Related Blog Posts on Advocacy, Civic Engagement, Racial Equity, Diversity, & Inclusion, Secular Holidays, Social Justice, and Tikkun Olam

Trans Day of Visibility is Just a Start

Cantor Sheri Allen
Preston Max Allen
For a community relentlessly targeted by hateful legislation, this year’s Transgender Day of Visibility (celebrated on March 31) holds a heightened sense of urgency. I am ashamed to say that this day wasn’t even on my radar until I had a personal stake in it, but it now holds a special place of significance in my family.

Two Out of Two

Yolanda Savage-Narva
As a graduate of both Tougaloo College and Jackson State University, the bomb threats to Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) are personal to me. Since January 2022, over a dozen HBCUs have received bomb threats; several of those threats were received on the first day of Black history month. The continuous attacks on institutions of higher learning; places of worship and individual attacks are a direct threat to our everyday existence.

Rosa Parks's Legacy Endures Today

Israel Harris
Shayna Han
Many Americans remember Rosa Parks as the tired seamstress who refused to move to the back of a bus, but Rosa Parks is much more than that story. Though she did not identify as Jewish, her life reflected a commitment to we might identify as tikkun olam – repairing what is broken in our world. Here are three key insights from Rosa Parks’s life we can bear in mind as Black History Month begins.

2021 is Almost Over: Congress Must Act Before the New Year

Lillie Heyman
Israel Harris
We are in a time of great crisis, facing pandemics of systemic racism, poverty, climate change, voter suppression and COVID-19. Millions of Americans experience unemployment, hunger, and housing insecurity, facing the threat of climate change daily. People of Color and other marginalized communities experience the most adverse consequences. And the country continues to face endless attacks on our voting rights and reproductive rights. Before Congress breaks for their winter recess, there is much left to be done.

Reflecting on Transgender Awareness Week in 2021

Hannah Bender
Eliana Rubin
Kelly Whitehead
Rachel Klein
Transgender Awareness Week is a chance to educate the public. It is important for people who are not part of the trans community to understand the oppression transgender and gender-expansive people face every day. While it is always important to affirm trans identities, Transgender Awareness Week provides an opportunity to center the voices of trans and gender-expansive people.

Exciting Updates on the Racial Justice Campaign

Israel Harris
The Reform Movement's Racial Justice Campaign continues to be a central part in combating the daily oppression and dehumanization of BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color) individuals that is rooted in the 400-year history of systemic racism embedded in every corner of North America.