Arriving at New York’s LaGuardia Airport on a wet, chilly afternoon in early April, twelve bright-eyed students in red, white and gray University of Wisconsin sweatshirts and caps looked eager to explore the sights and sounds of the Big Apple. With some students never having flown before, this trip to New York City provided real-world cultural and historical context beyond the classroom, in a joint initiative launched by the Department of African American Studies and the Center for Jewish Studies (CJS).
Focusing on population and migration in the African American and Jewish communities of New York City, students visited Harlem and the Lower East Side, capturing the cultural significance of these neighborhoods while enhancing their knowledge of iconic buildings like the Eldridge Street Synagogue in Chinatown and the Tenement Museum, whose president, Annie Polland, is a Jewish Studies alum (BA, ’95).
Inside the preserved, historic tenements, students visualized the identities of Jewish, Black and Italian dwellers between the 1860s and 1930s, walking through original rooms and viewing family artifacts. “To see how immigrants lived on the Lower East Side, to actually walk through their homes and see the spaces where they slept, cooked and gathered with family and friends was just amazing and humbling,” said Zykia Brumfield, a Legal Studies major from Milwaukee who was visiting New York for the first time on this trip.
Accompanying students to New York were African American Studies professor and department chair Ethelene Whitmire and Center for Jewish Studies director Tony Michels. Nearly two years ago, it was their vision, in collaboration with several UW-Madison alumni and supporters, including Peter Weil (BA’70, JD ’74) and his wife, Judy Weil, and Michael Berkowitz (PhD, ’89), to create a fully engaging experience that left a lasting impact on students. Edward Grossman (BA, ’70) treated students to dinner in Greenwich Village. Another night, alumni and supporters mingled with students at Melba’s, a well-known eatery in Harlem, over broasted chicken, grilled summer squash and candied yams, while Letters & Science dean Eric Wilcots joined in for an amazing evening of soul food and fun.
One of the standout moments from the trip for sophomore (and Jewish Studies/Political Science major) Yaakov Segal was the two-hour walking tour of Harlem. Visiting beloved landmarks like the Apollo Theater, Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture (where renowned poet and social activist Langston Hughes is buried) and the deeply moving statue of Harriet Tubman, Segal was especially impressed with the neighborhood’s residents and tight-knit community.
“I love that Harlem continues to be the heart of African American culture. Even with gentrification happening everywhere in a place like New York, it’s inspiring to see Harlem thriving with Black businesses, arts and culture.”
Trip organizers Michels and Whitmire considered the inaugural trip a huge success and intend to travel to major cities like Chicago and Los Angeles in addition to New York City to explore the rich history of Black and Jewish communities.
It was another wet, chilly morning for the taxi ride to LaGuardia Airport, the exact same weather that greeted the students when they arrived in New York three days earlier. But the students were closer this time, taking selfies in Times Square before leaving the city, swapping contact information with each other and vowing to keep in touch, and wishing each other well in upcoming final exams and future endeavors.
