A recent dinner held at a Memphis home is one part of a growing national effort to rekindle a historic alliance — the relationship between Black and Jewish communities.
The gathering, hosted by Memphian Margo Gruen, was sponsored through Exodus Leadership Forum, a dinner-based dialogue initiative founded by national commentator and social justice leader Van Jones. The CNN political analyst and longtime advocate for racial healing launched Exodus to encourage conversations across communities in cities nationwide.
“The idea was simple,” Gruen said. “Dinner in an intimate setting that creates a safe space for hard, necessary conversations. It was really about sitting together, listening and building meaningful relationships.”
The evening began with participants honoring an ancestor who had made a powerful impact on their lives, before moving into personal reflections on racism and antisemitism — and ways to strengthen Black–Jewish partnerships moving forward.
While the gathering was an Exodus event, Gruen’s involvement in this work extends beyond the dinner. After the murder of Tyre Nichols, she became involved with The Rekindle, a separate national initiative that brings Black and Jewish participants together for structured dialog during a five-session cohort experience.
“I felt such a void in my life because I didn’t know how to reach out to the Black community,” she said. “In light of what happened in our city with Tyre Nichols, I wanted to do something.”
A nurse by profession with no prior nonprofit experience, Gruen wrote a grant, received funding and helped establish an official Rekindle chapter in Memphis. The city completed two cohorts in 2025, with a third beginning this March.
And now, she says, the relationships formed through both efforts are pointing toward something larger.
With the bonds that have formed because of both the Rekindle project and Exodus dinner, she said, “our next step is to figure out an action project that will really make a difference to the city.”
Unlike Exodus dinners, which are designed as one-time intimate gatherings that anyone can host, Rekindle cohorts involve deeper engagement over time — including cultural experiences that build trust through shared community life.
For example, Gruen described attending church with civil rights leader Van Turner, immediate past president of the NAACP Memphis Branch, as part of her Rekindle experience.
“I had never been in a church before. I go to synagogue,” she said. “I had also never been the only white person in a room before. The experience was so incredible. Everyone was so lovely. Van (Turner) explained everything — even communion — as we went through the service.”
Gruen later invited Turner to a Friday night Shabbat dinner at her home, where she explained Jewish prayers in return.
“It’s just things like that that bring you together,” she said. “To know that we are all just people. I think we don’t need to make it harder than it is. It is just getting to know people on a different level.”
Turner reflected on his own participation in a Rekindle cohort and the importance of renewing the Black–Jewish partnership.
“The times now more than ever call for the resurgence of this storied relationship,” he said. “Rekindle answered that call… From the seminars, to the out-of-classroom events and experiences, my Rekindle cohort was right on time. I am so appreciative that I took the time to engage again. Let’s keep it going!”
Another cohort participant, Gortria Banks, said the fellowship created the kind of environment necessary for lasting community change.
“The conversations we had were necessary for creating an inclusive and supportive community where everyone felt heard, understood, included and valued,” Banks explained. “Sharing stories, asking tough questions and really listening allowed us to see through a different lens… We learned that we have more in common than what we knew.”
Banks added that programs like Rekindle matter because “they remind us that change begins with open and honest conversation, seeing one another’s humanity and choosing connection over our differences.”
The Memphis chapter also grounds its work in local civil rights history. During one of the Rekindle cohort sessions — separate from last week’s Exodus dinner — former Memphis Mayor Willie Herenton spoke to participants about Rabbi James Wax of Temple Israel, who supported sanitation workers during the 1968 strike despite threats and backlash.
“Mayor Herenton shared that Rabbi Wax was one of his heroes,” Gruen said, recalling his story of Wax “storming into the mayor’s office and standing up for sanitation workers.”
Gruen believes Memphis offers something distinct to the national movement.
“The city is over 60% Black,” she said, “which creates a real opportunity for Jewish participants to learn about Black history and culture in a very personal, lived way.”
Gruen says she looks forward to the group offering broader opportunities for community engagement in the near future. For now, she believes the work begins simply by showing up, listening, and building trust one relationship at a time.
