Like much of the broader community, TribeHerald saw a tumultuous end to 2020. Relocating from New York City to upstate New York alone was a daunting task — only to be followed by the stark realities of winter life in the Catskills. We pulled through the snowiest winter in recent history, enduring through a full week of below zero arctic chill when our wood burning stove (and main heating source) decided to stop working.
It was only with the support of community that TribeHerald has survived. Our readership and direct community contributed generously to our successful winter appeal, and we received a fortunately timed grant from the Jews of Color Initiative.
While the winter was also a personally trying time, it allowed TribeHerald to refocus our efforts and re-dedicate ourselves to communally beneficial organizing, programming, and content.
Our nonprofit fiscal sponsor, Darkhei Rephua, is our partner in our commitment to community building, and as we enter Spring of 2021, we look forward to creating events both online and offline designed to bring marginalized communities closer together. This will include Y-Love going on the road to various cities and regions to document stories of marginalized Jews, in direct community building efforts. We are holding Juneteenth programming – the one year anniversary of the launch of TribeHerald.com – featuring a Shabbaton with Ma Nishtana and a Melava Malka that will be accessible in an online broadcast.
Editorially, we are broadening our contributor base. In addition to our current content, we’ll additionally be creating content centered around mental health and drug policy, with a particular focus on platforming the experts addressing how, where, and why theses issues affect JOC and other marginalized communities.
To this end, we’ve begun a discussion and relationship with SSDP (Students for Sensible Drug Policy) that we will continue. Please check out our beginning discussion featuring SSDP Board Member Oriana Mayorga, and Luis Montoya, SSDP’s interim director. In addition to her work with SSDP, Oriana is a board member of SPORE, a theology student at Union Theological Seminary’s Jewish program, and the Interfaith Liaison on the Darkhei Rephua board.
This is an exciting chapter for TribeHerald, with the coming of Spring, we are excited for TribeHerald to apply the lessons we’ve learned and take our readership to new levels. We look forward to your continued support, and we thank you for being part of our community.
