Sandra Lawson (born 1970) is an American rabbi and the first director of Racial Diversity, Equity and Inclusion at Reconstructing Judaism. She previously served as Associate Chaplain for Jewish Life at

Elon University Elon University is a private university in Elon, North Carolina, United States. Founded in 1889 as Elon College, the university is organized into six schools, most of which offer bachelor's degrees and several of which offer master's degrees or ...

. Lawson became the first openly gay, female, and black rabbi in the world in 2018. She is a veteran, vegan, sociologist, personal trainer, food activist, weightlifter, author and musician.

Biography

Lawson was born in St. Louis, Missouri, and grew up in a military, non-practicing Christian family. Lawson graduated magna cum laude from

Saint Leo University Saint Leo University is a private Catholic university in St. Leo, Florida. It was established in 1889. The university is associated with the Holy Name Monastery, a Benedictine convent, and Saint Leo Abbey, a Benedictine monastery. The universi ...

in Florida with a degree in sociology. She also holds a master's degree in sociology from

Clark Atlanta University Clark Atlanta University (CAU or Clark Atlanta) is a private, Methodist, historically black research university in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. It was founded on September19, 1865, as Atlanta University, it was the first HBCU in the South ...

in Georgia. As a college student, Lawson came out as a lesbian and enlisted in the

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of the United Stat ...

. In the army she served in military law enforcement, working on child abuse and domestic violence cases. After graduating from college and leaving the military, she opened a personal training business. Through her client, the Reconstructionist Rabbi Joshua Lesser, she came to discover Judaism and fell in love with Lesser's synagogue, Congregation Beth Haverim. She ultimately converted to Judaism in 2004. Lawson went on to serve as an investigative researcher for the Anti-Defamation League and later began rabbinical school at the

Reconstructionist Rabbinical College The Reconstructionist Rabbinical College (RRC) is a Jewish seminary in Wyncote, Pennsylvania. It is the only seminary affiliated with Reconstructionist Judaism. It is accredited by the Commission on Higher Education of the Middle States Assoc ...

. She chose this path after attending an LGBT memorial for

Coretta Scott King Coretta Scott King ( Scott; April 27, 1927 – January 30, 2006) was an American author, activist, and civil rights leader who was the wife of Martin Luther King Jr. from 1953 until his assassination in 1968. As an advocate for African-Ameri ...

where she represented the Jewish community. She was the first African-American, and the first openly gay African-American accepted into the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College, which occurred in 2011. She was ordained as a rabbi in 2018 and was hired by Elon University that year. She served as Associate Chaplain for Jewish Life at Elon until she began a new position as the first Director of Racial Diversity, Equity and Inclusion at Reconstructing Judaism in 2021.Lawson has been noted for her efforts to teach Judaism in unique locations. As a rabbinical student, Lawson ran a Friday night service at Arnold's Way, a vegan cafe and health store near Philadelphia. She also has been noted for her efforts to teach by using social media and live video feeds. Lawson has been described as "

Snapchat Snapchat is an American multimedia social media and instant messaging app and service developed by Snap Inc., originally Snapchat Inc. One of the principal features of the app are that pictures and messages, known as "snaps", are usually availa ...

's Top Rabbi" and the Best TikTok Rabbi. In 2019, the JTA included Lawson on their list of "The 50 Jews everyone should follow on

Twitter Twitter, officially known as X since 2023, is an American microblogging and social networking service. It is one of the world's largest social media platforms and one of the most-visited websites. Users can share short text messages, image ...

" and in 2020, Lawson was named one of "

The Forward ''The Forward'' (), formerly known as ''The Jewish Daily Forward'', is an American news media organization for a Jewish American audience. Founded in 1897 as a Yiddish-language daily socialist newspaper, ''The New York Times'' reported that Set ...

50 in 2020: The people we (mostly) needed in the year we (definitely) didn't". The

Center for American Progress The Center for American Progress (CAP) is a public policy think tank, research and advocacy organization which presents a Modern liberalism in the United States, liberal viewpoint on Economic policy, economic and social issues. CAP is headquarter ...

(CAP) named Lawson one of 22 Faith Leaders to watch in 2022. Geoffrey Claussen describes Lawson as contributing to

musar literature Musar literature is didactic Jewish ethical literature which describes virtues and vices and the path towards character improvement. This literature gives the name to the Musar movement, in 19th century Lithuania, but this article considers such ...

, citing her writing about curiosity. Lawson has stated "I support the State of Israel, but I'm not invested in the political atmosphere of the State of Israel...I'm more concerned about the current struggles in our country. I don't even write about Israel." She has talked about receiving antisemitic harassment online from "people claiming to be pro-Palestinian". In 2020, she participated in a program hosted by the

Hadassah Women's Zionist Organization of America Hadassah, The Women's Zionist Organization of America is an American Jews, American Jewish volunteer List of women's organizations, women's organization. Founded in 1912 by Henrietta Szold, it is one of the largest international Jewish organi ...

titled "Zionist Women of Color", a panel of Jewish women of color discussing their challenges.

References

External links

*
Elon University Profile

Rabbi Sandra Lawson on Youtube
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lawson, Sandra 1970 births Living people African-American female military personnel African-American rabbis 21st-century African-American clergy African-American women writers American LGBTQ military personnel American Reconstructionist rabbis American women in business Clark Atlanta University alumni Converts to Judaism Elon University faculty Female United States Army personnel Jewish chaplains American lesbian musicians Jewish American musicians American lesbian writers Lesbian Jews African-American LGBTQ people American LGBTQ businesspeople LGBTQ rabbis LGBTQ people from Missouri Rabbis from Missouri University and college chaplains in the United States Saint Leo University alumni Reconstructionist Rabbinical College alumni Reconstructionist women rabbis Reconstructionist Zionist rabbis American women academics 21st-century American rabbis 20th-century American LGBTQ people 21st-century American LGBTQ people 21st-century African-American women 20th-century African-American people 20th-century African-American women African-American United States Army personnel Diversity management people