Ari Lipman, BYFI '95, is an activist and organizer. As founder of Faith Vote Columbus in Ohio, he is leading an interfaith coalition of religious congregations, neighborhood associations and labor unions committed to increasing voter turnout in urban precincts.
Faith Vote Columbus connects to 130 precincts, mostly low-income neighborhoods, where voter turnout in the 2004 presidential election was below 50% of registered voters. Right now, they're working with Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner to ensure that the November 2008 election run smoothly, without the long lines in urban precincts that marred the 2004 elections. His organization hopes to maximize the political power of disenfranchised communities.
Ari first developed a passion for social justice as a student at Harvard. There, he helped start the Harvard Square Homeless Shelter. "All of a sudden," he says, "I moved from a nice D.C. suburb to Cambridge. Twenty yards away from my dorm, people were sleeping on grates."
Working with the Greater Boston Interfaith Organization, Ari helped build a coalition of religious leaders advocating for social change in Massachusetts. With the support of over one thousand volunteers from Boston's religious communities, GBIO successfully pressured the Massachusetts government to enact statewide universal health care. In May of 2007, the progressive alliance Take Back America acknowledged Ari's role in this work with its Maria Leavey Tribute Award.
Ari believes that activism is deeply rooted in Jewish tradition. "The one thing that exists in Torah that did not exist in any contemporary religious code was the exhortation to care for the widow, the orphan, and the stranger," says Ari, whose grandfather and great-grandfather were labor organizers. "It's a role of the Jewish community to critique governmental and religious authorities, and to bring them toward a more just vision of the world."
Ari, who now holds a master's degree in theological studies from Harvard Divinity School, credits his BYFI summer for helping him develop the strong Jewish identity that guides him in his work with religious leaders. "If I walk into an African-American Pentecostal Church, I need to know their tradition, and more importantly, who I am and where I came from. That was a big part of what BYFI did for me."
With an election year approaching, Ari hopes to build a significant voting bloc around social issues. Faith Vote Columbus has already seen success, working with Governor Ted Strickland to expand health insurance programs to low income Ohio residents. "If you can claim to hold 20,000 votes in Ohio," Ari says, "That's a big deal."
Want to get involved with Faith Vote Columbus? Contact ari.lipman@gmail.com to volunteer with voter mobilization efforts or to donate.
