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[Editor's Note: Rabbi Jacobs gave the following address on Saturday, August 24, 2013, at the 50th Anniversary of the March on Washington at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C.]
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Ruth Messinger reflects on the Jewish community's involvement in the March on Washington and Civil Rights Movement.
On the Shabbat of February 8th, I had the incredible privilege of participating in the seventh annual Moral March on Raleigh, organized by the North Carolina NAACP. In the past when I've been asked...
Almost as soon as the Central Conference of American Rabbis' conference began in June of 1964, the presiding rabbi stepped forward with an urgent telegram from Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King. Jr. King...
When reflecting on his experience marching in Selma, Alabama with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel stated that he was “praying with my feet.” This act of transforming words...
On the coat-tails of the recent civil unrest in Ferguson, MO, we see racial tension that was perhaps lurking just below the surface stirred up into a national battle-cry for accountability and...
When the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. addressed the American Jewish Congress in May 1958, he explained that “our unity is born of our common struggle for centuries, not only to rid ourselves of...
In case you missed it, this week’s Academy Awards featured a number of acceptance speeches in which many of the winners called attention to important issues of social justice. The stage of the...
When I discovered that this week’s parashah (Torah portion) would be Acharei Mot/K'doshim, which includes the Holiness Code, the irony was not lost on me. Here I was, the one openly gay male staff...
Amidst the clashes
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The wisdom of Torah is applicable in all times and places. Especially during these tense days in the life of Baltimore, the city where I live and serve as a rabbi, the lessons of Torah help us...
According to The Guardian’s investigation, the deaths of Isiah Hampton, 19, in New York City, and Quandavier Hicks, 22, in Cincinnati on Wednesday, brought the number of people killed by...
Last weekend marked one year since Michael Brown was shot and killed in the street by Officer Darren Wilson in Ferguson, MO. As we take this moment to reflect on the past year, I am reminded of the...
Our Jewish tradition is full of journeys, from the very beginning of our sacred texts. Adam and Eve’s exile from the Garden of Eden; Noah’s Ark and his aquatic sojourn – while these are not...
Here are some recommendations from the staff of the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism for social justice-centric podcasts that came out in 2015. What are your recommendations?
A few weeks ago, 32 of us from my synagogue, Am Shalom in Glencoe, traveled to Atlanta, Selma, Birmingham, and Montgomery on a transformational journey led perfectly by our rabbi and cantor....
Thirty summers ago, I visited Universal Studios on a family vacation. My favorite part of the back-lot tour was the 1970s van sitting in an empty parking lot. Although it appeared to be a standard...
In a disturbing new report finds that the number of murders committed by white supremacists in the United States more than doubled in 2017 compared to 2016.
The end is near. When we wake up on November 9th, it will be over. And what happens then? We get up and go to work.
On Wednesday, July 2nd, we will celebrate the 50th anniversary of the signing of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the landmark legislation that outlawed discrimination based on race, color,...
My first active involvement in the civil rights movement was on March 25, 1965: the final day of the five-day march from Selma to Montgomery, led by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
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I sat down last week to write about what happened in Ferguson. As I began to write, there was no doubt in my mind that there would be a “next time” as soon as we hit the next news cycle, if not...
Every year, on the third Monday of January, our country celebrates Martin Luther King Jr. Day by reflecting on his legacy and enjoying a day off from work. We take this time to reflect on the life...
About a month ago, I walked along a street in Memphis with 11 teens from my congregation, a chaperone and our educator, Brad Cohen. The day before, we had volunteered at the Dorothy Day House,...
Two weeks ago, Charlotte’s Briar Creek Church was a victim of arson. It is less than three and half miles from my home. Their children’s choir sang at our synagogue's Martin Luther King Day service...
Our retelling of the exodus from Egypt is incomplete if we don’t recognize that others are still enslaved. It is our moral duty to continue working for fairness for our fellow Jews and for those...
I want to slam society against the wall and shout at the top of my lungs, “This is not right! This is not just! This is not the world that we are commanded to create"
What do we read when there are no good words? As I thought about the text to teach following the tragedy at Mother Emanuel Church in Charleston, my mind fixed on the nine murdered. Murdered in...
On January 21, millions of women and supporters around the globe turned out to demonstrate peacefully for human rights and against hate. But how do we turn a moment into a movement?
I joined the Poor People’s Campaign because I am answering the call of the One who calls me to act concerning the poor and disenfranchised.
We caught up with some of the contributors of the new anthology Moral Resistance and Spiritual Authority to learn about their perspectives on the spiritual origins of the Jewish pursuit...
Albert Vorspan was present at every milestone of the early civil rights movement. In 1964, Vorspan landed in jail with Dr. King and other protesters.
On this milestone 50th anniversary of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Reform Jewish community joins advocates nationwide in paying tribute to a generation of activists whose struggles more than...
Throughout his life, when the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., preached sermons, he often turned to the Book of Exodus to build his homilies. On April 7, 1957, at the Dexter Avenue Baptist Church...
Too often in our own day, politicians of all stripes seek advantage through the denigration of others, through the promulgation of fear, and through the dissemination of hate. But not all views...
This year, let us use MLK Day to focus on the civil rights movement happening in the United States today.
