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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