The economic downturn has hit everyone regardless of race or religion. Baltimore’s communities are no different. On Monday evening, May 11, a group of thirty blacks and Jews came together for a symposium on Poverty. The event, which took place at the Episcopal Dieses Center downtown,  was sponsored by the Black-Jewish Forum of Baltimore, BLEWS.

“Our topic was how the economic downturn has affected Baltimore African American and Jewish communities,” explained BLEWS President Camay Calloway Murphy. She said the Baltimore Black and Jewish communities have similar backgrounds and social realities as minorities.

“I think it is quite important there be some sort of molding together or understanding,” she said.

There were two keynote speakers at the meeting, which combined with questions and answers ran for about an hour-and-a-half. Those speakers were Diane Bell-McKoy, Executive Director of Associated Black Charities, and Barbara Gradet, Executive Director of Jewish Family Services. Gradet spoke about the dramatic increase in the number of people coming for services a result of their being laid off. She said that since Jewish Family & Children’s Services, Jewish Addiction Services and Jewish Vocational Services combined into JFS, just before the recession went into full force, shes seen many people coming in need of all three departments.

McKoy said the African American community is likewise struggling. She noted that the recession has aggravated an already high level of poverty and other socio-economic issues within the local black community. McKoy expressed that 66 percent of African Americans in Baltimore do not have college degrees, whereas Gradet said 66 percent of local Jews do.

“This kind of statistic brings to mind the question, ‘How did this come about?’ We have to ask, ‘Why is the statistic this way and what can be done to change that, to bring the African American community to have a greater percentage?’” said Murphy.

The speakers also spoke about what the black community can learn from the Jewish community in terms of small business development. Board member Bernard Berkowitz, explaining this information, which was provided by McKoy said, “The tendency is for African American-owned businesses to hire African Americans. In Maryland, most African American-owned businesses are one person businesses. They don’t employ anybody. If there were programs to encourage the growth of these small businesses, the growth would likely have a significant impact on the hiring of African American people.”

BLEWS was founded in 1978, when community leaders feared the Baltimore black and Jewish communities were growing apart. The purpose of the organization, said Berkowitz, is through dialogue to encourage understanding and cooperation between blacks and Jews. The latter, said Murphy, was the main message of the poverty forum.

“The economic downturn is affecting everybody. It is not specific to any one group or level of income,” she said. “The forum opened participants’ eyes to what is happening beyond their small group, it broadened their visions and understanding.”