HAROLD BLACK, 85, of
Southfield, died Sept. 8, 2006. He
was born Aaron Hershel Schwartz
in Goniondz,
Poland. His fam-
ily fled Poland
in the early
1920s, settling
first in Mexico
until entry
into the United
States was avail-
Black
able. At age 10,
he arrived in
Detroit fluent
in both Yiddish and Spanish, but
speaking no English.
Educated in the Detroit public
schools, he then attended what is
now Wayne State University, earn-
ing first an undergraduate degree
followed by two master's degrees.
Later, he earned a Ph.D. in urban
planning from the University of
Michigan.
Mr. Black spent almost his
entire working life as an urban
planner, rising to the position of
community development coor-
dinator in Mayor Cavanaugh's
administration. However, his real
avocation was as a writer of poet-
ry and short stories, often with a
Jewish theme. He was a pioneer in
the Jewish Humanist movement,
first through the Jewish Parents
Institute in Detroit and then as a
founding member of Machar in
the Washington, D.C. area.
When he moved to the
Washington area, he became active
in the local Yiddish Club. Realizing
that there were a handful of such
clubs across this country and
Canada, he conceived of the con-
cept of an International Associate
of Yiddish Clubs. Mr. Black served
as the association's first president,
giving up the position in 2005. He
organized a series of conferences
on the Yiddish language, missing
only the latest such conference
held in New Jersey earlier this year.
He and his wife, Ann, moved back
to the Detroit area in 2005.
Mr. Black is survived by his
beloved wife, Ann Black; son and
companion, David Black and Linda
Niemiec of Illinois; daughter and
son-in-law, Linda and Barry Weiner
of Champaign, Ill.; sister and
brother-in-law, Zelda and Norman
Shwedell of Miami, Fla.; grandchil-
dren, Briana Black, Gabriel Black,
Jacob Black, Nathaniel Black, Dr.

Obituaries on page 162

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September 21 • 2006

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