LGBTQIA+ LEGACY VIDEOS

Sam’s life at Faithful Fools began in 2011 with a short stint as a volunteer working to create an archive of oral histories to document the organization’s first ten-plus years. Half-way through that project, Sam asked Carmen Barsody, a Franciscan from Little Falls who co-founded the Fools, “Hey, do you think I’d be of any use to the Fools full-time?” Carmen responded by giving Sam a turkey sandwich and a resounding, “Yes!” That brief volunteer gig became a deep commitment to the Fools and the Tenderloin neighborhood of San Francisco, the home of the Fool’s “purple building” and the primary site of their work. Since those early days of volunteering, Sam’s energy has focused on advocacy and education. After twenty-five years in higher education, it was a natural step for Sam to anchor the Fools educational programs, which led to community organizing and advocacy. For Sam, it is a joy to feel useful, be it maintaining the Fools’s website, creating a few graphics for “Fools Fables,” or working with neighbors to address critical policy concerns.

Note: Sam is one of the elders of this exhibit who participated in the course out of which these legacy videos emerged, is LGBTQIA+ identified, and has a religious history that isn’t Jewish.