Professor Haynes will speak about the first comprehensive study of African-American Jewry, The Soul of Judaism: Jews of African Descent in America (NYU Press 2018).  His approach draws upon theories of Racialization and Orientalism to provide insights into the negotiation of Afro American claims to Judaism.  Blending historical analysis and oral history his work shows how Black Judaisms (in both their confrontational and collaborative forms) are racial projects and that both Blacks and Jews have navigated the boundaries of American color-line.  Haynes challenges normative understandings of Jewish identity, group boundaries, and the process of Jewish conversion.