Blacks and Jews who worked together in the civil rights movement plan a two-day reunion to emphasize their historical bonds and shared martyrs, rather than the recent political pressures that have strained their relationship. The Rev. Jesse Jackson, who has been at the center of concerns about black-Jewish relations since he was accused of making anti-Semitic remarks during his 1984 presidential campaign, was invited to the conference but was not among those who had confirmed plans to attend, said an organizer, Philip Shandler. ``It's not about the current political situation,'' Shandler said. ``It's focusing on the longstanding, productive relationship between blacks and Jews. It is essentially a history-gathering conference.'' Scheduled speakers include Benjamin Hooks, executive director of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, and Al Vorspan, vice president of the Union of American Hebrew Congregations. The conference, which begins Monday, will focus on recording the memories of civil rights veterans while also honoring the movement's martyrs. A memorial service was planned Monday night at the Martin Luther King Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change. King's widow, Coretta Scott King, was to participate in the conference, along with Carolyn Goodman, the mother of Andrew Goodman; and Ben Chaney, a brother of James Chaney. Chaney, a black man from Meridian, Miss., and Goodman and Michael Schwerner, white Jews from New York, were killed in 1964 as they tried to investigate a church burning in Mississippi. Their slayings were described as ``the touchstone of black-Jewish cooperation in the civil rights movement'' by Jonathan Kaufman, also a conference participant, in his book, ``Broken Alliance: The Turbulent Times Between Blacks and Jews in America.'' Kaufman is a reporter with The Boston Globe. Shandler, a former columnist for the defunct Washington Star and a one-time Senate press secretary, and Leon Dash, a black writer for The Washington Post, plan to use the material they gather at the conference in a future book on the history of black-Jewish cooperation. The sessions, involving key figures of the time along with historians and writers, will take place at the Carter Presidential Center.
