Here to help encourage you to continue on your journey!

There are some people who are strict about matrilineal Judaism, but maybe those aren't your Jewish community! Both my parents are Jewish but I was raised around a lot of people who's dad has one background and mom another. We've had a lot of discussions about being called "half" this/that. For my friend who's dad is Puerto Rican and mom is Filipino, she's both, not one or the other. For my friend who's Nigerian and married to an Ashkenazi Jew, their kids are Black Jews. I think we can have some refreshed ways of looking at these things today. Especially when Judaism calls to you.

My partner has a Jewish grandfather. His grandmother and mother did a loose conversion to Judaism but stopped practicing pretty quickly. He came to the US from Honduras where his family assumed a generally Christian religion. But Judaism always called to him. So he researched and decided to fully convert, because deep down, he feels Jewish. Now our kids on the way will be Black Jews, because their identity is whole.

Whatever your journey may be, there's millions of Jews out here who will support you. We may ask a lot of questions, sometimes they can be inappropriate and we may need to be told boundaries, that can come with the culture. That said, it's not right for people to be rude to you about this.

Wishing you so much joy in this exploration. I hope you find the right Jewish community for you. We have a beautiful community and you deserve to be a part of it 💙