"Chicano" was written throughout my essay, but every time it had the red squiggly line underneath. I highlighted the first instance and hit the button. Microsoft Word made a recommendation: did I really mean "Chicago"? That made me think about how relatively unknown, even invisible, the Chicano community was to the vast majority of Americans. It meant a lot to me growing up, but most people didn't even know what "Chicano" meant. And, I thought, the majority of Latinos probably don't consider themselves Chicanos.
That said, at that age I wasn't keenly aware of the discrimination that others experienced. There were few Jewish, Native American, gay, or transgender people in my childhood circle. My small group of friends from kindergarten to high school were all Mexican American, and the fight for civil rights was highly personalized in my household and area of the city.
I would not be surprised if other students heavily submerged in other ethnic cultures encountered the same sense of marginalization when they wrote their papers... Later on, [when I took a class on] "Imagining the Holocaust," I heard the horrific account of what happened to Jews during World War II. At StanfordI was forced to pull back from my tight community and understand how a common thread ran through so many other cultures around the world where people had to fight for their rights. When one of these groups achieved a victory against discrimination, I felt like the mother at the bus stop who had asked if "we" had won the election.
--Julian Castro, An Unlikely Journey, 112-3
Why We Care about Civil Rights & Voting Rights
The Sage Hillel taught "Al tifros min hatzibur, Do not separate yourself from the community" (Pirke Avot 2:5). Moreover, it is our responsibility to play an active role in our community and choosing its leaders.
Rabbi Yitzhak taught that "A ruler is not to be appointed unless the community is first consulted" (Babylonian Talmud Berachot 55a). Rabbi Yitzhak further explained that in the Torah, Bezalel could be chosen to build the Tabernacle only with the community's approval. This deeply embedded ethic of political participation has guided Jews to enthusiastically participate in the American electoral process.
Jews played an active role in the dramatic civil rights struggles of the 1950s and 1960s, a movement that ultimately granted citizens of color unfettered access to the franchise. Indeed, the Voting Rights Act of 1965 was partially drafted in the conference room of the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism, under the aegis of the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights. Given our longstanding commitment to the civil rights struggle, ongoing voter suppression and disenfranchisement, which disproportionately impacts Voters of Color. It is our duty to ensure all voters can safely and freely cast our ballots so that every voice is heard and our elections reflect the will of the people. Only through national standards for voting access can we make the promise of democracy real for us all.
As Reform Jews, we must heed the teachings of our tradition that speak to the dangers of mixing money and politics and recognize the distorting effect that money can have on a leader’s ability to govern fairly. We are reminded of this teaching from Deuteronomy 16:19, "You shall not judge unfairly: you shall know no partiality; you shall not take gifts, for gifts blind the eyes of the discerning and upset the plea of the just." We are commanded to stand up for the widow, the poor, the orphan and the stranger. In a system that allows for disproportionate power of money, it is these groups who are ignored and who suffer the most.
https://rac.org/issues/civil-rights-voting-rights
Heading Back to School? Learn What Judaism Can Teach Us about the Importance of Public Education
Jewish tradition explains that education has the power to shape lives. We are commanded to “train a youth in the way he ought to go; he will not swerve from it even in old age” (Proverbs 22:6). Educational equity is particularly important, because a quality education promotes intergenerational mobility and has a positive impact for decades to come. The Talmud explains that “one who teaches a child Torah is considered to have taught that child and that child’s children and grandchildren, to the end of the generations” (Kiddushin 30a). Yet our support for education extends far beyond teaching Torah in synagogues or Hebrew schools. Public education is especially important, as our tradition mandates that every community must establish local schools, recruit and support qualified teachers, and ensure manageable class sizes.
https://rac.org/blog/heading-back-school-learn-what-judaism-can-teach-us-about-importance-public-education