The Reverend Dr. DeeDee M. Coleman
Our keynote speaker is the modern personification of Eshet Chayil, the rabbinic term meaning “A Woman of Valor.” She preaches about the strong bonds between the African-American community and the Jewish people, and stands out as a persistent and effective advocate for the State of Israel and its citizens.
The Reverend Dr. DeeDee M. Coleman is the Pastor of the Russell Street Missionary Baptist Church, the oldest church in the North End of Detroit.
Pastor Coleman has preached and taught in the Bahamas, Canada, Africa, Scotland, France, England and Israel. She is widely recognized as a national religious leader and was honored as the morning plenary preacher for the 2014 Progressive National Baptist Convention.
In 2007, Dr. Coleman received the Edwin T. Dahlberg Peace Award for outstanding work in prison ministry and reentry services to this country.
The Dahlberg Peace Award is the highest award granted by the American Baptist Churches and is distinguished by the fact that the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was its first recipient.
Reverend Coleman first visited Israel in 2007 with the American Israel Education Foundation. She is proudly outspoken about Israel’s security and safety needs, and is extremely knowledgeable about regional issues that affect Israel and the United States.
Last year, Dr. Coleman traveled to Ethiopia for ceremonies honoring the immigration of Ethiopian Jews to Israel. Knesset members and other dignitaries attended the ceremony. Pastor Coleman was honored to be the only African-American Baptist minister on this historic trip. Reverend Coleman boarded one of two planes carrying 450 Ethiopian immigrants that arrived at Ben-Gurion Airport where the immigrants were greeted by relatives already living in Israel.
As a National Council Member and speaker for the AIPAC, Pastor Coleman speaks at venues throughout the United States to share her message of support and commitment to the people of Israel.
