symbolic physical barrier in 
place, they could finance lux-
ury housing west of the wall 
for white purchasers, without 
considering the proximity of 
Black families. The NBC News 
and BridgeDetroit research-
ers confirmed that James T. 
McMillan, head of a leading 
Detroit family, arranged to 
build the wall. 
At the time the wall was 
built, many neighborhoods 
were off limits to Jews. The 
white side of this wall was not 
such a neighborhood. “This 
was a part of the city where 
Jews could live. Actually, my 
father grew up not far from 
there,
” Einhorn says. 
In her research, Einhorn 
interviewed dozens of people 
who lived on either side of the 
wall. “
Among the white folks 
that I interviewed who grew 
up like a block or two from 
that wall, none of them even 
knew what was there,
” she 
says, “but maybe their parents 
knew it was there.
” The Black 
families knew what the wall 
meant. 
“Jews at that time . . . didn’t 
have all their rights, but they 
were benefiting from these 
federal housing policies in 
ways that Black folks couldn’t,
” 
Einhorn says. 
Living on the wrong side 

of the wall had consequences 
for building intergenerational 
wealth and also for education, 
medical care and employment 
opportunities. The wall itself 
became less significant in1948 
when the Supreme Court 
declared it illegal to enforce 
restrictive covenants. Black 
people could then buy on both 
sides of the Birwood Wall, but 
other obstacles continued to 
limit opportunities for Black 
buyers, as whites moved to the 
suburbs. Detroit remains one 
of the most segregated cities in 
the country.
Einhorn summarizes: “
And 
none of that was an accident.
” 
Even people who have 
learned about redlining and 
restrictive covenants still can 
feel that this story has nothing 
to do with them. 
“They’ve operated their lives 
assuming that everything that 
they have and all the ways 
they’ve succeeded, are direct-
ly a result of their own hard 
work,
” she says. 
Some of the people who 
lived on the white side of the 
wall, many, in fact, were vic-
tims of antisemitism; and they 
did work hard. They might, 
Einhorn notes, “be offended if 
you suggest that they have also 
benefited from a racist policy.
” 
But they did. 

LIBRARY OF CONGRESS

The Birwood Wall shortly after construction in 1941

NOVEMBER 11 • 2021 | 23

T

he 11th Annual 
Menorah in the D takes 
place Nov. 28 at 5 p.m., 
and after last year’s virtual-only 
event due to the pandemic, this 
year will see a return to nor-
malcy.
The event, put 
on by the Chabad 
Lubavitch of 
Michigan, will offer 
individuals the 
option to attend 
in-person at Campus 
Martius or to join 
virtually via live-
stream. 
“This year, we 
don’t want to go backwards, we 
only go forward, so we’re going 
to have both,
” said Rabbi Kasriel 
Shemtov, vice president of 
Chabad Lubavitch of Michigan.
The annual event usually 
sees thousands of people gather 
in Downtown Detroit for the 
festivities and the lighting of the 
massive 26-foot menorah. The 
event is put on in partnership 
with the Federation, The Shul 
and Chabad in the D, among 
others.
Shemtov says the in-person 
event will be done in a safe way, 
taking current COVID condi-
tions into consideration.
The in-person event begins at 
5 p.m. and the livestream begins 
at 5:30, airing on the Chabad’s 
Facebook and website. 
The event will include greet-
ings from community leaders 
and dignitaries, the torch cer-
emony with honorees from 
Detroit and around the world, 

and entertainment. There will 
also be a virtual afterparty on 
Zoom, taking place at 6:30 p.m.
People tuning in virtually can 
sign up to reserve a lamplighter 
kit, which includes Chanukah 
candles, menorahs, gelt, guides, 
cookies, postcards 
and more. 
After a year 
without the usual 
thousands attending 
the event, Shemtov 
says everyone is truly 
excited to come back 
Downtown. 
“Being together, 
the spirit of being 
Downtown and lighting that 
menorah in the center of the 
city is something truly invigo-
rating,
” Shemtov said. “It gives 
off a message of religious free-
dom, of the light to the meno-
rah to the world around us, and 
a beautiful message for each and 
every individual, Jewish or not.
“Whether you’re live or 
online, this has become an event 
where the entire Jewish com-
munity comes together and cel-
ebrates our spirit and message 
of Judaism in a very special and 
unique way,
” Shemtov added. “It 
really is a demonstration of how 
our entire community comes 
together to bring light and hope 
and to give a message that these 
might be challenging times, but 
we’re here together and to 
grow.
” 

For more information, visit http://www.

menorahinthed.com. For additional 

questions, reach out via info@

menorahinthed.com.

People can choose to attend 
in-person or virtually. 

Menorah in the D 
Is Back In-Person

DANNY SCHWARTZ STAFF WRITER

