocide,loss,anddeath.Thekisswastheninsensitivepreciselybecauseofitssymbolic form;
59 New York Times “AccountsVaryWidelyonBeatingOf16‐Year‐OldYouthinBrooklyn.”June21,1978. https://www.nytimes.com/1978/06/21/archives/accounts-vary-widely-on-beating-of-16yearold-youth-in-brooklyn-cite.html.
60 Shapiro,“InterpretationsoftheCrownHeightsRiot,”99.
61 Berberich,“DiscursiveConstructionofNeighborhoodacrossBrooklyn,”118.
62 Berberich,“DiscursiveConstructionofNeighborhoodacrossBrooklyn,”100.
63 Golenbock,Peter In the Country of Brooklyn: Inspiration to the World 1sted.NewYork:WilliamMorrow,2008.159.
thesewerenottwohumanbeings,theywerecaricatures.WhatlovestorycouldSpiegelmantell thatcouldsomehowjustifythisegregious,provocativecartooningofarelationshipthathad,just twoyearsprior,resultedinthedeathofaboyandayoungman?Worstofall,Spiegelmandidnot evenhavethesensibilitytouseanambiguousimage.Heincludedeveryvisual symbol that makesOrthodoxJewsandBlacks visible.Spiegelmanwasright:it did upsetnearlyeveryone. ForMoskowitz,“Valentine’sDay”notonlycrossedAvenueHbutludicrouslysuggestedithad noreasontoexist.
PerhapsBaldwin’sessayprovidesaclueonwheretogo.Theformalizationofthese lines—whichmakesthesuggestionthattheirveracityisformedonmisinterpretationso disruptive—isperhapsattributabletothesystemsof“racialcapitalism”hehypothesized.64 Certainly,manysawthebeginningsofthebreakdownoftheGrandAlliancefarbeforetheriseof theNationofIslamorThirdWorldism,andtheMidwood/Flatbushdivide,evenifacceptedby thecity,isnotparadigmaticallyacceptedbyitsresidents.
Thewords“YeshivahofFlatbush”mightbeenoughtostart.“Flatbush”isasshareda symbolas“Brooklyn.”Evenifinfinitesimal,thatsenseofsharedfate—whatValentinecalls “vestedinterest”65—keepsMasbiasoupkitchensrunningortheFlatbushCommunityFund’s CampaignfortheInvisibleflyerspostedonstreets throughout BKCD14.
FlatbushandMidwoodperhapsaren’tyetreadytokiss—insomeauthoritative interpretationstouchbetweenthemisnotconsidered.Butonewondershowdividedpeoplecan beifallthatseparatesthemisanavenueorasubwaystation.ThequestionofcrossingAvenueH leavesalotopentointerpretation.
64 BerlinerblauandJohnson,“BlacksandJews:Fifty-FiveYearsAfterJamesBaldwin’s‘NegroesAreAnti-SemiticBecause They’reAnti-White.’”
65 Valentine,“LivingwithDifference,”328.
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