JUNE 13 • 2024 | 9
T
he Coalition for Black and
Jewish Unity’s newly created
Leadership Academy — the first
such program in the state — capped
off a successful pilot year with a trip
to Washington, D.C.,
for 22 Black and Jewish
high school students
committed to learning
about each other’s
history and promoting
solidarity between the two
communities.
The trip, made possible
by the Byron and Dorothy Gerson
Innovation Fund, was the culmination
of a semester that began last February
and consisted of a series of classes that
addressed such topics as Blacks and
Jews in the civil rights movement, the
Holocaust, the legacy of Dr. Martin
Luther King Jr., Israel, and the state of
antisemitism and racism in America
today.
The centerpieces of the two-day,
jammed-packed trip were visits to the
United States Holocaust
Memorial Museum and
the National Museum of
African American History
and Culture. The cross-cul-
tural experience gave the
students a powerful lesson
on the historical com-
monalities of Blacks and
Jews and why, as Marc
Morial, the president of
the National Urban League, once said,
“There’s no alliance more historic,
nor more important, than the alliance
between Black Americans and Jewish
Americans.”
THE LEADERSHIP ACADEMY
The Leadership Academy was first
conceived following the Coalition’s
trip last spring to civil rights sights
in Alabama and Georgia. That trip
spurred a discussion about creating
something that would unite young
Black and Jewish people and build
on the successes of past generations.
After seven months of planning, an
educational curriculum was created
whereby high school students — at no
cost to them — would attend a series of
courses from community leaders who
would donate their time. The goal was
not just to educate but also to spark new
relationships for people who rarely get
the chance to interact with each other.
Several of the classes featured
facilitative workshops directed by Carla
Chennault, director of education for the
Anti-Defamation League-Michigan, to
help the students process what they had
learned. The group quickly warmed up
to each other and freely shared personal
thoughts and experiences.
“Obviously, all of us are growing up
in different communities,” said student
Caleb Starr, a junior at Frankel Jewish
Academy, “but it’s been a blessing to be
able to come together and appreciate
each other.”
By the time of the final class
last month, the group had grown
comfortable with each other, and new
friendships had begun. As graduation
diplomas were handed out, some of
the students playfully tossed their caps
in the air as the faculty hummed the
graduation song.
AT THE CAPITOL
The Washington, D.C., trip began with
an early-morning flight that kicked off
a whirlwind, nonstop day. Soon after
takeoff, to the surprise of the group, the
pilot announced, “We want to welcome
the Coalition for Black and Jewish
Unity to our flight, a group dedicated
to social justice,” which elicited a warm
applause from the passengers and flight
attendants.
When one of the faculty members
later expressed surprise at the
announcement to one of the students,
the student quickly said, “Why wouldn’t
continued on page 10
Mark Jacobs
The Coalition for Black
and Jewish Unity’s new Leadership
Academy visits Washington, D.C.
STORY AND PHOTOS BY MARK JACOBS
Carolyn Normadin of the
ADL, Spencer Cherrin,
Evan Bronstein, Tiffany Orr,
Kerrington Fields-McCurdy,
Trinity Pickett-Murphy and
Mark Jacobs, co-founder and
co-director of the Coalition
for Black and Jewish Unity