Etta King weaves her passions for storytelling, teaching, and community building together in her role as Education Program Manager at the Jewish Women’s Archive (JWA) in Brooklin, MA. JWA is a web-based organization that documents Jewish women’s stories, elevates their voices, and inspires them to be agents of change. A recent graduate of the Jewish Organizing Fellowship at JOIN for Justice, she also supports and nurtures JWA’s National Educators Network. Etta Earned a B.A. In Education Studies from Brandeis University and studied community development in the Washington Semester Program at American University. Etta enjoys cooking, watching movies, and nature.
Session 1: Barbie Lays Tefillin: Discussing Women and Jewish Ritual
In her 1994 autobiography, Barbie doll inventor Ruth Handler explained the toy’s true purpose: “My whole philosophy of Barbie was that through the doll, the little girl could be anything she wanted to be. Barbie always represented the fact that a woman has choices.” Discuss the intersection of gender and ritual in Judaism and explore the current state of gender in Jewish ritual practice through pictures, audio interviews, blog posts, and more.
Session 2: Tell Me Your Story: How to Collect Oral Histories
Each one of us carries a unique story, a small thread of the large tapestry of history. In this session, you will get a crash-course in developing questions and conducting interviews with family and community members in order to unlock the past and enrich the Jewish story you are sharing with future generations.
Session 3: Wednesdays in Mississippi: A Jewish Social Justice Case Study
2014 marked the 50th anniversary of Wednesdays in Mississippi, a little-known story of American housewives who created change in their communities. Learn about the contributions of and challenges for these women from interviews and historical documents that tell the story of how they organized across racial and geographic lines during the Civil Rights Movement .