Black and Jewish Leaders Consecrate Sacred Covenant at Atlanta Summit

Under the theme “Renewing the Black/Jewish Alliance” 100 Rabbis, Black Clergy, Black Jewish Leaders and Community Leaders Committed to Confront Antisemitism, Racism and Hatred and to Advance Justice and Equality

ATLANTA, Georgia — August 26, 2026 — One hundred rabbis, Black American clergy, Black Jewish leaders, scholars, activists and community leaders from across the United States concluded the historic Atlanta Summit: Renewing the Black/Jewish Alliance with the consecration and signing of a Sacred Covenant.

Convened August 24–26 in Atlanta—a city with an extraordinary legacy in the American Civil Rights Movement—the Summit brought Black and Jewish leaders from across the nation together at a consequential moment in American life. Amid a resurgence of antisemitism and racism, increasing polarization, violence and mistrust, the summit participants declared, “The Black-Jewish covenant cannot be sustained by nostalgia alone….. Sacred memory must become present responsibility.”

The covenant grounds that responsibility in a fundamental theological and moral affirmation: the Oneness of God and the Oneness of Humanity, reinforcing that “Because God is One, humanity is one. Our histories, identities, traditions, and experiences are distinct, but our humanity is indivisible.”

The historic relationship between Black and Jewish communities must not be confined to memories of past cooperation but must be renewed for the challenges of both the present and the future.

The alliance is being renewed for the challenges of the present and the future.  The summit attendees affirmed a renewed national commitment to stand together against antisemitism, racism, hatred and dehumanization and to advance freedom, justice, equality and human dignity for all.

The Summit affirmed that no community could remain indifferent when another is under threat.  Participants committed themselves to oppose antisemitism, anti-Black racism; defend communities threatened by racial and religious hatred; protect houses of worship, schools and community institutions; challenge misinformation and dehumanization; strengthen democratic participation; and to educate a new generation of Black, Jewish and Black Jewish leaders.

The summit featured a wide range of nationally recognized faith, civil rights, civic and Jewish communal leaders, including Senator Reverend Raphael Warnock, Ambassador Andrew Young, Van Jones, Reverend Dr. Benjamin F. Chavis Jr., Dr. Susannah Heschel, Rabbi Rick Jacobs, Rabbi Jonah Pesner, Rabbi Ambassador David Saperstein, Eric Ward, and leaders from Black Christian, Jewish, and Black Jewish communities across the country.

The Covenant gave particular recognition to the indispensable place and leadership of Black Jews, affirming that they “belong wholly within Black communities and wholly within Jewish communities” and must not be treated as symbolic participants, but as essential theological, moral and strategic leaders in the renewed alliance.

Drawing upon the prophetic traditions of Judaism and Christianity and the historic witness of Black freedom movements, the Covenant invokes the continuing moral legacy of leaders including Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel, the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Howard Thurman, and James H. Cone. It affirmed that religious faith requires more than dialogue: it requires moral action in the world.

The signing of the Covenant represented not the conclusion of a gathering, but the beginning of a renewed national movement of relationship, education, advocacy and action.

“We make this covenant not because our histories are identical, but because the One God calls us into shared responsibility,” the Covenant declared. “We make it not because we have resolved every disagreement, but because human dignity cannot wait for perfect agreement.”

With its signing and consecration in Atlanta, participants committed themselves to carrying that Covenant from the Summit into synagogues and churches, universities and schools, neighborhoods and communities, public policy and civic life throughout the United States.

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ABOUT THE ATLANTA SUMMIT: RENEWING THE BLACK/JEWISH ALLIANCE

The Atlanta Summit, held August 24–26, 2026, convened 100 rabbis, Black American clergy, Black Jewish leaders, scholars, activists and community leaders to strengthen relationships between Black and Jewish communities and develop a renewed national commitment to confronting antisemitism, racism and all forms of hatred while advancing freedom, justice equality, human dignity and the sacred worth of every person.