Jason Belongs: The Story of Jason Schachter McKinney by Audrey Ades and Jason S. McKinney with illustrations by Isabel Muñoz; Minneapolis, Minnesota: Kar-Ben Publishing; © 2025; ISBN 9798765-620809; 32 pages; $19.99. Publication date: November 4, 2025.
SAN DIEGO — Jason’s father was an African American attorney; his Euro-American mother an artist and teacher. In skin color, Jason took after his father; in religion, he was raised in the Judaism of his mother. Sometime after his bar mitzvah, Jason felt isolated from his Jewish classmates because they questioned whether someone could be Black and Jewish.
Jason stopped going to synagogue as he felt like an outsider. He had the same reaction to attending services at an African American church. Where did he belong? He had grown into a professional singer, giving secular concerts around the world
One time in Belgium, he chanced to attend a Shabbat service. Sitting in the back row, he joined in the singing of a Hebrew prayer. Members of the congregation rewarded him with smiles. Their reaction prompted him to study to become a cantor. Meanwhile his stage career found him singing jazz at Preservation Hall, opera at the Lincoln Center, and Hannukah songs at the Clinton White House.
Jason was proud of both his Jewish culture and his African American culture – so proud he helped author Audrey Ades write this biography for readers ages 5 through 9.
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Donald H. Harrison is publisher and editor of San Diego Jewish World.