Spill the Honey Programs Extending Across the Country—and Across the Calendar Year For those who work it the field of Black-Jewish Relations, the start of the year can be especially full. January brings Martin Luther King Jr. Day, and February marks Black History Month–both powerful opportunities for learning, reflection, and partnership. For Spill the Honey, this year was no exception. Not a week went by without our team in classrooms, on stages, and in communities across th

Spill the Honey is proud to support educators who are bringing the lessons of Shared Legacies: The African American–Jewish Civil Rights Alliance  into their classrooms and communities. The Shared Legacies Mini-Grant Program provides grants of $500 to educators who are using the Shared Legacies curriculum and want to expand their students’ learning beyond the classroom through a family or community engagement event. Our goal is to help educators amplify student voices, deepen

By Antar “Juda” Davidson One of the most powerful things about hip-hop is that it naturally teaches the skills young people need to succeed in the real world. Collaboration. Communication. Creative problem-solving. Leadership. When students create music together, they are also learning how to organize ideas, work as a team, and turn imagination into something tangible. At the same time, hip-hop has always been deeply connected to civic life. It tells stories about communities

March opened on a powerful note as Spill the Honey was honored to join the Martin Luther King, Jr. International Chapel at Morehouse College, the historic Ebenezer Baptist Church, and The Temple to co-host the inaugural Shared Legacies Service. It was a day rooted in a shared commitment to justice and unity as portraits of Jewish civil rights leaders were unveiled and inducted into the Hall of Honor of Global Leaders in the International and National Civil Rights Movement at

Dr. Rogers' Introduced Shared Legacies at the Historic Ebenezer Baptist Church on Sunday, March 1, 2026. I am so honored to stand in this historic church, where Martin Luther King Sr. preached, where Martin Luther King Jr. inspired a nation, and where Raphael Warnock continues to inspire the next generation. I am deeply humbled to be in this room with my role model, Sherry Frank, whose character and actions define Jewish leadership and what it truly means to be a bridge build

Love in Action: Educating Across the Nation  for a Beloved Community February places Valentine’s Day at its center — a day that celebrates many forms of love. Beyond romantic love, we honor the love of friendship and the deeper agape  love that Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. described in 1957 as “understanding, creative, redeeming goodwill for all people… an overflowing love which seeks nothing in return. It is the love of God operating in the human heart.” MLK’s vision of a belo

By Antar Davidson Some partnerships begin long before anyone realizes their future impact. That’s true for my connection with Kosha Dillz, which goes back to my early days rapping in college. A rabbi first introduced me to Kosha’s music, and when I later moved to New Jersey for yeshiva, I made it a point to find him. He was the first Jewish rapper I had ever met — someone who balanced identity, humor, and honesty in a way that made hip-hop feel like a space where cultural pri

On Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Dr. Ben Chavis—author, theologian, educator, pastor, preacher, and Chair of Spill the Honey—preached from the pulpit of Duke University Chapel, where he now serves as a professor. The moment carried profound historical weight. Forty-seven years earlier, on MLK Day, Dr. Chavis had preached from that same pulpit while he was a divinity student at Duke Divinity School—and while he was unjustly incarcerated as part of the Wilmington Ten. In his serm

January - A New Year of Action and Impact For many, the New Year is a time for resolutions—intentions for how we hope to change or grow. At Spill the Honey, we are beginning the year not with words, but with action. Our planning for 2026 is already well underway.  We are off to a strong start in expanding our work on the national stage, with nearly 20 Shared Legacies programs scheduled across the country in the first quarter of 2026 alone. From Los Angeles to Boston, Washingt

Bella Hirsch’s Brisket  “As you might imagine, my mother did most of the cooking in our home and Bella was an incredible cook. Even though she herself grew up in extreme poverty and suffered severe hunger as a child, she became a natural in the kitchen and cooked many ‘Eastern European Jewish’ foods (borscht, stuffed cabbage, cholent, chicken soup). But, she also became a gourmet chef and cooked dishes from around the world.” - Dr. Ora Hirsch Pescovitz, daughter of Bella and

By Antar “Juda” Davidson As we begin a new year of action and impact, we do so carrying the memory, courage, and moral clarity of those who came before us. This January, as communities across the country honor the legacy of Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., we are reminded that the Civil Rights Movement was sustained not only by marches and speeches — but also by music, memory, and partnership. That is why the archival release of Rabbi Richard (Dick) Hirsch’s 1968 eulogy

Child Survivor of the Holocaust and esteemed Florida Holocaust educational leader, Dr. Miriam Klein Kasenoff, endorses our Shared Legacies documentary and educational program. She writes: “It is my privilege to recommend the educational film “Shared Legacies” directed and produced by Dr. Shari Rogers. This film is a powerful and deeply moving historical tribute to the enduring partnership between Black and Jewish communities in the struggle for civil rights. The film is done

Do you need an educational program for MLK Day or Black History Month?   Take time with your congregation, organization, with your leadership group, or with a friend to reflect on the enduring alliance between African American and Jewish communities in the pursuit of justice. The centerpiece is a 10-minute video  of Rabbi Richard (Dick) Hirsch—founder of the Religious Action Center—reading his moving 1968 eulogy for his close friend, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Delivered befor

Help Us Increase the Light of This Season As we enter the winter season, each of the upcoming festivals—Chanukah, Christmas, and Kwanzaa—reminds us of a shared call: to increase the light.  In the Talmud, an expansive collection of Jewish wisdom, the rabbis debate how to light the Chanukah menorah. Should we begin with eight candles and decrease each night or should we begin with one candle and increase the light? Ultimately, the law follows the teaching of the great first ce

What happens when students are given the mic to tell their story? At Detroit’s historic Cass Technical High School, students didn’t just learn about solidarity—they lived it. In an unforgettable workshop, they wrote verses, sang hooks, played saxophone, and produced the original track “Heal” alongside Detroit rapper Fat Ray and artist-educator Antar Davidson. The song, created after a school-wide assembly, gave students a chance to turn the message of Shared Legacies into mus

By Antar “Juda” Davidson Detroit's Cass Teach High School students composing Hip Hop with Fat Ray and Antar Davidson This season calls us to increase the light — one flame, one action, one voice at a time. As we reflect on the legacy of the Civil Rights Movement and the Black–Jewish partnership that shaped it, I am reminded that music has always been one of the most powerful sources of that light. During the 1960s, freedom songs lifted spirits in moments of fear, carried marc

Candied Yams Southern Soul Food     Dr. Benjamin F. Chavis, Jr., Spill the Honey's Chair, shared his family's candied yam holiday recipe. From Oxford, North Carolina, baked in oven candied yams have been the centerpiece of the Chavis family’s soul food menu that originated in West African cuisine centuries ago.   Ingredients   4 lbs of sweet potatoes boiled, then peeled and sliced into ½ inch thick elongated rounds    1 stick of butter  1 cup of brown sugar  ½ cup granulated

Great history happened here —in the more-than-century-old home of Dr. Sullivan Jackson and Mrs. Richie Jean Sherrod Jackson. Built in 1912,  in its early African American luminaries W.E.B. Dubois and Booker T. Washington visited and held fireside chats there. Five decades later, in 1965, the home again became a crossroad of history. Leaders of the Civil Right Movement convened within its walls to plan the Selma-to-Montgomery Voting Right March - work that would contribute dir

A Season of Gratitude and Shared Legacy “Thank you” is the best prayer that anyone could say. I say that one a lot. Thank you expresses extreme gratitude, humility, understanding.  — Alice Walker   At the end of this month, our nation will pause for Thanksgiving — a time to reflect on gratitude, connection, and shared purpose. While the origins of the holiday were shaped by exclusion, today both the African American and Jewish communities embrace this season as an opportunity

By Antar “Juda” Davidson As we move through this season of gratitude and shared legacy, I find myself reflecting on where Spill the Honey truly began—not just as a movement or a film, but as a voice. For me, that voice emerged in 2011 inside Eminem’s Detroit studio, when history, hip-hop, and healing met in one unexpected moment. I had just come back from Israel, where I’d been rapping and working alongside Moses “Shyne” Barrow during his spiritual return to Judaism. During t