Black Jews may refer to a number of different religious and ethnic groups.

• Black Jews may refer to a number of African-American religious movements started in the 1800s, the first started by William Saunders Crowdy in 1847. To many of these groups, the claiming of Jewish identity was a way to reject one of the most influential social institutions of their white oppressors, Christianity, similar to the later Black Muslim movement. They generally do not practice mainstream Judaism, but rather a religion incorporating elements of different religious traditions. Some Black Jews do not consider semitic Jews to be true Jews and claim to be the true descendants of the Israelites of the Torah. Although cordial relationships exist between some of these groups and the mainstream Jewish community, they are not generally considered to be members of that community, since they have not formally converted, nor do they have Jewish parents. In one case, however, that of the Hebrew Israelite Community , a Black Jewish group was granted permanent resident status in Israel.

• Black Jews may refer to the Beta Israel, Black Jews from Ethiopia that are generally considered Jewish by the mainstream Jewish community.

• The Jewish community of Kerala State in India is often differentiated into White Jews (also called Paradesi Jews), descendants of immigrants who arrived from the 15^th Century onward, and Black Jews, descendants of the already-then-extant Jewish community, which, according to tradition, dates back to the time of King Solomon. (See also Cochin Jews and Judæo-Malayalam)

• Black Jews may refer to Jews who are Black, whether Jewish by religious practice or by ethnic identification (such as having a Jewish parent).

List of Black Jews

The following is a list of some prominent Black Jews, fitting some of the definitions above:

• Darrin Bell, cartoonist (Jewish mother)
  
• Lisa Bonet, actress (Jewish mother)
  
• Troy Beyer, actress (Jewish father)
  
• Nell Carter, actress & singer (converted)
  
• Craig David, singer (Jewish grandmother)
  
• Sammy Davis Jr., entertainer (converted)
  
• Anthony Ervin, Olympic swimming champion (Jewish mother)
  
• Laïka Fatien, jazz singer (Jewish mother)
  
• Aneesa Ferreira, reality tv contestant (Jewish mother)
  
• Aaron Freeman , journalist & comedian (converted)
  
• Capers Funnye , rabbi (converted)
• Anais Granofsky, actress & director (Jewish father)
  
• Reuben Greenberg , police chief of Charleston, South Carolina
  
• Lani Guinier, law professor (Jewish mother)
  
• Rashida Jones, actress (Jewish mother)
  
• Yaphet Kotto, actor
  
• Jamaica Kincaid, author (converted)
  
• Oona King, British MP (Jewish mother)
  
• Lenny Kravitz, rock musician (Jewish father)
  
• Julius Lester , children's writer and academic (converted)
  
• James McBride, writer & composer (Jewish mother)
  
• Elliott Maddox, baseball player (converted)
  
• Abbie Mitchell, actress & singer (Jewish father)
  
• Walter Mosley, author (Jewish mother)
  
• Marvin Pontiac, R&B singer (Jewish mother)
  
• Rain Pryor , actress (Jewish mother)
  
• Joshua Redman, saxophonist (Jewish mother)
  
• Tracee Ellis Ross, actress (Jewish father)
  
• Rowetta Satchell, singer (Jewish mother)
  
• Frank Silvera, actor & teacher (Jewish father)
  
• Slash, member of Guns and Roses (Jewish father)
  
• Michelle Stein-Evers , educator (German Jewish mother, Ethiopian Jewish father)
  
• Khleo Thomas, actor (Jewish mother)
  
• Rebecca Walker, feminist writer (Jewish father)
  
• Robin Washington, journalist (Jewish mother)
  
• Jamila Wideman , basketball player (Jewish mother)
  
• Jackie Wilson, soul singer (converted)
  

Also of note is Mezz Mezzrow, a Jewish jazz player who self-identified as African-American.

References

Black Jews