The professor of psychology is featured on newly launched website tackling race and religion.
Buffie Longmire-Avital, professor of psychology, director of the Black Lumen Project and Faculty Administrative Fellow, was one of 11 scholars selected for an National Endowment of the Humanities fellowship through the Center of Jewish Ethics (CJE) at the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College in 2022.
Longmire-Avital’s research examined the Jewish racial and ethnic socialization parents engage in with their children. Specifically, she explored how Jewish parents discuss race, racism and racial microaggressions within Jewish spaces (e.g., synagogues, community centers, day schools). Her findings were transformed into curriculum for both adults and children. Longmire-Avital’s work, which includes three brief presentations can be viewed along with the other projects on CJE’s newly launched website: jewsandrace.com
Longmire-Avital has quickly become a leading national expert on mitigating racial microaggressions in Jewish spaces and communities. In addition to her work being recognized for this highly selective fellowship, she is a recurring featured panelist on the MLK Day Morning Fuel & Call to Service: Exploring the Intersection of Black & Jewish Identity in America annual conversation on race, social justice, and Judaism, which began as an event for the official 2021 Biden-Harris Inauguration Week. She has worked as a DEI consultant and delivered multiple talks for Jewish organizations across the country. In April Longmire-Avital will be one of 18 leaders participating in a Leadership Mission to Israel where they will work with Israeli and American leaders on creating greater understanding and inclusion efforts around race.