Growing up with a Jewish mother and a Southern Baptist father, Danae Baxter spent her Sundays in church while celebrating Jewish holidays at home. “I grew up in a little bit of both worlds,” Baxter recalled. Though she felt a persistent, curious pull toward Jewish customs, she rarely met other Jewish peers until arriving at Johns Hopkins University for college.
That collegiate transition brought both a deepening commitment to Jewish life and a sharp sense of isolation. As a person of color at Johns Hopkins, Baxter experienced clear moments of impostor syndrome within local institutional spaces. “Even though I knew I was Jewish, I felt like there was an understanding gap with the people that were at Hillel,” she said. “It seemed like everyone really knew each other at Hillel, so I felt kind of on the side a little bit.”
Finding Footing Through Mentorship and Baltimore Community
The trajectory of Baxter’s campus experience shifted when a peer pairing program connected her with another student. That introduction led her to a rabbi with whom she met every other week to ask questions, explore her heritage, and articulate her personal connection to Judaism.
Now residing in Lansdowne, Baxter engages actively with local initiatives supporting Jews of color, including Third Space at Shaarei Tfiloh. Her current focus centers on coalition building and carving out physical and cultural room for diversity within Jewish institutions. “Right now, for me, Judaism is, ‘Okay, how do I make space for Jews of color?’” Baxter said. “I feel like I’m still figuring out what that looks like for me, but right now it looks like coalition building and just [letting people] know that we’re here.”
Looking Ahead to Amplifying Diverse Stories
As she searches for a synagogue to join, Baxter aims to elevate the rich, multifaceted narratives of Jews of color so that seeing a Black Jewish woman in these spaces ceases to register as a shock factor. She champions environments that welcome nuance, productive disagreement, and active questioning—core elements she sees mirrored in traditions like the four questions of Passover and the mandate of tikkun olam.
“When I was always in Jewish spaces, it was more of a, ‘what are we learning from this, and how are you going to interpret this?’” Baxter noted. “I really admire that.”
