4 | FEBRUARY 25 • 2021 

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PURELY COMMENTARY

letters

It Takes a Village
My work in the Jewish commu-
nal field began when I needed a 
summer job during college, and 
I was looking though the Detroit 
Jewish News help wanted section. 
I saw that Jewish Family Service 
(JFS) needed volunteer drivers 
to take older adults to doctor 
appointments. Thus began my 
career in the Jewish communal 
service field, and I never looked 
back. 
The following summer, I was 
accepted into the JVS Project 
JOIN program and placed at 
Jewish Family Service volunteer 
department. Upon graduation, 
I worked at JFS as the Meals on 

Wheels caseworker/coordinator 
and have been in the field ever 
since. 
I am not writing today to tell 
you about me, but to tell you 
I have never been prouder to 
work in the Jewish communal 
services field as I have been 
since the start of the pandemic. 
Last March, as the executive 
director of National Council 
of Jewish Women, Michigan, 
(NCJW|MI) I was invited to 
join daily meetings with other 
Jewish communal professionals, 
under the leadership of Steven 
Ingber, chief operating officer 
of the Jewish Federation of 
Metropolitan Detroit. 

Though NCJW|MI is not a 
Federation agency, the empha-
sis on these group meetings 
was how can we as commu-
nity agencies work together 
to ensure that needs are being 
met during these difficult and 
uncertain times. This group has 
continued to meet since last 
March, and now meets week-
ly. We have shared resources, 
brainstormed ideas, collabo-
rated and provided support for 
one another, all to benefit our 
community. 
I am honored to be a part 
of this group and so proud 
to work in our Metro Detroit 
Jewish community. My motto 

has always been, “It takes a vil-
lage …
” and this village of pro-
fessionals have worked tirelessly 
behind the scenes to ensure 
needs are being met. We are 
very lucky to have the dedicated 
leadership and staff working at 
the various agencies who truly 
care about our community 
members.
Thank you, Steve, for lead-
ing the way, and for all of the 
work our staff and volunteers 
have done during these past 
months in taking care of our 
community.

— Susan Gertner

NCJW|MI executive director

essay
The Raven Gallery: A Family 
Story of ‘Spilling the Honey’ 
I

n 1960, my parents Belle 
and Herb Cohen (of bless-
ed memory) opened the 
Raven: a gal-
lery and coffee 
house on James 
Couzens in 
Detroit. Their 
dream was to 
have a beautiful 
space to show-
case Michigan 
and Detroit artists, visual 
arts, musical arts and poetry 
readings. 
They wanted to cultur-
ally enrich our community 
in a beautiful, intimate and 
non-intimidating setting. My 
parents loved the arts. Almost 
every week, our family went 
to the Detroit Institute of 
Arts. We attended concerts, 
ballets and had season tickets 
for the Detroit Symphony. 
Our small house was filled 

with books and paintings 
from local artists.
It seems extraordinary 
when I look back. My parents 
were unassuming. My moth-
er, a part-time model at Saks 
Fifth Avenue, and my dad, a 
Linotype setter, were the first 
to create such an amazing 
space. They respected talent 
and lived to help aspiring 
artists. The headline of my 
father’s 1977 obituary read 
“Herb Cohen was dedicated 
to culturally enriching youth.” 
My father created the 
Raven String and Raven 
Woodwind quartets, directed 
by Paul Paray, the conductor 
of the Detroit Symphony 
Orchestra. They performed 
weekly. I was mesmerized lis-
tening to their music. 
My father was one of the 
first to showcase Black artists, 
both painters like Harold 

Neal and performers from 
folk music’s Josh White Sr. 
and Josh Jr. When they were 
in town, they were our house 
guests. We became close 
friends. 
We also had the opportu-
nity to hear unusual talents 
like Dorothy Ashby, who 
introduced the harp to jazz 
and was hailed as an accom-
plished modern jazz harpist. 
Dorothy attended Cass Tech 
and Wayne State University. 
The Dorothy Ashby Trio pre-
formed monthly at the Raven, 
her husband on drums. 
Dorothy told me she carried a 
triple burden: a woman play-
ing in male-dominated jazz, 
being a Black woman in the 
entertainment industry and 
the Black community’s lack of 
interest in the sound of harp 
music. 
Because we were surround-

Brenda 
Naomi 
Rosenberg

TOP: Brenda’s parents at the 
opening of the Raven. 
ABOVE: Brenda Rosenberg with 
first Black model Bessie Woods

PHOTOS COURTESY OF BRENDA ROSENBERG

