Black to the Promised Land

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Audience Member This gem of a documentary film by Madeleine Ali needs to be much better known. The snapshot that doesn't do it justice is: beloved Jewish teacher at Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn takes 11 of his students, all African Americans, to an Israeli kibbutz. This film deserves play not just at black churches and synagogues but everywhere where thoughtful people care about social issues, our youth, how society evolves, our common humanity and more...it goes well beyond race and religion and ethnicity. There would have been culture shock even if these had been white urban kids...or even if it were white Jewish urban American kids...heck, even Urban Israeli Jews would have had a culture shock arriving at rural kibbutz where where doors are left unlocked at night and bicycles can be left unlocked and still be there days later. And the culture shock from the hard dog eat dog life in a low income part of hyper capitalist U.S....to an Israeli kibbutz where housing and food and more are free and collectively shared. An Israeli kibbutz is basically a democratic form of communal economics (like Mondragon, entire region with workplaces being worker-run, in Spain) Beyond the urban/rural and dog eat dog to communal and other culture shocks...yes, there is race and religion...American kids who have never traveled overseas(and at least one of whom says he has never had a white friend) ..and 1990s Israelis (especially rural) who have had very little if any exposure in real life to African Americans, other than TV which told them about crime, drugs, oh, and "all the boys play basketball" type images... The Black students in turn might have only thought of Israelis as those ultra-Orthodox dressed Jews who "smell" funny that they saw in Brooklyn..that Israeli is mostly "desert" and that there's constant fighting and terrorism...and other examples of innocence and ignorance on both sides...this probably doesn't sound like the kind of situation that leads to close friendships developing...deep affection...and hugs and wet eyes and even crying goodbyes at the end...but that's exactly what happens! The Israeli adults and kids learn to love these city-smart culturally rich kids Black kids from Brooklyn with their song, dance, and other things they share...including a joint rendition of We Shall Overcome... Along the way there are challenges, from healthier home-cooked meals in the communal dining hall that initially all the Brooklyn students hate...to hard physical work or boring factory work ("I feel Sissy Spacek in Coal Miner's Daughter!" says one , referring to a 1980 film about a poor white girl from KY) in this timeless 1992 documentary.. A particularly poignant moment was the visit to Jerusalem about which I won't reveal more. There's also social and economic lessons: the Israeli kibbutz is a fairly economically poor one, and still deeply in debt ..yet as one girl noted, everyone is fed and taken care of, while (in such a wealthy country at the U.S.) you're on your own, especially tough if you were born in a disadvantaged neighborhood..what does that say about priorities here in the U.S.? (as a side note, what's the number one income source of this kibbutz that was promised that the visiting Brooklyn kids would all pitch in and perform the same duties as everyone else? Picking cotton) From struggles with early wakeup and more, to learning responsibility, to silly and funny moments, to just plain human love and real friendships that transcends one's religion, race, language and country, whether one is 15 or 85.. I notice someone put a copy on youtube a year ago..not sure how long this 1992 film will last there..it may be hard to find elsewhere but worth the effort! With a sound track that includes Quincy Jones, Ice-T, Branford Marsalis and more as well as contemporary 1990s cultural backdrop.. Rated 5/5 Stars •  Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/15/23 Full Review Read all reviews

Black to the Promised Land

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