Rachel Laser: Bridging the Racial Divide

Are Jews white? Join Rachel Laser in a challenging discussion on white privilege and being a minority in America. Rachel Laser is currently working as a consultant on bridging racial and cultural divides. She advises, runs workshops, gives speeches, facilitates conversations and guest lectures about implicit bias, and also racism and privilege at nonprofits, law firms, government entities, universities, public and parochial schools, houses of worship, and community centers. She has also written about white privilege and racism, including Uncovering My White Privilege on Yom Kippur, Flawed But Determined: Becoming a White Supporter of Racial Justice, and her most recent piece Why I am Atoning for Racism. She has spent much of her career finding paths forward on divisive culture issues. Laser recently served as the Deputy Director of the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism (the RAC), the Reform Jewish Movement's Washington, DC office. From the RAC, she ran interfaith campaigns on a number of social justice issues, including gun violence prevention, immigration reform, paid sick and family and medical leave and LGBT equality. Before the RAC, she directed the Culture Program at Third Way, a Washington, DC progressive think tank specializing in understanding and reaching moderates. There, she launched the "Come Let Us Reason Together" Initiative, which mobilized evangelical Christians and progressive activists to work together on the most contentious social issues. She also helped draft the first-of-its-kind common ground abortion bill to be introduced jointly by a pro-life and pro-choice member of Congress. She is a graduate of Harvard University and the University of Chicago Law Schoo