Unfortunately, anyone involved in any capacity on the internet has witnessed the mistakes of those who make rash statements, thus dropping themselves directly into the lion’s den, so to speak.
Following his anti-Semitic Instagram post, Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver DeSean Jackson became a hot topic in the sports community and beyond. In this episode of Straight Talk on the Charisma Podcast Network, Dr. Michael Stevens addresses this recent issue and offers his perspective on the situation. He says, “To post those remarks was a very juvenile, immature thing to say and do, particularly out of the race, tension, the atmosphere that we’re experiencing in America.”
Stevens not only reprimands Jackson’s behavior but also wants to “congratulate and … honor him for being man enough to quickly apologize.” The viewpoint that follows lends itself keenly to the conversation around the Black community’s responsibilities to stand with and uphold the Jewish community. Stevens, who says he has “many friends in Israel as well as Jewish brothers and sisters here in the States,” says that “as I’ve been doing Jewish advocacy work over the last several years all across the country, in fact, all across the world, I can’t count the number of times older black people have said, ‘It was a Jewish person who gave me my first start in business. It was a Jewish person who rented me my first home. It was a Jewish person who gave me the tools and the resources to be successful.
“And so I believe that we as African Americans owe a debt of appreciation to our Jewish brothers and sisters …”There’s such oppression and persecution in both of our communities, we [must] learn how to embrace our religion and our spirituality, whether it was their Judaism and or our Christianity.”
To hear more of Stevens’ response to Jackson’s anti-Semitic comments and on the bond he believes Jews and African Americans share, listen to the full podcast here. {eoa}
