Alvin Baum’s Legacy Includes Inspiring LGBTQIA+ Youth

Alvin H. Baum, Jr., (1930–2021) dedicated much of his life to LGBTQ+ inclusivity. His husband, Robert Holgate, helped with many of those efforts and now upholds Baum’s legacy, such as with the Alvin H. Baum, Jr., Memorial Lecture held annually. The series also honors Rabbi Camille Angel, who is the first LGBTQ+ rabbi-in-residence at a Catholic university in the United States: The University of San Francisco (USF). Rabbi Angel provided pastoral support to Baum and the late Cheryl Lazar. Holgate and Lazar’s widow, Pam David, are the principal organizers of the series. The series launched last year with a lecture by Openhouse founder, LGBTQ+ senior advocate, and San Francisco Bay Times columnist Dr. Marcy Adelman. This year’s lecture, presented on March 26, 2023, was by former California state senator, assemblymember, and San Francisco supervisor Mark Leno.

Leno told the Bay Times : “Rabbi Angel’s contribution to the Jewish Studies and Social Justice program at USF profoundly impacts its students’ understanding of the world. We are all indebted to her and Robert Holgate, for their vision in honoring Al Baum.”

Rabbi Angel, in turn, shared: “Thanks to Robert Holgate and Pam David, Mayor Art Agnos, and Mark Leno, we had an incredible student-packed community event honoring LGBTQIA+ Jewish Social Justice Activism. Among the reactions to the program included one student reflecting on how they’ve never been in one room with so many out and proud LGBTQ elders from the community, history makers and agents of change. Another student wrote, ‘Hearing from those whose lives in public service have made our lives so much better was an honor I will long cherish. I feel hope that things can change for the better and I feel determined to protect the rights that were fought so hard for us to have now.’”

Holgate and David, who this year renewed their leadership gifts totaling $135,000, view the lecture series as being “an important part of our goal to have Jewish and LGBTQ+ voices be provided a permanent place benefiting USF and our broader community.” They hope to embed the series “into USF’s DNA, such that the university increasingly provides core financial support.”

Donations for the series may be made at https://tinyurl.com/cwucmp2n

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