“I have never been in a Jewish space where my Jewish identity has not been questioned,” Rabbi Sandra Lawson announced to 143 people in an online discussion on Oct. 1.
Lawson also is associate chaplain for Jewish life at Elon University in North Carolina, a United States veteran, social media maven, musician and public speaker. Nonetheless, she said, it seems that no matter how skilled she is, her Jewish identity is still questioned in American Jewish spaces.
Lawson made her comments during a UCLA Hillel Zoom event titled “Black and Jewish in America,” during which she was interviewed by professor Samira Mehta of the University of Colorado, Boulder.
Mehta, who is a South Asian Jew, said that before she was a professor and Lawson was a rabbi, Lawson was the one who helped her navigate her newfound Judaism as a Jew of Color.
“I was new to Judaism. I was in the process of converting,” Mehta said. “I discovered really quickly that being a Person of Color as a Jew in Jewish space was really different than what I experienced before in ways that I found surprising …. Rabbi Sandra was the person who sort of helped me figure [that] out.”
Lawson said the pandemic also has shed light on racial injustices happening in the country, including within the Jewish community. She noted that she has spent her entire journey as a rabbi speaking out about ways Jewish spaces can become more inclusive.
“I want to create a sukkah that’s large enough for the entire Jewish world to enter,” Lawson said, using the Sukkot holiday as a metaphor for inclusion. In order to provide a space for all Jews, she added, “Part of this movement is being uncomfortable, but just try to lean into whatever uncomfortableness you may have. If you dismiss [it], then you are really missing an opportunity to grow and to learn, as we all try to figure this out in this new era. It’s hard.”
Lawson also said becoming anti-racist is difficult because white Americans can’t spot what modern-day racism looks like. Textbook racism, including the Ku Klux Klan, neo-Nazis, white nationalists, the Proud Boys, lynchings and 1960s-era segregation “are all excellent examples of racism,” Lawson said. However, she then added, racism today looks different than what she, her parents and her grandparents experienced. It is the responsibility of white Jews, she stated, to know what the various forms of racism are today so that they can speak out against them.
“I want to create a sukkah that’s large enough for the entire Jewish world to enter. Part of this movement is being uncomfortable, but just try to lean into whatever uncomfortableness you may have.” — Rabbi Sandra Lawson
Keeping a “mental list” of racist encounters in Jewish spaces, Lawson said modern-day racism includes someone asking her personal questions about her Jewishness the moment she enters a building because they don’t understand how a Black woman also can be Jewish — even if she is leading a service or wearing a tallit or kippah. She added it also looks like white Jews not supporting the idea that Black lives matter because of former anti-Israel ideals of the Black Lives Matter grassroots organization; or a security guard “gatekeeping” her from entering a Jewish space she was invited to because she “doesn’t look Jewish.” “We need a lot of work on how to be welcoming,” she said.
Security guards can be very harmful to Jews of Color, which many organizations don’t think about, Lawson said. She served in the military as part of the Military Police with a specialty in investigations and has brought security conversations to the forefront in a handful of Jewish spaces. She said it is crucial for white Jews to have conversations with Jews of Color and People of Color surrounding their community so everyone feels protected.
“Black people, Brown people in your community need to be part of your security conversation,” she said. “What has happened is that instead of providing security, sometimes law enforcement or security guards wind up acting as gatekeepers. I’ve seen it.”
In addition, Lawson said the clergy and executive teams of Jewish organizations and spaces have a duty to change the image of Judaism to reflect a more diverse group. She said doing so would help eliminate the idea that Jews have a certain appearance, and just as Americans are grappling with untold narratives of U.S. history, American Jews also must tell a more complete picture of what American Jewry looks like today that includes sexual and gender diversity as well as racial diversity.
“The Jewish community has done an excellent job of presenting an image of what a Jew looks like …. I can’t tell you the number of progressive spaces I’ve been in where the art on the wall reflects a time gone by,” Lawson said. “A white-bearded dude with the tallit, tefillin, Orthodox. We have lots of artwork like that. And then people wonder why female rabbis face so much gender discrimination and why Black and Brown people walk into synagogues and face so much racism.”
Lawson concluded by saying this is an ongoing process because “we have to relearn all the crap we have been taught.” Unfortunately, she said, the world is both racist and anti-Semitic, and the Jewish community often finds itself at the intersection, which is why Jews need to take action. Lawson then hyperlinked UCLA’s anti-racist resources and social justice rabbinical organization T’ruah’s guides for people to become more informed and engaged. “You can’t just read one book,” she said.
After the event, UCLA Hillel Executive Director Rabbi Aaron Lerner told the Journal via email that UCLA Hillel actively is working to create a more inclusive environment from the top down. He also is reflecting inward to see how he can lead by example.
“Community is better when it’s diverse. It’s educationally richer and culturally more interesting,” Lerner wrote. “Each of us need to take a look at our rolodexes and calendars and evaluate just how much time we’re spending with people who look and think like us. Then we can actively make an effort to diversify.”
You can watch the conversation below:
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