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the wandering jew

Th e Future Of Jewish Detroit

I

n last month’s column, I claimed I
Corwin Berman, tends to reshape “the
found the future of Jewish Detroit,
city’s topography to meet their needs
but did not reveal what it was.
and ideals.”
Curious?
Was it the big-hearted suburban
Since my homecoming, I overheard
philanthropists, billionaire entrepre-
many a lament for the closing
neurs or hipsters eagerly
of the Oak Park JCC, relocating
renting high-end condos?
what is arguably the fulcrum
From the time of Lafayette
of Jewish life forever to West
Park to the RenCen to the
Bloomfield. My own family was
casino boom, “trickle-down
one of the last Jewish hold-
urbanism,” to use a term
outs in south Oak Park, once
coined by historian Dr.
a largely Jewish community
Thomas Sugrue, has only
just north of Detroit, which
proved successful to an
thinned as Jews migrated even Joshua Lewis
extent.
Berg
further north. In the present,
The answer is I found the
it seems, Jewish presence in
future of Jewish Detroit in all
Metro Detroit originates north
these places. But, that’s too
of 10 Mile and stretches much
obvious and easy. We know
further beyond.
where Metropolitan Jewish Detroit
But, what about the future? I decid- lives and will continue to thrive and
ed to search the entire Woodward
grow. Here is the big reveal: The
corridor from where the first Jews dis- future of Jewish Detroit proper is a
placed big beavers and set up shop on handful of toddlers. Read on.
the Riverfront to where modern Jews
People will not move en masse any-
shop for sets on Big Beaver Road.
where if they have nowhere to edu-
I volunteered Downtown with
cate their children. Period. A city sur-
Repair the World at Gleaners. I
vives and thrives, in my opinion, if its
attended Purim events at Shir Tikvah, schools do, specifically public schools.
the Birmingham Temple and with
Detroit’s many efforts at righting itself
Detroit Jews for Justice. I met with
have faltered because public school
community leaders, whose work
education has faltered as well.
with groups like The Well, NEXTGen
For the Jew of the 1960s, Berman
Detroit and the Downtown Synagogue writes, “The personal sacrifices of
are reimagining the millennial Jewish
deciding to send one’s child to an
experience and its relationship to
urban school and working toward
J-Detroit.
local, neighborhood-based school
I toured with the Jewish Historical
reform struck many Jews as high …
Society of Michigan and religious
Racial integration in schools seemed
school fifth-graders from Shaarey
unrealistic in the 1960s.”
Zedek. I meditated and visualized
Let’s hope the same is not true
in the bygone awe-inspiring home
today.
of Temple Beth El on Woodward in
Exclusively patronizing private
Detroit, on its way to becoming the
schools and charter schools means
newly revitalized Bethel Community
public schools will be neglected.
Transformation Center.
In doing so, many of our fellow
I experienced firsthand the reborn
Detroiters, neighbors in our newly
Riverfront from the RenCen to
reimagined metropolis, will remain
Campus Martius. I celebrated Shabbat in the periphery. Please know I don’t
at homes in Farmington and broke
begrudge anyone for sending their
bread at Avalon International Breads.
child to anyplace they feel will pro-
I wandered the JCC campus and reac- vide the best education or, if they so
quainted myself with the amazing
desire, a solid Jewish foundation. But,
museums in the Midtown corridor.
I cannot reconcile how education and
OK, so where in all of this did I
profit motive should ever be associ-
finally locate these Detroit Jewish pio- ated. Kenahora … Pu-pu-pu!
neers? The millennial activists? Urban
There is one question I asked
activism is vital to a city but also, in
throughout my search and will con-
the words of Detroit historian Dr. Lila tinue to ask. When people flock to

Detroit, where will they send their
kids to school?
Nobody has a solid answer. I looked
at the website for the Live Downtown
initiative. It promised shiny new
development, culture, arts, jobs and
more. Nowhere did it talk about
schools. Nowhere.
I did interviews with Jews living in
Detroit and out, parents and schools
administrators alike. Although some
mentioned private schools and char-
ter schools like Hillel and Detroit
Achievement Academy and even pub-
lic upper school successes like Cass
Tech, the things still most associated
with Detroit public primary schools
are corruption, lack of funds, lack of
discipline and struggle.
Jews in previous generations strug-
gled to keep their Detroit neighbor-
hoods alive by remaining in integrat-
ed Detroit schools as long as they felt
they could, but they eventually left.
Today, young Jews are fighting for
education justice from afar and also
within the boundaries of the city
itself. But, until we can answer the
question, “Where will they educate
their kids?” we won’t know if it’s a
winnable or even sustainable fight.
The handful of toddlers I found,
the future of Jewish Detroit, are
a group called JTot, a program of
the Downtown Synagogue, the
Reconstructionist Congregation of
Detroit and the Jewish Federation.
They live in Detroit, and the parents
I met are progressive with a desire to
send their kids to public school. It’s
just that nobody is sure what that will
look like. Will the whole group go to
one school or might they split into
various schools? Or, will they hold off,
work for more reform and govern-
ment support and send a future class
of kids to public school?
The toddlers don’t know it as their
little keppies are filled with thoughts
of simpler things like crayons, blocks
and storytime but, make no mistake,
this small group of tiny nap aficiona-
dos are the true pioneers of the future
of Jewish Detroit in the city.
When they cross the primary-
colored threshold on the first day
of kindergarten, Jewish Detroit and
Detroit itself might be crossing into a
new era. •

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May 11 • 2017

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