African-American Jews

African-American Jews are people who belong to two groups. They are African American, and they are Jewish. This status comes from mixed ancestry (family history) or from conversion (the act of changing one's religion). African-American Jews may be Jewish from the time of their birth. Or, they may be converts (people who choose to join a new religion) to Judaism. Many African-American Jews have mixed family background. They have family members from the past who are African-American but not Jewish. They also have ancestors who are Jewish but not Black. Many African-American Jews describe themselves as Jews of color. However, some of them do not describe themselves this way. There are Black American Jews from Africa. One example is the Beta Israel group from the country of Ethiopia. These people may identify as African-American Jews. However, they may also choose not to use that name.