Happy Festival of Lights and Day of Human Rights

Hanukkah starts at sundown this Thursday, Dec. 10th, and there is much to celebrate—and to contemplate—this year. We thought we'd share a few of highlights with you.

Celebrating Human Rights

Hanukkah is in many ways a celebration of human rights and freedoms (for more on this and the history of Hanukkah music, see our Hanukkah Music in America article.) Serendipitously, December 10th is also International Human Rights Day, which celebrates the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948. You can read the declaration or browse this illustrated version with the family this Hanukkah.

Dave Brubeck's 100th Birthday

From left: Dave Brubeck, conductor Erich Kunzel, and composer Duke Ellington. 
Photo courtesy of the Holt-Atherton Special Collections Department, University of the Pacific.

December 6th marked what would have been Dave Brubeck's 100th birthday. The jazz legend and rights champion didn't just play great jazz, he also played his part in the struggle for civil rights and the unification of the African American and Jewish communities in their common cause with The Gates of Justice.

Learn more about the monumental cantata's history in two essays:

• Negotiating Jewish Identity in Dave Brubeck’s The Gates of Justice

• Research Guide to Dave Brubeck's The Gates of Justice (1969)

The 100 winners of our Albums and Artwork Giveaway

Congratulations to all of the winners! You will receive notification directly from our team to claim your prizes. You can also check the full list of winners in our newsroom.

Whether you entered or not, you can still enjoy The Gates of Justice and our complete Hanukkah album, streaming free on Spotify. (And stay tuned for more giveaways coming soon.)

The Moment Magazine Issue

This year, we partnered with Moment Magazine to publish their music Issue, "A Soundtrack of the Jewish People" featuring essays by and interviews with numerous artists included in the Archive, as well as an extensive playlist.

The Lowell Milken Center for Music of the American Jewish Experience at UCLA

Building on the work of the Milken Archive, the newly launched center will foster artistic creativity, scholarship, performance and other cultural expression. Learn more about the center, upcoming virtual public programs on the Lowell Milken MAJE site.