Arts 08( Entertainment

From Haven To Home

Exhibit opening at Detroit Historical Museum traces
350 years of the Jewish-American journey.

Suzanne Chessler

Special to the Jewish News

4. 0

A

touring exhibit that captures
Jewish history across the United
States gets a Michigan slant when
it is displayed May 6-Aug. 30 at the Detroit
Historical Museum, where it also marks the
50th anniversary of the Jewish Historical
Society of Michigan.
"From Haven to Home: 350 Years of
Jewish Life in America," originally on view
at the Library of Congress, used panels
featuring original photos and artifacts con-
nected through narrative. On tour, photo
facsimiles show many of the same items
with a locally planned panel at each stop.
Among the many items in the touring
display are a letter from George Washington
to the congregation of a Rhode Island
synagogue, a Confederate $2 bill bearing
an image of Judah Benjamin, and refer-
ences to some 140 Jewish Major League
baseball players beyond Tiger legend Hank
Greenberg.
"This really is an American exhibit',' says
Michael Feldberg, curator, president of the
History Consultancy and former director of
the American Jewish Historical Society. "I'm
glad it will be at a secular venue, where it will
have a chance to reach a larger audience."
The exhibit, divided according to themes
such as politics and philanthropy, has been
touring since 2005. It was organized in 2002
to mark the 350th anniversary of the time
when Jews began migrating to the country
that provided an immigrant haven before
becoming a home.
"I approached the Library of Congress
and the American Jewish Archives to
partner for the exhibit, and the Library of
Congress decided to organize it using their
own documents and materials',' Feldberg
says. "That show ran 2005-2006 and went
to Ohio and California.
"Justin Wyner, who lives in Boston, sug-
gested that others should see it, and he

Jewish refugee children on their way to Philadelphia aboard the liner President
Harding (New York, 1939)

raised money. We decided on requesting
digitized reproductions of the items so
that people could encounter them without
worries about the impact of lighting and
security"
The core exhibit, with 60 captioned
pieces, has traveled from a courthouse
in Boston to a fashion mall in Las Vegas.
Detroit connections include the develop-
ment of Humanistic Judaism under the
leadership of the late Rabbi Sherwin Wine
and the anti-Semitic actions of Henry Ford.
"There's not a lot of material about the
early period because of the limited activity
and the disappearance of materials from
those times:' Feldberg says. "The founding
of the American Jewish Historical Society
in 1892 helped with the preservation of
items worth keeping"
Feldberg's favorite piece in the collection
is songwriter Irving Berlin's handwritten
copy of "God Bless America," what the cura-
tor terms "the de facto national anthem."

WARNER BROS.SEIPREMEIRWMPR

Far left: Al Jolson

AL JOLSON

in The Jazz Singer,

JAZZ SINGER

talking picture

THE

Hollywood's first

Left: Abigail Franks

(1696-1756)

provided historians

with an extraordinary

FAY KicAVOY

! WARNER OIAND

ritor Rosenblatt

01 , Zt , 1,.•

ROSIAHD

A WARNER liRdS.-liRODLCTIoN

portrait of the

everyday life of

America's colonial

Jews.

"While it's a song of gratitude on the
part of an immigrant Jew, it represents
the role of national unity in the emotions
all Americans feel toward their country'
Feldberg says. "It bridges American people
into one unit."
Judy Cantor, who has held many leader-
ship positions with the Jewish Historical
Society of Michigan (JHSM), led the way
for this exhibit to come to Detroit. After
seeing it in Boston, she thought it would
enhance the 50th anniversary celebration of
the organization to which she has devoted
so much of her time.
"We'll be the first place on tour that
has an actual museum as the setting, and
we hope to attract people from the whole
Midwest," Cantor says. "I believe visitors
will be particularly impressed with the
panel and showcases filled with materials
related to local milestones."
The Detroit panel will take viewers back
to the early Jewish fur traders who came to
the area in the 1700s, move on to the immi-
grant peddlers who sold goods throughout
the state and extend through the business
leaders who shaped local enterprise.
Among the people noted in the display
will be famed architect Albert Kahn, who
was chosen by Henry Ford to design his

factories, and Max Grabowsky, who invent-
ed a truck later incorporated into General
Motors.
The integration of Jewish participation
in the larger community is highlighted
through a picture of early members of
Detroit Renaissance, which formed after the
1967 race riots.
"The Jewish experience has been side-
lined in history books:' says Cantor, who
points out that the local presentation is in
memory of Bill Davidson, a visionary and
benefactor for the JHSM. "I believe that
children can feel a greater sense of iden-
tity when they see Jewish contributions to
American history'
Sharon Alterman, director of the Leonard
N. Simons Jewish Community Archives,
helped find the local objects and materials.
"We wanted to show that the Jewish com-
munity in Michigan is vibrant and involved
with so many aspects of life Alterman says.
"We wanted to give a sense of the depth
and dimensions."
Religious observance is shown through
artistic ritual objects and enhanced
by a quilt-like mural done by children.
Commitment to country is captured
through actual military and Red Cross uni-
forms worn by people from this area.
Among the books and documents that
show participation in various causes are
images of the winners of the JHSM's Leonard
N. Simons History Award, which is being
given to Mandell (Bill) Berman this year.
Berman, a retired builder and developer,
is being recognized for his philanthropy
in both the Jewish community and larger
community. He is a past president of
the Council of Jewish Federations and
the Jewish Federation of Metropolitan
Detroit. The exhibit, chaired by Hannan
and Lisa Lis, is presented in cooperation
with the Federation. Eugene and Marcia
Applebaum and A. Alfred Taubman are
co-chairs.
Berman's award will be part of the Gala
Benefactor Reception starting 5:30 p.m.
Tuesday, May 5, at the museum. The event
includes dinner and a musical program
by cantorial soloist Neil Michaels and
Stephanie Michaels.

From Haven To Home on page B15

"From Haven to Home: 350 Years of Jewish Life in America" will be on view May
6-Aug. 30 at the Detroit Historical Museum, 5401 Woodward. Group tours, led by
docents, can be scheduled. Hours are 9:30 a.m.-3 p.m. Wednesdays-Fridays, 10
a.m.-5 p.m. Saturdays and noon-5 p.m. Sundays. Museum admission: $4-$6. For
more information, call (248) 432-5517 or go to michjewishhistory.org .

April 30 2009

B13