"Caroline, or Change"

In class today, someone asked the question, "Why is 'Jews in the South' an uncomfortable topic?" To me, Southern Jewry is an extremely comfortable topic, but to others who don't know much about Jews in the Deep South I can definitely understand why it would be uncomfortable.

I can appreciate the issues which the musical "Caroline, or Change" brings to light. The play is about a black maid named Caroline Thibodeaux (what a fitting name for a woman from Acadia) who works for a Jewish family in Lake Charles, LA. Throughout the play, Caroline is faced with many issues of race and struggles to find her role in the world. This play premiered in the American haven for Jews-- New York. This brings up an uncomfortable topic all in itself: there are Jews from other places besides New York! I genuinely think that New York Jews sometimes really don't understand that Jews exist outside of New York and Israel. I know that is a huge exaggeration, but sometimes it really feels that way. Last summer in Jerusalem, I literally spent half an hour trying to explain to a cab driver in broken Hebrew that I was actually Jewish and from Mississippi. He was intrigued. All he kept saying was, "No, you are from New York." For those who are unfamiliar with Jews in the Deep South, this musical could seem very foreign.

It may also make people think back in time to the Civil War. Jews are not often associated with the Confederate States of America, but in fact, the Jews had a bigger role in CSA than one might think. People don't realize that the Attorney General of CSA was Jewish.

And then there's the small issue of race. I wish I could tell you all the questions about race that people ask me when they find out I'm from the South. Generally, however, it has been my experience that Jews and Blacks get together nicely in the South. Perhaps this is because both groups of people have been victims of hate and oppression; and both groups are often the only Democratic voters in the South (I do not mean in any way that all Jews and all Blacks vote Democratic, and I certainly don’t mean that no other people in the South vote Republican; I am just going along with the stereotype that, from my experience, seems valid). Like I mentioned in class, around the time of this play, the Freedom Rides were taking place. This was when young people from the North (generally New York) came down South to try to help black people register to vote. A good number of the Freedom Riders were in fact Jewish, and in most cases, they were not well received by the general white population. There were a few instances where lives were lost over this issue. While in Israel last summer, I was shocked when I told an Israeli that I was from Mississippi, and his response was, "Mississippi? Like Mississippi Burning?" He was of course referring to a movie which tells the true story of the brutal murder of 2 Jewish Freedom riders and a black man.

A few years after "Caroline, or Change" took place, my synagogue in Jackson, MS, was bombed along with our rabbis house. The KKK did it because they didn't exactly like the civil relations between the Jewish community and the Black community. I can remember learning about the bombing when I was in 1st or 2nd grade at Religious School; the congregation left a part of the foundation uncovered so that everyone could see the cracks and remember what had happened. It was scary when I was that young to know that something had happened at my synagogue just because a few radicals didn't like my religion. It was even scarier when I read about it in Jack Nelson's book Terror in the Night.

There are of course people who are a combination of everything in Caroline Thibodeaux's life. Rebecca Walker, daughter of the famous author Alice Walker, wrote a book entitled Black, White, and Jewish. This book recounts her life growing up in the South (mainly Jackson, MS, I believe) as the daughter of a Black mother and a Jewish father. If I could guess, I would say that Rebecca Walker would greatly appreciate this musical because it gives a taste of the racism (from both ends) which she undoubtedly endured during her life in the South.

Reading over my post, I feel like I am making the South sound like an awful place. It's really not. Growing up, I never personally experienced any anti-Semitism that goes beyond what any of my friends here at IU experienced. I was able to grow up in a close knit community compromising of about 4 states of Jews. Everyone knows everyone; we enjoy all of the rich culture advantages of being Jewish (such as the food) and of being Southern (such as the food). Needless to say, we eat very well.

In conclusion, there’s not much left to say except:

Shalom Y’all!