24 | JULY 13 • 2023 

OUR COMMUNITY

O

n June 28, leaders 
from Detroit’s 
Jewish and Black 
communities came together 
at the Detroit Opera House 
to celebrate, connect and 
share stories at the second 
annual Motown Seder.
Hosted by the Motown 
Museum and the Jewish 
Community Relations 
Council/AJC, the Motown 
Seder once again brought 
the two sides together using 
the model of a traditional 
seder dinner. 
After a warm welcome 
from Motown Museum 
Chairwoman and CEO 
Robin Terry and JCRC/
AJC Executive Director 
Rabbi Asher Lopatin, 
guests enjoyed and sang 
along during performances 
of “Hatikvah” and “Lift 
Every Voice and Sing.” 
Stevie Wonder’s version 
of “Blowin’ in the Wind” 
was played for attendees 

to listen to and reflect on 
while enjoying the provided 
dinner buffet. 
Lopatin says that while 
the relationship between 
the two communities is 
sometimes based on how 
they can help each other, 
this event is centered 
on simply enjoying each 
other’s presence, finding 
joy in connecting and being 
together. 
At the heart of the seder 
was storytelling and the 
importance of telling our 
stories and passing them 
down from generation to 
generation so they aren’t 
lost. Attendees from 
both communities were 
encouraged to share some of 
their stories throughout the 
night as well as sit at a table 
with those they didn’t know 
before and discuss topics 
including the importance 
of intergenerational 
storytelling and 

empowerment during 
oppression relating to 
Jewish and Black history 
and present-day life. 

TRANSCENDENT MUSIC
“Bringing these two com-
munities together — with 
so much shared history and 
really using this as a space for 
conversation — is something 
we’ve aspired to do,” Terry 
said. “Motown music has a 
transcendent way of breaking 
down barriers, uniting people 
and opening rooms up for 
conversation around subjects 
that sometimes are sensitive 
to talk about.” 
Motown alumni were in 
the room and acknowledged. 
In attendance was Jackie 
Hicks of The Andantes, a 
female session group for 
Motown who provided back-
up singing for thousands 
of Motown hits from Stevie 
Wonder, Marvin Gaye, The 
Supremes, The Four Tops, 

The Temptations and more. 
Morton Noveck, attorney 
for the Motown Museum, 
also attended. Noveck’s 
family has a long history 
with Motown — his father 
also had been Motown’s 
attorney and his uncle had 
been its accountant. 
Terry recalled, “My 
grandmother, Esther Gordy, 
who founded the Motown 
Museum, would always 
tell me it was your uncle 
who she went to to find 
out how you create wealth. 
So, as a Black woman at 
Motown, she went to her 
Jewish friends and said, 
‘How do you create wealth 
and pass wealth down from 
generation to generation?’”
Ethan Davidson, trustee 
of the Motown Museum 
and chairman of the Detroit 
Opera, recalled the story of 
how before the Holocaust, 
one of the first things the 
Nazis did after coming to 

Intergenerational storytelling was at the heart of the seder 
once again bringing together Detroit’s Jewish and Black communities. 
Motown Seder Returns 

DANNY SCHWARTZ STAFF WRITER

PHOTOS BY ANDRE SMITH PHOTOGRAPHY

Ethan Davidson, 
Robin Terry and 
Rabbi Asher Lopatin

Guests enjoyed 
a traditional 
seder dinner.