Shared Legacies: African American – Jewish Civil Rights Alliance
Directed by Dr. Shari Rogers | USA, 2020
Documentary | English | 97 minutes
DCP available for theatrical screenings
Expert panelists available for post-screening conversations
About The Film
Shared Legacies is a powerful and timely documentary that revisits the enduring partnership between Black and Jewish communities during the Civil Rights Movement—and challenges us to reclaim that spirit today.
In the turbulent 1960s, a shared vision of justice brought these communities together, as Jewish leaders stood alongside Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in the fight for racial equality. Yet in recent decades, this once-strong alliance has frayed or is often overlooked or misunderstood.
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Through rare archival footage and deeply personal interviews, Shared Legacies brings this history to life. The film features voices of eyewitnesses, activists, Holocaust survivors, and movement leaders, including Congressman John Lewis, Ambassador Andrew Young, Dr. Clarence Jones, Louis Gossett Jr., members of the King family, Dr. Susannah Heschel and many others.
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At a moment when division and hate are again on the rise, the film serves as both a reminder and a call to action. A new generation is stepping forward, committed to advancing justice, strengthening relationships, and building bridges across difference.
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Shared Legacies is ultimately a story of unity, empathy, and partnership—affirming that freedom and equality can only be achieved when we come together.
About the Spill the Honey Video Archives
(Coming Soon)
Spill the Honey is building a dynamic and growing Video Archive dedicated to preserving and advancing the legacy of the African American–Jewish civil rights alliance.
Since 2013, the Spill the Honey Foundation has recorded nearly 100 hours of in-depth interviews with global leaders and changemakers, including Congressman John Lewis, Reverend C.T. Vivian, Harry Belafonte, Reverend Jesse Jackson, and Rabbi Everett Gendler—many of whom have since passed and whose stories have not yet been publicly shared.
More than a historical record, these testimonies offer vital insight into the present and future of Black–Jewish relations. They capture lived experience, illuminate shared struggles, and inspire continued work toward justice and understanding in the 21st century.
A Cup of Honey
“ In a chance meeting in the 1980’s, I had a discussion with Elie Wiesel, the famous Holocaust author, historian, and teacher. I told him that I had not been able to tell my story. He said that it was my obligation to speak out and to tell the world about the Holocaust. He told me that I had survived for a reason-to tell the world what had happened to my family and to me.
Suddenly I remembered that my mother had once told me the same thing-that it was beshert, or meant to be, that I survive to tell the story of my family.”
-Eliezer Ayalon
IN REMEMBRANCE OF
CONGRESSMAN JOHN LEWIS
REVEREND C.T. VIVIAN
HARRY BELAFONTE AND
RABBI EVERETT GENDLER
We are heartbroken by the deaths of Congressman John Lewis, Reverend C.T. Vivian, Harry Belafonte, and Rabbi Everett Gendler, four lions of the Civil Rights Movement. Their lives will inspire generations of positive change. Spill the Honey is grateful for their leadership and the sacrifices they made. We honor their memory and will continue to act according to their teachings.
CONGRESSMAN JOHN LEWIS
(1940-2020)
REVEREND C.T. VIVIAN
(1924-2020)
HARRY BELAFONTE
(1927–2023)
RABBI EVERETT GENDLER
(1928–2022)
OUR INSPIRATION
ELI AYALON
Spill the Honey was inspired by Eliezer Ayalon, a Yad Vashem tour guide who is a model of recovering from trauma to become a messenger of hope.
The non-profit takes its name from the inspirational story of Eli Ayalon, a Holocaust survivor, who was gifted a cup of honey from his mother the final day she would see him before being sent by the Nazis to 5 concentration camps. The honey symbolized hope and survival. He came to understand the power of using his voice and telling his story to inspire others to not remain silent in the face of hate and dehumanization. Likewise, Dr. King used his voice and strength to love, transform and mobilize America's consciousness to recognize our shared humanity.
SHARED LEGACIES AT DILLARD
Dillard University revitalizes National Center on Black-Jewish Relations
WHAT IS SPILL THE HONEY?
The Spill the Honey Organization's goal is to enable EVERYONE to spread dignity, goodness, and kindness. The sweetness of honey should spill over, connecting people of ALL faiths and races. Our film "Shared Legacies" shows the incredible importance of the shared history and strengths that flow from the Black-Jewish Alliance. We work on educational initiatives with activists from across the globe to bring awareness of past and present so that we can defeat the illnesses of antisemitism and racism.
OUR ORGANIZATION'S MISSION
TESTIMONIALS
Here you will find few of many testimonials about our film and the work Spill the Honey currently does
THE FILM
OUR WEBINAR EVENTS
