Moving Traditions to bring together Jewish teen activists from across the US to make a difference
September 4, 2024 – Moving Traditions is proud to announce 27 newly selected participants from across the United States in the fall 2024 cohort of Kumi: Foundation.
Kumi is a unique opportunity for Jewish teens (10th-12th graders) to interrupt racism, antisemitism, and other manifestations of oppression. This teen leadership experience imparts knowledge and skills for exploring justice and equity from a Jewish lens.
Now in its third cohort, the program will begin its fall iteration, Kumi: Foundation. The program will bring teens together from across the country to build community in a 4-day retreat, coupled with three virtual sessions to continue the learning.
Participants will be prepared for bold changemaking on college campuses, in social justice spaces, and wherever else their passions take them. Together, they will contribute to the building of more inclusive communities and movements for justice as Jews. Through their experience in Kumi, participants will be challenged to explore their connection to their own Jewish identity and build the skills to turn their values into action.
The semester-long hybrid experience will help Kumi participants get a strong shared foundation of anti-oppression theory and practice, and also provide an opportunity to regularly reconnect to deepen their learning with their cohort.
The list of the fall 2024 Kumi: Foundation participants has been published on Moving Traditions’ website.
One unique aspect of Kumi is its intentional community-building through two tracks: Jews of Color Empowerment and Anti-Racist Allies. In keeping with racial justice best practices, these two tracks will be learning together and separately over the course of the experience to provide intentional and targeted support of their learning.
“I am so excited to meet the next cohort of Kumi teens,” says Beckee Birger, Director of DEIJ Initiatives for Moving Traditions. “Their depth of commitment and passion that was evident in their applications alone tells me that we are going to have another transformative year – and that these teens have the power to change their communities in real and lasting ways.”
Kumi is part of Moving Traditions’ suite of programs that aim to embolden thousands of Jewish youth each year – with 8,000 total program participants in 2023-24.
“I never cease to be impressed with the teens who participate in Kumi,” says Shuli Karkowsky, Moving Traditions’ CEO. “They bring so much sensitivity, mindfulness, and nuance to these complicated conversations around race and belonging. They make me hopeful that, in the face of debate around the importance of DEI work, we will continue to pursue tzedek – justice and equity for all.”
In the coming weeks, Moving Traditions will invite former Kumi participants to apply for its spring program, Kumi: Exploration. In this new program, Kumi alumni will use the history and present reality of an American city to make real-world connections to the topics they learned in Kumi: Foundation.
Kumi is made possible by support from the Shards of Light Foundation and the Jews of Color Initiative.