Looking Back
From the William Davidson Digital Archive of Jewish Detroit History
accessible at www.djnfoundation.org
An Incredible Communicator: Charlotte Dubin
I
first met my friend a few years
ago, when I was director of
the Walter Reuther Library at
Wayne State University. Another
longtime friend and professional
partner, Sharon
Alterman, and I
were working on
an exhibit about
the buildings on
campus that were
named in honor of
Jewish donors.
Sharon assem-
bled a team from
the Jewish community that
included Susie Citrin, Harriet
Saperstein, Stan Meretsky and
others. One member of the
group asked if she could help
with the writing of the text
panels. I said sure. What I must
admit I did not know at the time
was that I would benefit from the
skills of a great writer: Charlotte
Dubin.
Indeed, “by Charlotte Dubin”
was a mainstay for many years
in the JN. Charlotte’s work as
well as stories of her achieve-
ments are found on 579 pages
of the William Davidson Digital
Archive of Jewish Detroit
History, including a great feature
article in the Jan. 5, 2001, issue.
Charlotte followed in the foot-
steps of her father, Lewis Hyams.
He was a writer and editor of a
small community newspaper.
Charlotte earned a degree in
journalism at Wayne State, where
she was the editor of the student
newspaper, the Daily Collegian
(now known as the South End).
After graduating, Charlotte
wrote for the Pontiac Press.
In 1964, Charlotte was hired
as the JN’s city editor. For the
next 10 years, she worked for
legendary publisher and editor
Philip Slomovitz. As Charlotte
states: “No classes taught me as
much as what I learned from my
boss.”
In 1966, Charlotte met Harold
Dubin, then associate director of
the Jewish Community Council.
They were married in 1967 on
the last day of the Six-Day War.
Sadly, Harold passed away in
2010.
The JN headline read: “City
Editor Leaving Jewish News
to Go on Israel Aliya” in 1974.
She and Harold moved to Israel
where Charlotte worked for the
United Jewish Appeal (July 19,
1974).
Charlotte and Harold returned
to Detroit in 1976. For the next
24 years, Charlotte was direc-
tor of communications and
associate director of marketing
for the Jewish Federation of
Metropolitan Detroit.
Charlotte’s career at the
Federation was remarkable.
Special Adviser to the Detroit
Jewish News Foundation Board
Mark Davidoff spoke of her
expertise: “In my years at the
Federation, Charlotte Dubin
was the oracle, crafting the right
messaging to help the community
understand the critical role the
Federation played in our daily
lives”
At the Federation, Charlotte
had many accomplishments.
For one example, she was heav-
ily involved in the Federation’s
First Michigan Miracle Mission
in 1993 and the second in
1995. Charlotte received the
Federation’s first William Avrunin
Fellowship in 1993. She was
also instrumental in creating
the Simons Jewish Community
Archives. In 2011, Charlotte
received the prestigious Leonard
N. Simons History Award from
the Jewish Historical Society of
Michigan.
The above contributions to
Detroit’s Jewish community
are just the tip of Charlotte’s
leadership iceberg. She sup-
ports Hebrew Free Loan, Camp
Tamarack, Israel and, dear to
my heart, the William Davidson
Archive. Always looking forward,
at Adat Shalom, she conceived of
“Tech Connect,
” a program where
teens helped the older generation
with the digital age (Feb. 6, 2014).
I really enjoyed writing about
my friend, a real mensch. I just
hope my prose meets Charlotte’s
standards!
Want to learn more? Go to the DJN
Foundation archives, available for free
at www.djnfoundation.org.
Mike Smith
Alene and
Graham Landau
Archivist Chair
70 | APRIL 21 • 2022