Congratulations Rabbinical Student Koach Baruch Frazier for being named a LGBTQ Jewish Hero by Keshet.
Keshet is a national organization headquartered in Boston with offices in the Bay Area, Chicago and New York City. According to Keshet’s website, “We are the only organization in the U.S. that works for LGBTQ equality in all facets of Jewish life — synagogues, Hebrew schools, day schools, youth groups, summer camps, social-service organizations and other communal agencies. We have developed the leadership of LGBTQ Jewish teens, trained Jewish educators to prevent anti-LGBTQ bullying and celebrate LGBTQ Jewish identity, and mobilized Jewish communities to protect marriage equality and transgender rights.”
From Keshet’s tribute: “KB is an audiologist, musician, co-convener of the Tzedek Lab, a Reconstructionist Rabbinical student, and a queer, trans Jew. A collaborative and spiritual leader, KB travels the nation, striving to dismantle racism and actualize liberation, and was on the boards of the Missouri GSA Network and Central Reform Congregation. Common to all of these roles is KB’s commitment to healing and transforming lives. ‘I express my Jewish identity at the synagogue, at work as I serve people and my community, and through my social justice activism.’ This includes drumming for justice ‘using my djembe — an African drum — that provided the cadence, much like a heartbeat, to help us as we marched [in Ferguson*].’”
*On Aug. 9, 2014, the ‘Ferguson Uprising,’ involving widespread protests, began after the murder of Michael Brown, an 18-year old, unarmed, African American by a white police officer.”
Keshet’s created the LGBTQ Jewish Heroes poster series to celebrate LGBTQ Jews who have transformed the world through their words and lives. A poster of Koach Baruch Frazier is below. Click here to order a copy and support Keshet.