28 | MAY 9 • 2024
OUR COMMUNITY
In 2016, trials held at
both Temple Israel in West
Bloomfield and the Macomb
Center, posed the question:
“Was there a second shooter
in the Kennedy assassination
or a conspiracy?” The next
year brought: “Should
elections be decided by
popular vote vs. Electoral
College?” at Macomb Center.
After SOAR moved into
its temporary home at
Adat Shalom Synagogue
in Farmington Hills, the
2018 mock trial considered:
“Should Congress have
regulations on gun safety?”
It was the first year of
SOAR mock trials presented
under the auspices of the
Harry Cook Social Justice
Series. Underwriting comes
from a family foundation
established at SOAR in
memory of Rev. Harry T.
Cook, who died in 2017.
Cook, a frequent and
beloved SOAR speaker, was
a retired Episcopal priest,
Detroit Free Press journalist,
classical scholar and peace-
and-justice activist.
In 2019, “Free speech vs.
hate speech?” was a mock
trial looking into a 1977
case eventually decided in
the U.S. Supreme Court.
It concerned Chicago-
based neo-Nazis who
sought a permit to stage a
demonstration in Skokie,
Ill., home to thousands
of Holocaust survivors.
The Adat Shalom venue
was temporarily dubbed
“Skokington.”
Two years of mock
trials were skipped
during the COVID-19
pandemic. Then, Macomb
Center and Oakland
Community College (for
SOAR) presented separate
editions of: “Should Ford
Have Pardoned Nixon?”
Lessenberry played President
Gerald Ford and Sedler
was his attorney. The
proposition “passed by one
vote in Macomb but was
overwhelmingly rejected
in Oakland County,” Sedler
recalled.
Expressing excitement
about this year’s mock trial,
SOAR Executive Director
Debra Yamstein said, “No
matter what side of the
aisle a person leans toward,
understanding what is or
is not fascism, and how
it might manifest in our
own country, is immensely
important.
“SOAR’s mission is
to provide educational
opportunities for older
adults in the community,
not to choose political
sides. I hope that this mock
trial will be an opportunity
for learning for the entire
community.”
Mock Trial
Title: “Can it Happen Here? Fascism in America.”
When: 1-3:30 p.m. Friday, May 17
Where: The Hawk Community Center Theater,
29995 W. 12 Mile Road, Farmington Hills.
Sponsor: SOAR Lifelong Learning Institute
Admission: Free, but with advance registration
preferred at soarexplore.com. Click “Programs” on
the home screen, then “Special Events and Field
Trips,” to locate the mock trial page.
Phone: (248) 646-0296
continued from page 27
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Southfield, MI 48034
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