thumb|upright=0.9|Lavender in [[Jerusalem, May 2006]]

Abraham Donald Lavender (November 14, 1940 – June 26, 2022) was a professor of sociology at Florida International University in Miami, Florida, where his special areas of interest include ethnic relations, Judaica, political sociology, urban sociology, the sociology of sexuality, and social deviance. He was editor-in-chief of Journal of Spanish, Portuguese, and Italian Crypto Jews, and had served as president of the Society for Crypto-Judaic Studies.

Having previously been a professor of sociology at St. Mary's College of Maryland and the University of Miami, he began teaching at Florida International University in 1990 and remained there until his death in 2022.

Early life and education

Born in New Zion, South Carolina, Lavender's formal education started at Salem Elementary School in New Zion, and he graduated from East Clarendon High School in Turbeville, South Carolina. He received his B.A. and M.A. degrees in psychology from the University of South Carolina at Columbia, in 1963 and 1965 respectively. While at USC, he was a member of Phi Epsilon Pi (which later merged with Zeta Beta Tau) fraternity, and the AFROTC's Arnold Air Society, was president of the Hillel Foundation, and was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. He received a Ph.D. in sociology in 1972. , he was completing a seventh book, Early Social Life in Miami Beach: From Mangroves and Mosquitoes to Mansions and Millionaires. He also was selected to write the article on Judaism for the Encyclopedia of Sociology, and to write seven articles on the relationship between anthropology and DNA for the Encyclopedia of Anthropology. Lavender argued that since Sephardic Jews constitute a separate group, they should be granted the same attention bestowed on other ethnic groups.

On six occasions, Lavender was honored (Distinguished Citizen Award, Key to the city, Certificate of Appreciation) for his civic activities in Miami Beach. Lavender also maintained close ties to Charleston, South Carolina, his second home, where he lived part-time, had many relatives and friends, visited frequently, had been a speaker at the historic (founded in the 1740s) Kahal Kadosh Beth Elohim Synagogue, conducted extensive research at the Huguenot Society, and was involved with the International Huguenot Conference held in Charleston in 1997.

Civic and political activities

Lavender also was active in civic and political affairs, serving as advisor to Miami Beach mayor Seymour Gelber, vice-chair and commissioner of the Miami Beach Housing Authority, chairperson of city's Homeless Committee, and as a member of the city's Safety Committee.

  • French Huguenots: From Mediterranean Catholics to White Anglo-Saxon Protestants. New York, Bern: Peter Lang Publishing, Inc., 1990.
  • Ethnic Women and Feminist Values: Toward a 'New' Value System. Lanham, Maryland: University Press of America, 1986.
  • A Coat of Many Colors: Jewish Subcommunities in the United States. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press, 1977 (edited).
  • Journal of Spanish, Portuguese, and Italian Crypto Jews. Miami, Florida. Volume 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8. (from 2009 to 2016)

References

  • Webpage at FIU
  • Miami Beach social history reveals a homogenous population with little resemblance to today’s diverse city