Temple of the Arts to Present 'Shared Heritage of Freedom' Shabbat Service on Friday, March 27 at the Saban Theatre

SHARED LEGACIES THE AFRICAN AMERICAN-JEWISH CIVIL RIGHTS ALLIANCE

LA Event

Special Shabbat gathering will honor the shared heritage of freedom between Jewish and African American communities amid a renewed call for unity

Black and Jewish communities both know the pain of being targeted by hate, and we also know the strength that comes from standing together in the face of it,”

— Dr. Shari Rogers, Co-Founder and President

LOS ANGELES, CA, UNITED STATES, March 19, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ -- On Friday, March 27 at 7:30 p.m., Temple of the Arts at the Saban Theatre in Beverly Hills will present the “Shared Heritage of Freedom” Shabbat service, a special evening celebrating the enduring bonds between the Jewish and African American communities. The event is free and open to the public.
The evening will feature the documentary Shared Legacies: The African American Jewish Civil Rights Alliance, followed by remarks from Dr. Benjamin F. Chavis, Jr., veteran civil rights leader, educator, author, and Chairman of the Board of Spill The Honey. The service will conclude with music and worship led by Rabbi David Baron, with special guest Pastor Michael Fisher of Greater Zion Community Church and the 30-voice Greater Zion Gospel Choir from Compton.

The program is especially timely as communities across the country continue to confront hatred, antisemitism, racism, and attacks on houses of worship. The service aims to uplift a message of unity, shared history, resilience, and hope.

Dr. Shari Rogers, Co-Founder and President of Spill The Honey, is helping spotlight the importance of this moment. Spill The Honey is a movement founded by Rogers in partnership with civil rights leader Dr. Clarence B. Jones to help rebuild the historic alliance between Black and Jewish communities through education, storytelling, music, and the arts. The organization honors the shared histories of resilience within Jewish American and African American communities and draws connections between the Holocaust, slavery, and the continued fight against hatred and oppression.

Spill The Honey traces its inspiration to Holocaust survivor Eliezer “Eli” Ayalon, whose story became a symbol of light, hope, and responsibility to “spill over into the lives of others.” The organization’s mission is to use the transformative power of the arts to change hearts and minds, amplify the voices of the historic African American-Jewish civil rights coalition, and encourage new partnerships across lines of race, faith, and culture.

A centerpiece of that mission is Shared Legacies: The African American Jewish Civil Rights Alliance, the award-winning documentary that highlights a pivotal chapter in American history when African American and Jewish leaders worked together to help transform the moral conscience of the nation. Spill The Honey says the film has screened in more than 120 venues nationwide and helped educate more than 20,000 students and community members.
In the wake of the recent targeted attack on Temple Israel, Rogers said she has received an outpouring of support and calls from across the country. “Black and Jewish communities both know the pain of being targeted by hate, and we also know the strength that comes from standing together in the face of it,” said Rogers. “In this painful moment, that shared history of resilience, compassion, and mutual support matters more than ever. We must answer acts of hate with unity, moral clarity, and a commitment to protect one another.”

Chavis also added his voice to the national outpouring of support, stating: “An attack on one synagogue is an attack on all synagogues. An attack on any house of worship is an attack on all houses of worship.”

Beyond film screenings, Spill The Honey also works with communities through educational programming, youth-focused hip-hop writing sessions, and curriculum-based dialogue designed to help schools, faith communities, and institutions explore history, justice, and coalition building in meaningful ways.
Organizers say the March 27 service is intended to be both a celebration and a call to action — reminding audiences that the historic Black-Jewish civil rights alliance remains a powerful model for interfaith and multicultural partnership today.

To RSVP, email reception@templeofthearts.org.
For more information about Spill The Honey, visit www.spillthehoney.com.

About Spill The Honey
Spill The Honey is an educational and cultural initiative founded by Dr. Shari Rogers in partnership with Dr. Clarence B. Jones to help rebuild the historic coalition between Black and Jewish communities. Through documentary film, curriculum, music, and community-based programming, Spill The Honey honors the shared legacies of struggle and resilience in the Jewish American and African American communities while working to inspire empathy, understanding, and social change.

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