AJC Interns Host Panel on Antisemitism and Racism

When Raina Grosswald and Amit Rau were tasked with creating and producing a project during their summer internships at the Atlanta office of the American Jewish Committee, they mostly envisioned a networking opportunity for summer interns at various other organizations in the community.

However, it turned out, they said, that the luncheon event on July 18 had less to do with networking than the thought-provoking issues presented by panelists and AJC board members Victoria Raggs and Sherry Frank.

“Both talked about their respective childhoods growing up in Atlanta and how that led them into their careers,” said Grosswald, a junior at the University of Alabama who is studying forensic science and dance and hopes to work in a crime lab someday.

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Frank and Raggs “touched on different aspects of advocacy work in their respective fields,” added Rau, a freshman planning to study international relations and Spanish at the University of Texas in Austin. Both Rau and Grosswald participated in AJC’s Leaders for Tomorrow program when they were in high school.

The program “was a pleasant surprise for us,” said Raina Grosswald.

Frank grew up in a racially and culturally segregated Atlanta. Raggs is a Jewish woman who comes from an Afro-Caribbean background. Frank’s career included being executive director of Atlanta’s AJC office, co-president of the National Council of Jewish Women, and helped create the Atlanta Black/Jewish Coalition and the Faith Alliance of Metro Atlanta. Raggs is the Atlanta Jews of Color Council executive director and co-founder, as well as an intercultural strategist, consultant on diversity and equity issues and disability rights advocate.

Although the program initially targeted antisemitism, it was always intended to focus on Atlanta’s racial history as well – and where the two ideologies of bigotry intersect.

The 15 interns who attended the program came from various organizations in Atlanta, including city council offices, the Belgian consulate, corporate partners, and Jewish organizations. Rau and Grosswald were surprised that the “entire office” of the AJC also attended the program. “It wasn’t just the interns who were interested,” said Rau.

Amit Rau interned with the American Jewish Committee this summer and helped lead a panel on antisemitism and racism.

The program opened with an “ice-breaker event,” said Grosswald, with the participants in breakout groups sharing the stories behind their names. “The woman from the Belgian consul explained the meaning of her name in both French and Flemish,” noted Rau. They also talked about Christianity, Judaism, and Islam.

The program “was a pleasant surprise for us,” said Rau. “Everyone was so interesting and asked questions of Sherry and Victoria.”

The points that stood out to Rau by each of the panelists was Raggs stating that “Each one of us has an obligation, no matter how small it might be, we all have an obligation to speak up and say what is right.” And Frank explained that “community advocacy is about building relationships.”

Each one of us has an obligation, no matter how small it might be, we all have an obligation to speak up and say what is right.

That became clearer to Grosswald when she attended an event held by the Atlanta City Council on the anniversary of the death of Congressman John Lewis where the stamp with his portrait was displayed. “I saw one of the interns who had attended our event,” she said.

Grosswald said she and Rau received the project assignment so that they could coordinate it over their summer internships. “What stood out to us was learning how to plan something.” But she added that they both felt they had succeeded in their goals which included networking. They followed the program with emails to the participants to stay connected.