>> ... Next Generation ...
One City, Many Voices: Stories of Jews Living in Detroit
`Like Encountering
A Long-Lost Relative'
I
came to Michigan as a Californian
with considerable pride for the
city of Oakland, my hometown.
I love Oakland and have always felt
enormously blessed to have been born
and raised in such a dynamic, complex
place. In fact, Oakland's complexity is
the thing about the city I
value and enjoy most. The
meaning of this complex-
ity and its implications,
however, are the subjects
where I find myself in
greatest conflict with oth-
ers.
Like Detroit, a lot of
myths about Oakland are
circulated on a national
scale and, in turn, are told
or repeated by those who
encounter them. People
read a headline about
violence, crime and the poor state of
public schools in Oakland. What they
do not hear about is the communal
culture and diversity of Oakland, the
openness, acceptance and willingness
to learn from others that character-
izes the majority of Oaklanders. I often
receive strange, quizzical looks when
I disclose I am from this much mused-
about city. I am used to being ques-
tioned or judged, stared at in disbelief
and even occasionally refuted, told
I cannot possibly be from that place
because "there are no white people in
Oakland."
When I encountered Detroit for the
first time last year, it was like meeting
a long-lost relative. A cousin perhaps
who, though very different from my
beloved Oakland, possessed enough
similar qualities so that the family
resemblance was more than appar-
ent. All of the squeaks and squabbles
I had heard about the city of Detroit,
its own overwhelmingly negative por-
trayals continuously called to light in
the mainstream media, the disparag-
ing remarks, hurtful stereotypes, and
publicized sense of futility and despair
lay themselves at my feet like a famil-
iar welcome mat. This was
a place I could get used to
because in some ways it was
a place I had always known.
I was elated! Ecstatic! I had
found a city that spoke to me.
I wanted to know the city. I
had an immense desire to sift
through what I had heard and
seen portrayed by others and
develop my own perspectives
and experiences. I decided to
complete my summer intern-
ship, a required component of
my graduate program at the
University of Michigan School of Social
Work, at JVS Detroit. I moved into an
interfaith-intentional community on the
city's lower east side, on the outskirts
of Indian Village.
My neighborhood was pleasant; my
neighbors considerate and kind. At
26 years old, I finally learned to ride
a bike. I will always remember the
moment I gained my balance and took
off down Field Street, my housemate
and bike-riding guru throwing his
hands up in triumph as our neigh-
bors cheered me on from their front
porches. I was fascinated by things
as seemingly inconsequential as the
ice cream truck and the whimsical,
childhood songs it blared through my
neighborhood each long, hot summer
afternoon. I had never lived in a neigh-
borhood serviced by such a charm-
ing anachronism, nor would I have
expected such a symbol of innocence
to exist in a place as rough and
wizened as Detroit.
At JVS, I worked in the Career
Initiative Center with homeless
Detroiters on job training and
employment issues. I engaged
my co-workers, Detroiters and
non-Detroiters alike, in conver-
sations about race, identity and
the ways my physical character-
istics and presence in the city
were perceived by others. From
these conversations, I gained
additional perspectives on the
city, its landscape, resources
and politics. I also became
familiar with the feelings of
some community members who
saw the current city as hopeless
and dangerous.
When unsolicited advice from
those of this perspective began
to pour in, I, as an open-minded
outsider, was not deterred by
assertions that I'd be wise to
Ariel at a favorite childhood destination,
"get the hell out of the city."
"Children's Fairyland," in Oakland, Calif.
I actually found myself com-
fortable challenging those I
respected when I disagreed with or
passion and compelling community. In
was disturbed by their rhetoric on the
experiencing the city, one understands
city. It may now seem obvious, but I
the meaning of divine inspiration.
had been prepping for these moments Detroit is a place of revelation and
for a long time. I was and am used
courage, of fastidious visions toward a
to adamantly defending the places I
bright future and, even on a scorching
l ove.
summer day, a place to grab a cold
I was not raised here. I grew up
treat off the ice cream truck.
2,397 miles away in Oakland, Calif.,
where Detroit was just a faraway city
Ariel Pearl-Jacobvitz is a graduate student
in an awkwardly mitten-shaped state.
studying Management of Human Services
Yet, looking back now, it is difficult to
and Interpersonal Practice at the University
imagine my being on a forward course
of Michigan School of Social Work and a par-
that could have led me to any other
ticipant in the Jewish Communal Leadership
city.
Program. She is currently enjoying her
At its very core, the city of Detroit is
secondary field placement at Kadima in
infused with soul and spirit, contagious Southfield.
UPCOMING EVENT
SATURDAY, MARCH 3
The Detroit Harmonie International Experience
is Detroit Harmonie's second annual signature
event celebrating the diversity and future of Metro
Detroit with live entertainment, food and music
representing several cultures in the community.
The evening will include a competition where
Detroit Harmonie will deliver $50,000 in philan-
thropic funding to five Next Generation-led organi-
zations helping to make the city of Detroit an attrac-
30
March 1 • 2012
tive place in which to live, work and play.
Doors open at 8 p.m. at the Virgil H. Carr
Culture & Arts Center, 311 E. Grand River Ave. in
Detroit. The main reception takes place from 8:30-
11:30 p.m. A folloWing afterglow sponsored by
CommunityNEXT will feature a DJ and drinks to
keep the fun going. Tickets are $20 online/$30 at
the door.
Register at detroitharmonie-efbevent.eventbrite.
corn.