Pursuing Justice: Reflecting on June 2009 to June 2010
As we celebrate Pride 2010, we reflect on the social justice work we've accomplished since Pride 2009.
Dear Friends,
Almost 41 years ago, a group of about 600 drag queens, transgender folks, gay men, homeless youth, lesbians, and bisexuals, including CBST members, fought back against the police's "Public Morals Squad" as they raided the Stonewall Inn. The following year, our community organized the first Gay Pride March in U.S. history from Christopher Street to Central Park, commemorating the Stonewall riot. The march itself took half as long as expected; people were simultaneously so excited and terrified to be marching in public with signs outing themselves that they practically ran those 51 blocks uptown. At CBST, we are proud to be part of this legacy and are still running with excitement but no longer with terror.
Last summer, we received a grant from the Arcus Foundation to help us run a little faster. With this money, we were able to hire a full-time Social Justice Coordinator, Alex Weissman, and to bring back former Cooperberg-Rittmaster Rabbinical Intern Cecelia Beyer as our Social Justice Rabbinical Intern for the year, as well as to expand the work that our existing clergy team is doing in the world of social justice. While of some of this work is directly within the congregation, much of it happens behind the scenes and we wanted to provide you with a snapshot of how fast we have been running this last year.
Rabbi Kleinbaum's "Liberation Through Religion" Interview
An interview with Rabbi Kleinbaum, tracing her life as it mirrors the arc of the LGBT rights movement over the last four decades, was featured as the cover story in the Arcus Foundation's Spring newsletter. Read it here.
June - September 2009:
- We organized a non-violent prayer vigil in response to the anti-Jewish homophobic hatemongers from Westboro Baptist Church.
- In response to the murder of two Israeli LGBTQ youth in Tel Aviv, we brought to New York a delegation of Israeli LGBTQ youth, who underwent a profoundly moving week-long encounter with a different kind of Judaism, with queer youth and with the CBST community. The visit empowered these young Israelis to return home with new inspiration to build an Israeli society, and a Jewish community, that affirms their identities as LGBTQ people.
October - December 2009:
- The Healthcare/Eldercare Action Team of Koleinu, CBST's social justice group, conducted research meetings with a variety of community groups to learn about the most pressing issues facing the LGBT community and is about to launch CBST's first campaign for LGBTQ social justice on June 10.
- Rabbi Kleinbaum was appointed as one of 25 commissioners on the Mayor's Commission on LGBTQ Runaway and Homeless Youth, participating in this capacity in the first of three public hearings.
- Rabbi Kleinbaum began serving on the NYPD's LGBT advisory committee to improve relations between the NYPD and LGBT communities.
January 2010:
- We hosted our annual LGBTQ Martin Luther King Multifaith Celebration, devoted to the crisis of LGBTQ runaway and homeless youth, featuring a queer youth activist as our keynote speaker, cosponsored by five faith partners and four community based organizations.
- Five church choirs joined with the CBST Community Chorus in an inspiring finale to the service.
- In collaboration with our faith partners, we developed original liturgy focusing on LGBTQ runaway and homeless youth.
February:
- Rabbi Kleinbaum and Alex attended a gathering of other Arcus Foundation Religion and Values grantees in Dallas, Texas where we participated in strategic visioning for the LGBTQ movement, where Rabbi Kleinbaum was a featured speaker and panelist.
- Rabbi Kleinbaum and Alex then attended The Task Force's Faith Institute, where Rabbi Kleinbaum spoke at the National Prayer Hour organized to protest the homophobic and politically conservative National Prayer Breakfast.
- The Trans Working Group hosted a wildly successful Trans Open Mic shmooze after Friday night services with over 70 people in attendance who took action in support of GENDA.
March:
- We hosted our first annual conference to train straight and LGBTQ rabbinical and cantorial students on transforming the Jewish community to celebrate LGBTQ experiences. The students came from five rabbinical and cantorial schools from all the non-Orthodox streams of Judaism, including the American Jewish University in Los Angeles.
- Workshops focused on the innovative liturgy of the CBST siddur, how to officiate at LGBTQ wedding ceremonies, wrestling with Leviticus, pastoral care for LGBTQ elders, creating inclusive curricula which embrace family diversity, and more.
- We are currently developing online resource materials for clergy that will be disseminated nationwide.
- We also filmed parts of the conference, creating web videos which will be utilized as educational resources for Jews and Jewish organizations across the globe.
April:
- Along with other local faith LGBTQ activists, Alex and Social Justice Rabbinical Intern Cecelia Beyer met with an international leader in anti-homophobia/transphobia efforts, to build a global movement for LGBTQ justice.
- Alex conducted the first public community organizing training open to the entire congregation, "Build Relationships, Pursue Justice" to develop our skills as a congregation engaged in community organizing.
- The Marriage Equality/LGBT Rights Action team completed its final campaign research meeting with the Hetrick-Martin Institute, having already met with the Ali Forney Center and FIERCE.
May:
- Koleinu organized the first ever Koleinu Shabbat, honoring the CBST members who have been actively pursuing social justice at CBST, featuring a drash by Koleinu co-chair, Adam Berger.
- The Trans Working Group presented a panel of different experts on trans issues, on such topics as religion, health, and the law.
June:
- With our Pride celebrations coming up, we are excited to be launching CBST's new campaign for LGBTQ social justice on June 10th. We hope you'll join Koleinu leaders, Rabbi Kleinbaum and Alex for this special event.
- Our annual Family and Friends Shabbat service on June 18 will feature Rickke Mananzala, Executive Director of FIERCE, and at our Pride Shabbat Service on June 25th, we will be hosting U.S. Senator Kristen Gillibrand. As usual, we will be dancing our way through the Pride March.
- To wrap up Pride Month, Rabbi Kleinbaum and Alex have been invited to a summit of American Jewish LGBT leaders in Berkeley, California to participate in the Jewish LGBT Movement-Building Convening, for which Rabbi Kleinbaum has been serving on the advisory committee.
We are proud of the work we are doing and our community's history. The Stonewall riot teaches us that this Pride finds its origins not only in celebration but also in action. If you'd like to put your pride into action, please contact Alex directly at aweissman@cbst.org or at 212.929.9498 x 14. We would love you to join as we run with renewed vigor, carrying our history in one hand and our future in the other.
Rabbi Sharon Kleinbaum
Alex Weissman
