JULY 15 • 2021 | 13

OUR COMMUNITY

A

ngelique Power 
remembers being 
13 years old, as the 
daughter of a white Jewish 
mother and a Black father, 
standing in a synagogue on the 
south side of Chicago, not so 
sure she fit in. 
Power pulled the synagogue’s 
rabbi aside, telling him she had 
many doubts, not even sure if 
she believed in God. She asked 
the rabbi, “
Am I still a good Jew 
if I don’t believe that?” 
The rabbi asked her two 
questions in response. “Do you 
take care of your neighbors?” 
“Yes,
” Power responded. 
“Do you ask good questions?”
“I try to,
” Power answered. 
“Then you’re a good Jew,
” the 
rabbi told her. 
Taking care of one’s neigh-
bors, asking good questions and 
the concept of tikkun olam are 
not only embedded in Judaism, 
but in Power’s life and career. 
Power will join the Skillman 
Foundation, a diversity-driven 
and inclusion-minded private 
Detroit youth philanthropy 
that works to strengthen K-12 
education, afterschool learning 
opportunities and college and 
career pathways in Detroit, as 
president and CEO, beginning 
on Sept. 13. Power is an accom-
plished champion for racial 
justice who comes to the foun-
dation after serving as president 
of the Field Foundation in 
Chicago. 
“Judaism was a huge part of 

my upbringing,
” said Power, 
who attended Hebrew school 
twice a week and became a bat 
mitzvah. 
Power’s father converted to 
Judaism before he married her 
mother. “When I was younger, 
my father was also going to 
Hebrew school in the adult 
class, so it was really a family 
affair,
” Power said. 

JEWISH VALUES
The concept of tikkun olam is 
important to Power in her life 
and career, including a strong 
desire to make the world better.
“That part of Judaism for me 
is about taking care of our neigh-
bors, is about study, about hav-
ing a veracious curiosity about 
how the world works and our 
place within it, and our power 
to change what is unfair, not just 
to us or our family, but what is 
unfair and unjust,
” she said.

Graduating with a master of 
fine arts from the School of the 
Art Institute of Chicago, Power 
never thought she would find 
herself in the philanthropic or 
nonprofit realms, but believes 
her Jewish values played a huge 

role in driving her path. 
“This constant study and 
questioning that is a core part 
of my Jewish values has guid-
ed me into my career,
” Power 
said. “It’s by employing critical 
thinking and questioning of 
systems — who benefits and 
who is harmed; it’s by enjoying 
being in community — whether 
that’s in the private sector, phil-
anthropic or nonprofit sector; 
and believing that if we build 

together, we’ll build something 
that benefits all of us.
”
Power believes she’ll continue 
to carry her Jewish values in her 
incoming role with the Skillman 
Foundation.
“Not only do I plan on carry-

ing this over and centering the 
concepts of tikkun olam, but I 
plan on relying on young peo-
ple and their ingrained knowl-
edge of how to achieve ‘repair 
of the world’ to lead us in this 
new role.
”
Power says she plans on 
spending a year listening and 
learning with people across 
Michigan, including the large 
Metro Detroit Jewish commu-
nity she’s very interested in con-
necting with. Power believes it’s 
an interesting time to be Black 
and Jewish, with a connected-
ness in similar issues they face. 
“That connective tissue 
of experience, that bridging 
and understanding between 
how racism operates and how 
antisemitism operates, is really 
important to have a literacy in,
” 
Power said. “I think that’s the 
way I operate in the world is 
understanding that. 
“I’m excited to enter into this 
community that I know has been 
doing a lot of thinking around 
that and see what sparks.
” 

COURTESY OF ANGELIQUE POWER

Angelique Power joins
Detroit’s Skillman Foundation 
as president & CEO.

A Good 
Neighbor

DANNY SCHWARTZ STAFF WRITER

“IF WE BUILD TOGETHER,

WE’LL BUILD SOMETHING THAT 

BENEFITS ALL OF US.”

— ANGELIQUE POWER

Angelique 
Power

