Activist Spotlight: Ma’ayan Stutman-Shaw

Hi, Workers Circle community! My name is Ma’ayan Stutman-Shaw and I am an organizing intern at the Workers Circle this summer. I am a rising sophomore at Brown University studying Judaic Studies and Africana Studies and I got involved with the Workers Circle through a fellowship program at NYU Hillel called the Collegiate Leadership Internship Program (otherwise known as CLIP). This program matches college students with Jewish nonprofits for internships over the summer and engages them in professional development workshops to help them better prepare for work in the Jewish professional world. It’s been great.

While I have had the pleasure of participating in many Jewish social justice spaces, none have spotlighted Yiddish culture and language quite like the Workers Circle. My great-grandparents immigrated to the United States from Eastern Europe and, up until this summer, I saw that fact as irrelevant to my work as an activist. At the Workers Circle, I am constantly reminded that my Ashkenazi identity and my love of social justice work are not unrelated. In fact, they are inextricably linked, the former serving as a catalyst for the latter. At the Workers Circle’s main office, I am surrounded by old books espousing values of equity and democracy that were written in the language spoken by generations before me. 

It is easy to forget that my great-grandparents were part of vibrant and joyful Jewish communities before immigrating to the United States. Whenever I hear stories of my family’s time in Poland/Lithuania/Russia/Wales, it is mostly filled with remarks about the violence that was inflicted upon my great-grandparents and the reasons for why they left. My work here has reminded me of the beautiful culture and language of my ancestors and has rekindled my love of klezmer music, Yiddish language, and the rich history of Jewish activism. So thank you to the Workers Circle, the members, donors, educators, and more, who have created a community that helped me embrace and enjoy this remarkable history (and present!).