Teens’ dedication to having voices heard at Missouri Capitol was inspiring to see

BY CHERYL ADELSTEIN

It’s wonderful when your worlds come together, as mine have recently. I am filled with pride and hope for the future knowing that I am part of two organizations — Jewish Community Relations Council (JCRC) and Cultural Leadership — that prepare our young adults to be leaders.

I have the great joy of serving as the deputy director of the JCRC, where we work to mobilize the Jewish community to build a vibrant and secure Jewish community in a thriving and just St. Louis region. JCRC builds bridges among interfaith organizations across our region and fights antisemitism, in part through our award-winning Student to Student program, which is a part of the Newmark Institute for Human Relations at the JCRC. This program brings Jewish teens to area high schools where there are few, if any, Jewish students to teach them about Judaism and their Jewish lives.

I also have the great privilege to dedicate some of my volunteer time to Cultural Leadership, a program that prepares the next generation of Jewish and African American teenagers and allies to stand up, speak out and take action against injustice. I was a past board chair, and I serve as co-chair of the advisory committee.

In January, I visited Jefferson City twice to testify before the Missouri Senate against several bills that could significantly limit what is taught in classrooms regarding race, racism, and responsibility for the racisms and other misdeeds of the past (basically rooted in white supremacy) and that would penalize teachers and school districts for violating these draconian rules. I brought six people with me who shared effective and compelling testimony.

My guests included five alumni of the Cultural Leadership program, three of whom are also part of JCRC’s Student to Student program. They brought a variety of perspectives and identities: Jewish, multiracial, LGBT, white. Most compelling, they represented those who would be most affected by restricting curriculum and classroom conversations. The senators needed to hear these voices.

Two students provided compelling testimony to the Senate Education and Workforce Development Committee on Jan. 18.

Sela Masaki is a Ladue Horton Watkins High School senior, a member of Congregation Shaare Emeth, a Student to Student group leader and the granddaughter of a Japanese American who fought in World War II.

“History is hard,” Sela told the panel. “But we talk about it nonetheless. Why? Because we stand on the shoulders of historical giants, those who made it possible for us to be here today. We need to talk about all of history’s nuances, its complexities. We cannot stand on one shoulder and half of another. We must stand on all of them, together.”

Ella, a senior at University City, testified: “There is always going to be some degree of discomfort when it comes to learning history because history is an uncomfortable topic. When we talk about restricting the curriculum of history classes, we are trying to make students feel more comfortable. However, in the process, we are further marginalizing groups of students that already feel invisible in the classroom.”

Six days later, another group of St. Louis students woke early and traveled to Jefferson City with me for a hearing on a similar bill before the same committee. But they had a very different experience.

Alissa Barnholtz, Clara Bass and Neon Liebson were passionate and prepared. Unfortunately, the hearing was cut short by the chairman, Sen. Andrew Koenig, R-Manchester, and the students and many other advocates were not given the opportunity to speak. Had they been allowed to testify, here is what they would have said.

Alissa, a junior at Parkway Central, member of Shaare Emeth and a Student to Student leader, said in her prepared testimony: “Participating in uncomfortable conversations is where real understanding happens. We can’t support each other if we don’t understand each other. And we can’t understand each other when we are limited to one perspective.”

Clara, a Lafayette High School sophomore and member of United Hebrew Congregation, wrote: “Talking about histo- ry does not assign blame to white students, it gives all students the context necessary to assume a responsibility, as citizens of the United States, to make sure that these mistakes don’t repeat themselves.”

Neon, a junior at Crossroads College Prep, a member of Central Reform Congregation and a Student to Student leader, wrote: “I am a trans Jewish person, and I’m here today to answer any questions about trans people you might have because I believe in education and active listening.”

Neon had planned to testify on a portion of the bill that would have restricted trans students from playing sports. That part of the bill was eventually cut by the subcommittee with the provision that it would be dealt with in other committees.

“As trans youth, we are often discouraged or banned from playing sports with our cisgender peers,” Neon wrote. “Trans kids are kids, and we should be allowed to participate in activities and given equal opportunities as our authentic selves.”

Disappointed that they were unable to speak, the students showed great resilience, talking directly to Chairman Koenig after the hearing to share their passionate views. And their impact was amplified, as they were quoted extensively in an article about the hearing in the Missouri Independent

Having my worlds overlap gave me great pride in the work the JCRC and Cultural Leadership do to prepare our young people to be the change makers of the next generation. As my rabbi, Susan Talve, has taught me, one of the most important things you can do is show up. It is an honor for me to represent the Jewish community in showing up in Jefferson City and a greater honor to bring passionate advocates with me to share their stories.