Rekindle

Rekindle was founded in 2022 by Charmaine Rice, a trained DEI facilitator and inclusive leader, and Matt Fieldman, a social entrepreneur and nonprofit professional, as a way to improve relations between the Black and Jewish communities in northeast Ohio in the wake of rising antisemitism and racism. The organization seeks to rebuild the powerful bonds formed between the Black and Jewish communities during the Civil Rights Movement so that the two can work together to become greater changemakers and increase equity.

The Rekindle Fellowship features four learning sessions that promote critical discussion about readings from Jewish and secular thought, including works by Martin Luther King Jr., Langston Hughes, and Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel. Fellows also combine forces to serve on Rekindle Action teams to effect change in their community, creating projects that promote entrepreneurship, women-focused programming, social get-togethers, and criminal justice reform.  the organization has graduated five cohorts of 88 Rekindle Fellows, who are leaders and professionals in such fields as philanthropy, media, business, and economic development. Throughout its work, Rekindle aims to reactivate the power of two communities for good — and for a better future.