Mission

The Leonard I. Beerman Foundation for Peace and Justice honors the memory of Rabbi Leonard I. Beerman (1921–2014), a courageous and compassionate religious leader, social activist, and champion of peace and human rights.

The Work of the Foundation

The Beerman Foundation has two ongoing functions:

• To support through Fellowship Awards the work of powerful young change-makers who walk in the path of Leonard Beerman. Beerman Fellows are social justice and political activists who believe in the imperative of lifting up the marginalized, dispossessed, and afflicted. All share Leonard's sense of prophetic urgency to bring change to the world now.

• To honor through the Leonard I. Beerman Award for Social Justice in Action a person whose words and actions reflect Leonard’s courage and commitment to social justice. The award recipient delivers an address at an event presented by the Foundation and co-sponsored by organizations close to Leonard’s heart.

  Our Social Justice in Action Honorees to Date are: Congressman John Lewis (2017), Norman Lear (2019), Rev. James Lawson (2021) on the 100th anniversary of Leonard’s birth, Dolores Huerta (2022), Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi (2023), Maria Ressa (2024), and Steve Kerr (2025). Learn more about our Honorees and watch videos of their awards here.