Alysa Stanton (born August 2, 1963) is an American Reformrabbi, and the first African American female rabbi.[1][2]Ordained on June 6, 2009,[1][2] in August 2009 she began work as a rabbi at Congregation Bayt Shalom, a small majority-white synagogue in Greenville, North Carolina, making her the first African American rabbi to lead a majority-white congregation.[3] Stanton converted to Judaism at age 24 and first studied and worked as a psychotherapist.
In her first career, Stanton was a psychotherapist.[8] She specialized in grief counseling, and was asked to speak to people in Columbine after the 1999 high school massacre.[10] Before preparing for the rabbinate, she sought to become a cantor, but heard that Jewish leadership positions were not available to women.[11] When she finally saw a female cantor, she decided to pursue the studies necessary to become a rabbi.[11]
Stanton graduated from Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, a Reform Jewish seminary.[6] She has said that she is not concerned with being the first Black woman to become a rabbi, "I try not to focus on being the first. I focus on being the best—the best human being, the best rabbi I can be."[12] "If I were the 50,000th, I'd still be doing what I do.... Me being first was just the luck of the draw."[13]
In August 2009, Stanton became the rabbi of Congregation Bayt Shalom, a small majority-white synagogue in Greenville, North Carolina,[5] making her the first African American rabbi to lead a majority-white congregation.[3] The congregation's president said that the fact that Stanton is African-American and a woman had nothing to do with the decision to hire her: "I'm very proud of my community. [Stanton's being a woman or being Black] never came up in conversation. Obviously, we all know that's unusual but when she got on the pulpit during her visit, it was totally comfortable."[14] In 2011, the congregation decided not to renew her contract, which expired July 31, 2011.[15]
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