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 

