12 | JUNE 13 • 2024 

detail the largest forced migration in 
human history.
There are constant sounds of narra-
tors throughout the museum, sometimes 
from actual former slaves describing the 
cruelty of their day-to-day existence. 
Their descriptions are heart-wrenching. 
Hearing former slaves explain how an 
auctioneer would force them to display 
their teeth and gums to potential buyers 
gives a vivid glimpse into the unimag-
inable dehumanization of the slavery 
era. 
After the tour, the group gathered at 
the ADL’s office for lunch and a much- 
needed debrief of the students’ reactions 
to both museums. The two-hour discus-
sion was extraordinarily candid and, for 
many, cathartic.

SHARING EACH OTHER’S PAIN
Many of the African American students 
said that while they had a general idea 
about the Holocaust, they were never 
exposed to the realities of the concentra-
tion camps. Many of the Jewish students 
reported that they were “blown away” by 
the “historical parallels” between Blacks 
and Jews. All the students remarked that 
the experience opened their eyes to the 
need for a deeper education of each oth-
er’s history. 
The discussion led to present-day 
challenges in the relationship. Blacks 
and Jews, everyone agreed, will have 
areas of disagreements — sometimes 
sharp ones — but only by having the 
difficult conversations can real under-
standing take place and lasting relation-
ships emerge. 
As Aniyah Hinds, a senior at Cass 
Tech bound for the University of 
Michigan next fall, said, “The whole 
experience was mind-opening. It really 
exposes you to a different perspec-
tive from someone else’s eyes. It really 
helped me to step out of my own bubble 
and engage with other people.”
It had been a fast-paced and unfor-
gettable trip. Friendships had been 
formed, and 28 students (22 of whom 
made the trip) had gotten crash cours-
es on issues vital to Black and Jewish 

unity. The experience demonstrated to 
the Coalition that there are young peo-
ple in Metropolitan Detroit — future 
leaders — who understand that they 
share a common legacy and need to 
come together to combat hate. As the 
Coalition likes to point out, Dr. King 
would say: “We may have come in dif-
ferent ships, but we’re all in the same 
boat now.”
Going forward, given the success of 
the pilot year, the Leadership Academy 
will be a centerpiece of the Coalition for 
Black and Jewish Unity. The Coalition, 
now in its 6th year, is a partnership 
between the Jewish Federation of 
Metropolitan Detroit (see page 14), the 
Council of Baptist Pastors of Detroit and 
Vicinity, the Anti-Defamation League, 
the Urban League and the NAACP-
Michigan Conference. The Coalition 
engages in regular initiatives to promote 

solidarity and speaks out against racism 
and antisemitism, including a MLK 
Day service, a “Freedom Passover 
Seder” (hosted twice at the governor’s 
residence), Black History Month 
commemorations, a trip to civil rights 
sights in the South, and many other 
educational and social activities.
The Coalition often refers to an old 
African proverb to describe its guiding 
principle: “If you want to go fast, go 
alone. If you want to go far, go together.” 
The students of the Leadership 
Academy, after months of learning 
about the shared struggles of Blacks 
and Jews and the importance of jointly 
meeting the challenges ahead, now have 
a better appreciation of the wisdom of 
that proverb. 

Mark Jacobs is the co-founder and co-director of 

the Coalition for Black and Jewish Unity.

OUR COMMUNITY
COVER STORY

continued from page 11

CLOCKWISE FROM LEFT: Leadership 
Academy faculty: Rev. Dr. DeeDee M. 
Coleman, Rev. Dr. Robyn D. Moore, 
Daniel Bucksbaum, Mark Jacobs, Tamara 
Lopes, Rev. C.J. Sampson, Rev. Aramis D. 
Hinds and Carolyn Normandin (missing 
are Rabbi Marla Hornsten, Rabbi Asher 
Lopatin and Rev. Kenneth J. Flowers).

