Sandra Lawson (born 1970) is a 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. Founded in 1889 as Elon College, Elon is organized into six schools, most of which offer bachelor's degrees and several of which offer master's degrees or professional doctorate d ...

. 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 Roman Catholic liberal arts 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 monaste ...

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. Clark Atlanta is the first Historically Black College or University (HBCU) in the Southern United States. Found ...

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 land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cl ...

. 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 Rabbi Joshua Lesser, she came to discover Judaism and fell in love with Lesser's synagogue. She ultimately converted to Judaism in 2004. Lawson went on to serve as an investigative researcher for the

Anti-Defamation League The Anti-Defamation League (ADL), formerly known as the Anti-Defamation League of B'nai B'rith, is an international Jewish non-governmental organization based in the United States specializing in civil rights law. It was founded in late Septe ...

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 Associa ...

. 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 married to Martin Luther King Jr. from 1953 until his death. As an advocate for African-American equality, she w ...

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 instant messaging app and service developed by Snap Inc., originally Snapchat Inc. One of the principal features of Snapchat is that pictures and messages are usually only available for a short time before the ...

’s Top Rabbi" and the Bes
TikTok
Rabbi. In 2019 the JTA named Lawson one on "The 50 Jews everyone should follow on

Twitter Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...

" and in 2020 Lawson was named one of "

The Forward ''The Forward'' ( yi, פֿאָרווערטס, Forverts), 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, ' ...

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 research and advocacy organization which presents a liberal viewpoint on economic and social issues. It has its headquarters in Washington, D.C. The president and chief executive officer ...

(CAP) named Lawson one of 22 Faith Leaders to watch in 2022.

Geoffrey Claussen Geoffrey Claussen is an American rabbi and scholar who serves as a professor of Religious Studies at Elon University. His scholarship focuses on Jewish ethics, theology, and the Musar movement. Education Claussen received his BA in Classical Lan ...

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 l ...

, citing her writing about curiosity.

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 Jews African-American religious leaders African-American women writers American LGBT 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 LGBT African Americans American LGBT businesspeople LGBT rabbis LGBT people from Missouri Rabbis from Missouri University and college chaplains in America Saint Leo University alumni Reconstructionist women rabbis American women academics 21st-century American rabbis 20th-century American LGBT people 21st-century American LGBT people 21st-century African-American people 21st-century African-American women 20th-century African-American people 20th-century African-American women African-American United States Army personnel