Sandra Lawson

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. 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 in Florida with a degree in sociology. She also holds a master's degree in sociology from Clark Atlanta University in Georgia.

Lawson went on to serve as an investigative researcher for the Anti-Defamation League and later began rabbinical school at the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College. She chose this path after attending an LGBT memorial for Coretta Scott King where she represented the Jewish community. thumb 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. and the Best TikTok Rabbi.

In 2019, the JTA included Lawson on their list of "The 50 Jews everyone should follow on Twitter" and in 2020, Lawson was named one of "The Forward 50 in 2020: The people we (mostly) needed in the year we (definitely) didn't". The Center for American Progress (CAP) named Lawson one of 22 Faith Leaders to watch in 2022.

Geoffrey Claussen describes Lawson as contributing to musar literature, 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 titled "Zionist Women of Color", a panel of Jewish women of color discussing their challenges.