Resources: Civil Rights
Human Rights Hero: Lenny Zakim

By Harlan A. Loeb

Lenny Zakim represented what all civil rights professionals should be. As director of the New England regional office of the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), Lenny dedicated his life to fighting prejudice and was a national pioneer in the advancement of intergroup relations. In fact, in the early 1980s, he organized the first ever African American/Jewish Seder, which recalled a common history of slavery and renewed a joint commitment between these two groups to work together on civil rights. Today, the Boston African American/Jewish Seder is one of the largest intergroup events in the country.

In 1986, Lenny created A WORLD OF DIFFERENCE INSTITUTE, a global organization dedicated to teaching tolerance and providing diversity education and training. With his friend Jon Jennings, a Boston Celtics coach who became a White House Fellow, he founded one of the nation's largest anti-bias programs for teens. And, working with Cardinal Bernard Law of the Archdiocese of Boston, he made triumphant advances in Catholic-Jewish relations.

As the cliché goes, Lenny knew everybody. He secured Hillary Rodham Clinton as a keynote host of his Team Harmony program one year and Boston Red Sox star Mo Vaughn the next. His unwavering dedication to civil rights brought him into contact with luminaries from the Dalai Lama to Bruce Springsteen.

After law school, Lenny began his career as the southeast Massachusetts field director for Michael S. Dukakis's 1978 gubanatorial campaign. The campaign was the portal through which he developed a close relationship with the Dukakis family, which enabled him eventually to rise to the policy-making level of the national Democratic Party, a role that Lenny continued to fill long after his tenure in the campaign ended.

Lenny's enthusiasm for the cause was broadcast loudly all over his face even in the depths of his battle against cancer. He motivated and vitalized his ADL colleagues with a sense of purpose, direction, and pride even as we fought losing causes. His youth was perennial and his friendship and kindness constant. His war against hate crime and his crusade for meaningful hate crime laws provided all of us with an example of how legislation can change lives. Lenny led, and we followed . . . proudly.

Although Lenny lost his battle with cancer a little over a year ago, at 46, his legacy is eternal and his example ethereal. In a time when all of us desperately need civil rights heroes, we need only summon the memory of Lenny Zakim. According to the Boston Globe, Lenny once said, "I am a firm believer that relationships count more than institutions . . . it's because you know someone that you start to care about their issues." All who knew Lenny had to care about his issues, and he made it his business to know a lot of people.

Though the void created by his death will never be filled, celebrating his heroism is obligatory for all of us who struggle for human rights.

Harlan A. Loeb

Do you know a human rights hero? A new column in Human Rights magazine will celebrate "Human Rights Heroes," the often unsung workers who make a difference in people's lives. Our heroes are not necessarily featured on television or in newspaper headlines; their accomplishments may be valued quietly, if at all, and their activities may be only local or national in scope. Each column will highlight a hero who is working in an area related to that issue's theme. Upcoming issues will focus on the death penalty; access to justice; and crime prevention and legislation.

If you know someone working in one of these areas, why not nominate that person to be our human rights hero. Please contact: Jessica Washington, editor, Human Rights, 312/988-6077, washingj@staff.abanet.org, to get a copy of our simple nomination form, which can be submitted via mail, fax, or online.