The UPLift with Tzedek: Real Talk for Real Change
Welcome to The UPlift - Real Talk for Real Change! We're here to build authentic community relationships and help fuel social transformation in Asheville, NC, believing collective liberation is not only possible but probable as we share, listen, and learn together.
The Tzedek Social Justice Fund is a social justice philanthropy fund that redistributes money, resources, and power to support systems change and community healing in Asheville, North Carolina. Through adaptive, trust-based philanthropy, we resist oppressive systems and work to transform our collective home into a place where everyone flourishes. We fund mission-aligned work centering LGBTQ Justice, Racial Justice, and/or Dismantling Antisemitism; this means we give money to organizations and individuals invested in creating a more fair, equitable, and flourishing society.
We dream of a thriving Asheville where everyone's needs are abundantly met - where everyone is safe, respected, and celebrated. We believe that a community rooted in joy and love is possible - that is, if we can connect and build our shared vision on the value that liberation is for all.
Sound good to you? We hope so!
Let's be real. Let's go deep. Let's get liberated.
The UPLift with Tzedek: Real Talk for Real Change
"Built for This": Al Murray on Belonging and Becoming
The South holds stories that refuse to fade—stories of resilience, reckoning, and renewal. For queer and trans Southerners, those stories are often equal parts love letter and liberation map.
In this episode, we sit down with Al Murray, Tzedek’s 2025 Pauli Murray Brilliance Award recipient, whose work reminds us that belonging isn’t found, it’s built. Raised in rural Western Kentucky and now rooted in Asheville, Al shares their journey through art, activism, and identity: from escaping the small-town South to returning home to reconcile with its complexities. With humor and heart, they explore what it means to stay, to fight for joy, and to refuse the myth that the South belongs to anyone else.
Together, we weigh: What does it mean to build bridges instead of walls? To stay complicated, visible, and connected in a place that doesn’t always feel safe?
About Al:
Al Murray (they/them) is a queer, nonbinary, trans artist, storyteller, and community strategist whose work bridges creativity and justice across the American South. A self-described “poor kid from rural Western Kentucky turned Southern builder,” Al brings a rare mix of artistry, grit, and systems thinking to their leadership. Currently serving with the WNC Health Network, they focus on data equity and community-driven storytelling that transforms public health into collective action.
Before joining WNC Health Network, Al helped launch Southern Equality Studios at the Campaign for Southern Equality, a program uplifting queer Southern artists through creative visibility and resource sharing. Their career has spanned youth advocacy, harm reduction, and arts-based liberation work, all grounded in a deep belief that we heal when we know one another’s stories.
Al is the 2025 Tzedek Pauli Murray Brilliance Award recipient, honored for their intersectional leadership and unwavering commitment to collective liberation in Asheville and beyond.
Whether you’re a creative, activist, or anyone learning how to stay rooted while building a more just world, this episode is a reminder that our stories are bridges, and that joy, too, is an act of resistance.
Press play and remember: We were built for this.
We'll see you same time, same place next month. Until then, peace.
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