Dr. Samira Mehta on “Jews of Color: One Term, Many Communities”
The Eastern Michigan University Center for Jewish Studies is excited to announce that it is bringing Professor Samira Mehta to Southeastern Michigan. Professor Mehta is author of Beyond Chrismukkah: The Christian-Jewish Interfaith Family in the United States, which was published in 2018 with the University of North Carolina Press, and The Racism of People Who Love You: Essays on Mixed Race Belonging with Beacon Press in 2023. She has another book, God Bless the Pill: The Surprising History of Contraception and Sexuality in American Religion coming out in April 2026, again with University of North Carolina Press. Professor Mehta is also the primary investigator of a Henry Luce Foundation funded collaboration titled “Jews of Color: Histories and Futures,” and it is on this topic that she will speaking in Southeastern Michigan.
On February 16 at 7 p.m., Professor Mehta will deliver a talk titled “Jews of Color: One Term, Many Communities” in the EMU Student Center (Room 300). In this talk, Professor Mehta will explore the many ways that Jews of color come to and understand their Jewish identities, dispelling common misperceptions and answering questions about the experience of Jews of Color in the United States. The Network: Jewish People of Color of Greater Ann Arbor is co-sponsoring this event.
Professor Mehta will also be presenting this talk under the auspices of the EMU Center for Jewish Studies on Sunday, February 15, at the J in West Bloomfield in partnership with SAJE (Seminars for Adult Jewish Enrichment). This continues a trend begun last January, when the Center for Jewish Studies brought another speaker, Professor Rachel Gross, to present both at EMU and at the J in West Bloomfield.
Professor Mehta’s talk will be delivered at 7 p.m. in room 300 of the EMU Student Center, 900 Oakwood Street, Ypsilanti, MI 48197. This event is free, open to the public, and validation for parking will be provided. Please send inquiries to [email protected].
