State Of The Union .. 20

Nazi's Bond Denied .. 26

In The Name Of Justice

Snapshots from local communities' commemorations of Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

Michael Rubyan, Samit Sheth, David Metier, Makisa Monavvari
Shawn Yumar and Ashley Herbst, all 16 of West Bloomfield, light
candles at the West Bloomfield Schools' Jan. 18 vigil.

DIANA LIEBERMAN

Staff Writer

I

njustice anywhere threatens
justice everywhere."
With these words from the
writings of Martin Luther
King Jr., U.S. Attorney Jeffrey
Collins defined his personal mission
as head of the Department of Justice
for the Eastern District of Michigan.
Collins spoke Friday, Jan. 16, in
the Max M. Fisher Federation
Building in Bloomfield Township at
an early commemoration of Dr.
King's birthday, sponsored by the
Jewish Federation of Metropolitan
Detroit and the agencies in the
building.
Despite threats of terrorism, "civil
rights is still a front-burner issue,"
Collins said.
The event also featured a talk by
Christy Coleman, president and

1/23

2004

16

Federation sta associate Joseph Selesny leads the audience at the Max M Fisher Building in singing
Watikvah."

CEO of the Charles Wright
Museum of African American
History.
Beginning July 15, the museum
will present "Without Sanctuary," an
exhibit of photographs of lynchings,
mostly the murders of blacks but
also of other minorities. Each photo
is accompanied by the carefully
researched story of the victim and
his or her alleged crime.
"But this is not just a showcase of
injury," Coleman said. "It's an
exploration of intolerance, of people
stepping up and saying 'no' to the
kind of intolerance and hate which
poisoned our country for so long."

A Matter Of Conscience

"Honoring the Dream, Uniting
Community," the 10th annual West
Bloomfield celebration of Dr. King's
legacy, began with a candlelight vigil

Sunday, Jan. 18 at West Bloomfield
High School.
Co-sponsored by the West
Bloomfield Clergy Association and
Community Forum, the event
included cantorial soloist Susan
Greener and Rabbi Norman Roman,
both of Temple Kol Ami, along with
folksinger-storyteller Josh White Jr.
As White sang "We Shall
Overcome," participants marched
outside with lit candles. Although
the cold wind kept extinguishing the
candles, marchers relit their flames
from others' candles.
"That, in itself, was a metaphor,"
commented Mary Davis, educational
outreach coordinator of the Jewish
Ensemble Theatre.
Participants from as far away as
Melvindale, Novi and Grosse Ile
turned out for "United We Walk,"
West Bloomfield's mammoth break-
fast, concert, parade and discussion

event, which took place on MLK
Day itself, Monday, Jan. 19.

Toward A Livable City

Also on Monday, the Metropolitan
Detroit Chapter of the American
Jewish Committee joined with the
Detroit Urban League to present the
annual All People's Breakfast.
The event, which drew about 250
people to the League's headquarters
in Detroit, included a panel discus-
sion on "Detroit As a Cool City
Beyond the 21st Century."
Panelists were real estate develop-
ers David Farbman of the Farbman
Group and Chauncy Mayfield, a for-
mer economic development official
in Boston, along with Linda Parker,
chair of the Michigan Civil Rights
Commission.
"There's no reason why Detroit
can't draw young people, like
Chicago, Boston or Atlanta," said