20 | OCTOBER 3 • 2019 

Jews in the D

O

n a recent sunny 
Sunday afternoon, a 
local group of black 
and Jewish leaders came 
together to greet Michigan Rep. 
Brenda Lawrence and learn 
more about the newly created 
Congressional Caucus for Black 
and Jewish Unity. 
The local organization, the 
Coalition for Black and Jewish 
Unity, hosted Lawrence, who 
co-founded the new caucus, 
along with Reps. Lee Zelden, 
R-N.Y., Debbie Wasserman 
Schultz, D-Fla., Will Hurd, 
R-Texas, and John Lewis, 
D-Ga. The House caucus was 
launched to bring both commu-
nities together and create legis-
lation to fight white supremacy. 
“Our communities have a 
long history of being there for 
each other,
” Lawrence told the 
gathering, recalling the past 
involvement of blacks and Jews 
in the early days of the civil 
rights movement. She spoke 
of her days in Southfield, first 
as a councilwoman and then 
as mayor, and cited the city’
s 
long and successful integra-
tion of blacks and Jews. She 
emphasized the need for candid 
conversation, which, she said, 
has always been the centerpiece 
of the 
relationship. 
She recalled a time where she 
had a disagreement with the 
Jewish community on an Israel-
related topic, and said she was 
especially touched when David 
Victor, a local Jewish leader 
and former national president 

of AIPAC, told her it was OK 
to disagree sometimes because 
“we’
re family, and it’
s normal 
for families to sometimes have 
disagreements.
”
The Congressional Caucus 
for Black and Jewish Unity is 
holding its kick-off meetings 
this month in Washington, 
D.C. A key priority, she empha-
sized, was for the caucus to 
collect reliable data on the spike 
in racial and anti-Semitic hate 
crimes so that critics will not 
be able to deny the scale of the 
issue and the urgency for more 
legislative protection. 
The local Coalition for Black 
and Jewish Unity is a part-
nership between the Jewish 
Community Relations Council 
(JCRC/AJC) and the Council 
of Baptist Pastors of Detroit 
and Vicinity. The organization, 
founded several years ago, 
focuses on programming that 
promotes solidarity between the 
communities, speaks out against 
hate, specifically racism and 
anti-Semitism, and works on 
developing future community 
leaders. 
The group has hosted events 
at the Charles Wright Museum 
of African American History 
and the Holocaust Memorial 
Center, and held joint Shabbats, 
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. 
commemorations, joint seders, 
criminal justice seminars, 
educational “lunch, listen and 
learn” meetings and holiday 
parties.
Rev. Deedee M. Coleman, 
president of the Council of 

Baptist Pastors, a co-chair of the 
local coalition and a longtime 
pro-Israel advocate, told the 
group she “almost fell off her 
chair” when she learned that a 
Congressional Caucus had been 
formed to promote black and 
Jewish unity, because it so close-
ly paralleled the work of the 
local coalition. Coleman spoke 
passionately about the need for 
both communities to “speak up 
for what’
s right” because “our 
enemies are coming after us.
”
Rabbi Marla Hornsten of 
Temple Israel, also a co-chair 
of the local coalition, person-
alized the efforts of the group’
s 
mission, emphasizing that “we 
need to get to know each other 
as more than just colleagues 
and more than just acquain-
tances. We need to get to know 
each other as family and dear 
friends.
”
Rep. Andy Levin and Rep. 
Elissa Slotkin were unable to 
attend the event but sent staff 
members who addressed the 
group and expressed their sup-
port for the local coalition and 
the new Congressional Caucus. 
Rev. Ken Flowers, a co-direc-

tor of the local coalition, chal-
lenged the crowd to keep the 
focus on action steps to advance 
the cause of fighting racism and 
anti-Semitism. 
The Coalition for Black 
and Jewish Unity is located 
within the office of the JCRC/
AJC in the Jewish Federation 
of Metropolitan Detroit in 
Bloomfield Township. For more 
information, visit jcrc.org/
coalition-for-black-and-Jewish-
unity or call (248) 642-2656. 

Mark Jacobs is a co-director of the 

Coalition for Black and Jewish Unity.

PHOTOS COURTESY OF MARK JACOBS

Black and Jewish Coalition hosts 
Rep. Brenda Lawrence.

MARK JACOBS SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS

Working Together

Mark Jacobs welcomes the 
group to his home, where 
the meeting was held.

TOP: Many from 
both the Jewish and 
black communities 
attended the event. 
RIGHT: Rep. Brenda 
Lawrence addresses 
the group.