The shared history of oppression of Jewish and Black Americans has bonded our communities for decades. During the march on Washington in 1963, Rabbi Joachim Prinz said, “As Americans, we share the profound concern of millions of people about the shame and disgrace of inequality and injustice.” Rabbi Micah Lapidus and vocalist Melvin Kindall Myles of Ebenezer Baptist Church created a new album in response to injustices. “Better Angels” was released in February and is now on Spotify. Rabbi Lapidus and Melvin Myles joined “City Lights” host Lois Reitzes via Zoom to talk about their album inspired by tragedy and created in friendship.
Interview highlights:
When Rabbi Lapidus first heard Melvin Myles sing:
“It’s an origin story that goes back to an iconic moment in the life of the Atlanta faith community, which is the Friday night of Martin Luther King weekend, when the combined choirs of the Temple and Ebenezer Baptist Church come together to sing and to worship together in the beautiful sanctuary of the Temple,” said Lapidus. “One of my compositions entitled ‘Praying with Our Feet’ is sung annually at that celebration. Well, a number of years ago, it came time to sing ‘Praying with Our Feet,’ and… the moment that I heard Melvin sing… I said, ‘This is the voice of my soul when I’m dreaming. I need to meet this person.’”
The meaning of friendship between the Black and Jewish communities:
“I think that part of what is resonating in our very personal and very specific relationship, the two of us, is that it reminds people of that broader context, and the Black-Jewish relationship in America, while not free of challenges and complexities, is fundamentally joyful; is fundamentally about standing arm-in-arm; is fundamentally about intersectionality,” said Lapidus. “It’s about ‘Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.’”
He continued, “It’s about the single garment of destiny, all of the things that Dr. King and Rabbi Rothschild and Rabbi Heschel and hundreds of others, thousands of others spoke for, marched for, lived for, in some cases died for; and we feel the wind of all of that at our backs pretty much every time that we’re together.”
On the poignant lyrics of “Violence In the Silence:”
“I think that us raising our voices and sounding the alarm is such a call to everyone – everyone who’s afraid, who is fearing what’s next or what could come of them speaking out and using their voices. It’s a call to you,” said Myles. “You’re not alone. We’re here together. We’re going to stand with you as you use your voice.”
On the title “Better Angels,” a reference to President Biden’s acceptance speech:
“The topic ‘Better Angels’ resonated with me because, well… the foundation of the album is love, and I consider God love,” said Myles. “Sometimes we have to reach out to our better angels, call upon our better angels to learn how to love each other better. And for this album to be titled that and for the foundation of the whole entire album to be love, it’s so special to me, and I hope that the lyrics and the words reach everyone the way that I’m feeling it.”
“Songwriting can be lonely,” said Lapidus. “Sometimes, even though music is inherently communal and collaborative, a lot of the songwriting process takes place in isolation with one’s own thoughts as a response to the world. At least, that’s the case for me. But ‘Better Angels…’ illustrates to me so clearly something that I’ve always known to be true, but feel is particularly true in the partnership that Melvin and I have – which is just how stronger and better we are together.”
The album “Better Angels,” a collaboration between Melvin Kindall Myles and Rabbi Micah Lapidus, can be heard now on Spotify and other major streaming platforms. More about the projects of these two community leaders and musicians can be found at https://www.lapidus-myles.com/.
