Blood is not Water
The Yiddish word for ‘black’ is a slur. How to translate Black Lives Matter without it?
The Yiddish word for ‘black’ is, in certain uses, a slur. So Anthony Mordechai Tzvi Russell, Arun Viswanath and Jonah Boyarin teamed up to translate Black Lives Matter without it.
Heads-up: we will be talking about that sometimes-slur, plus there is one Category B swear in this episode.
Anthony Mordechai Tzvi Russell is a vocalist, composer and arranger; find his work at anthonyrussellbass.com.
Jonah Boyarin is an anti-racism organiser, writer, and translator; read his work in places such as Jewish Currents, Everyday Feminism and In Geveb.
Arun Viswanath is a product analyst and translator; find his translation of the first Harry Potter novel at harrypotter.olniansky.com.
The Allusionist music is by Martin Austwick. This episode was produced by Helen Zaltzman.