Leyla Fern King
Leyla Fern King
Shabbat Shalom. I’m a member of the 14th class of Cultural Leadership’s yearlong high school leadership program. Cultural Leadership is a program run here in St. Louis that facilitates discussion around diversity, inclusion, and activism among a diverse group of high school sophomores and juniors who apply to be part of the program.
Specifically, we seek to understand life and the world around us through Black and Jewish lenses. We meet at least once a month as a group to have thought-provoking conversation and learn about history and culture.
In September, we came here to B’nai Amoona to learn about Yom Kippur, Rosh Hashanah, and Sukkot. We were welcomed and loved by this community with open arms, something we are more than grateful for.

Unfortunately, not everyone is as loving as your community, especially not to minority groups, such as Jewish people and people of color. Recently, there have been way too many hate crimes committed against both groups of people – unforgivable acts that paint a picture of America that we are not proud or fond of.

In times like these, when hate seems to engulf the world around us, it’s easy to feel as though hate is all the world has to offer. But we cannot emphasize enough how important it is to keep demonstrating love for each other and to show that there is still hope for all of us.
This gathering is hope. Cultural Leadership is hope. I am hope. We all are hope. We must remember that there are people all over America, like us, who will not stand for hate crimes, who will not let hatred win.
This gathering is hope because in a dark time we have come together to support each other and those in Squirrel Hill at the Tree of Life congregation. Just as easily as we have come together today, we could have fallen apart. We could have stayed home, loathing America and the person who had so much hate in him he had to force it upon other people. But we didn’t, because love must trump hate.
The past few months that we have been a part of Cultural Leadership, the importance of love and activism have been emphasized greatly, two things that are essential at a time like this. We must speak up against violence and injustice, such as the tragedy at the Tree of Life Congregation. We must love and support each other. We must remain hopeful.

Edited from remarks delivered Saturday, November 3 at Congregation B’nai Amoona at a service commemorating the victims at Tree of Life Congregation in the Squirrel Hill neighborhood of Pittsburgh.
https://www.stlamerican.com/news/columnists/guest_columnists/there-is-still-hope-for-all-of-us/article_840fb924-e14f-11e8-af8c-8fc349e411b8.html