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

