Kehilla has engaged with the Black Lives Matter movement over the last two years. We have been flying the Black Lives Matter banner over our front entrance to make visible our ally-ship with the movement. We held a community gathering last September, in which 75 Kehilla members delved into and discussed various parts of the Movement for Black Lives (M4BL) Platform. And many of our members including our rabbis, have marched at actions in support of the movement.
As a community, we are committed to increasing our capacity to deal with issues of racism. Towards that goal, we are continuing to find ways to engage with the Black Lives Matter Movement and the M4BL Platform, and our clergy Rabbis Dev, David and Burt and Hazzan Shulamit have individually endorsed the Platform. They have asked the Kehilla Board to consider having Kehilla as an organization endorse the Platform.
The board and the clergy agree that this process of consideration must include ample opportunity for members of Kehilla to study and reflect on the Platform and on the issues it raises, and to give feedback to the board. We plan to have an event in the Spring similar to our September event where people will have a chance to read and discuss the Platform. We will also use a variety of methods to take the pulse of the community. We invite members to share your thoughts, questions and concerns before any action is taken on an endorsement.
For now, if you have any questions or comments, please contact Michael Saxe-Taller, Rabbi Dev, Rabbi David or our Board Chair, Barbara Petterson.