Granddaughter of Holocaust Hero to Speak in Northampton on Dec 19
Sara Colb continues the legacy of her grandfather, Ben Zion Kalb
For the full story of Sara Colb continuing her grandfather’s legacy, see the Times of Israel:
Colb Family Story
After working odd jobs and performing music for a few years after college, and with a vision of fighting for greater equity and to help protect and lower barriers for vulnerable communities, Boston native Sara Colb chose to attend the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law, compelled by its offering of the Innocence Project Law clinic. Through that clinical work, led by Barry Scheck and Peter Neufeld, co-founders of the Innocence Project, Sara had a window into some of the harshest realities of the United States’ criminal justice system, in which Colb believes factors like class and race have an unmistakable and devastating impact on outcomes for the accused.
After graduating from law school, Colb worked for several law firms, taking on a substantial pro bono caseload, including a death penalty case, indigent criminal defense work, special education matters, and eviction cases.
In 2016, Sara changed career paths and joined the Civil Rights and then Trial Divisions of the Office of the Massachusetts Attorney General, serving first under Maura Healey (now Governor) and then AG Andrea Campbell.
As an Assistant Attorney General, Colb worked on a wide range of state discrimination cases. She also worked on cases challenging executive actions by the Trump administration, including litigation challenging the so-called “Muslim ban.” Colb co-authored a brief on behalf of 15 State Attorneys General challenging the ban on transgender individuals serving in the United States’s military. She also co-authored a legal brief to the MA Supreme Judicial Court in Lunn v. Commonwealth, in which the state’s highest court ruled that state and local law enforcement officers may not arrest or detain someone based on a federal, civil immigration order.
In 2018, Colb earned the MA Bar Association’s Access to Justice Prosecutor Award, with a public congratulations from Attorney General Healey:
The MA Bar Association wrote up Colb’s award as follows:
Since joining the public sector after years in private practice, Colb has found fulfillment in amplifying the voice of discrimination victims across the state, holding powerful entities accountable for financial damages, and affecting policy change to protect entire classes of people. The assistant attorney general has also taken on prominent roles in cases with far-reaching implications, helping Massachusetts maintain its reputation for adopting progressive stances and establishing national precedent on civil rights issues.
After the Trump Administration announced its intention to prohibit military service by transgender individuals, Attorney General Maura Healey entrusted Colb and two others with preparing a condemnatory amicus brief that was signed by 15 additional states and filed in U.S. District Court.
“I think the transgender military ban is an affront to our fundamental American values,” Colb said. “That our government would turn its back on transgender veterans and active service persons — people willing to do what so few of us are, risk their lives for their country — and essentially say, ‘You’re not fit to serve,’ is a disgrace to the nation.”
In the landmark Supreme Judicial Court case Lunn v. Commonwealth, Colb co-authored a brief for the Commonwealth arguing that state law does not grant local law enforcement officials the authority to conduct arrests at the direction of federal immigration authorities. This first-in-the-nation ruling by a state supreme court is still the only one of its kind, Colb said.
Although she relishes her involvement in larger matters of federal significance, Colb is equally inspired to pursue justice for individual complainants, with one notable example being a $110,000 settlement she negotiated with Dell EMC to resolve allegations of discrimination against a transgender employee.
“There’s a real need for this kind of work, and I find it to be personally and professionally the most rewarding,” Colb said.
In early 2024, as antisemitism went viral following the Hamas terror attacks on Israelis and others in October 2023, Colb moved from the Office of the Attorney General to the New England office of the Anti-Defamation League (ADL).
In doing so, Colb joins ADL New England in its long tradition of advocacy and cross-cultural relationship-building, in continuance of the legacy of the late Leonard P. (“Lenny”) Zakim, who, as ADL New England director, founded and led, with the Reverend Charles Stith, Boston’s annual Black-Jewish seder.
Since joining ADL New England, Colb has been focused on K-12 advocacy, including pushing for antisemitism and anti-bias education at the individual school district level, responding to individual incidents through engagement with schools, and advocating at the state level for policies to address the crisis of antisemitism in Massachusetts schools.
She also advocated for the budget amendment, ultimately signed into law by Governor Healey, that created the first-of-its-kind special state commission to combat antisemitism, as well as the mandate that DESE provide evidence-based educational resources and professional development on antisemitism.
Her work is a continuation of the heroism of her grandfather, Ben Zion Kalb.
For security reasons, you *must* register to attend these events, and each event has separate registration:
Discussion of antisemitism in our schools.
This is a rare opportunity to hear a young, rising star leader of the Jewish community speaking in Northampton; I hope you can make one or both of these events. —MO
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