Jewish, African-American leaders convene in Detroit for antipoverty conference

BY NIRAJ WARIKOO DETROIT FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER Jun 27, 2011| Jewish and African-American leaders from across the country are in Detroit this week to bond while finding ways to fight poverty at a time when the problem is growing. Sponsored by the national office of the Jewish Council for Public Affairs, the program involves three days of activities with about 20 Jewish and African-American leaders who will be paired up to foster friendship. In addition to fighting poverty,  the goal of the program is to improve relations between the two minority communities.

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Monday, June 27th

• 6:00pm – 9:00pm: Welcome dinner sponsored by the Jewish Federation of Metro Detroit

Guest speakers:
Conrad Giles, Chair of the Jewish Council for Public Affairs
Arthur Horwitz, Publisher of the Detroit Jewish News
Bankole Thompson, Senior Editor of the Michigan Chronicle

Tuesday, June 28th

• 8:00am: Breakfast
• 8:30am – 9:30am: Guest speakers, Ismael Ahmed, former head of Michigan Department of Human Services, and Gilda Jacobs, President/CEO of the Michigan League for Human Services
• 9:45am: Begin bus tour of Detroit, guided by Inside Detroit, with site visits along the way at organizations working to address issues of poverty
• Site visits:
  Focus: Hope Tech Town/Wayne State University
  Piquette Square/Southwest Solutions
  Lunch catered by Avalon Bakery at Willys Overland Lofts
  Capuchin Soup Kitchen and Earthworks Urban Farm
  Heidelberg Project
  Isaac Agree Downtown Synagogue
• 6:00pm – 8:30pm: group dinner in Mexican Town at El Barzon

Wednesday, June 29th

• 8:30am -10:00am: Breakfast at Cornerstone Bistro, which will include a meeting/discussion with staff from Detroit Rescue Mission Ministries
• 10:15am – 1:00pm: Community service project with Summer in the City, working on an urban garden
• Lunch with Summer in the City staff/participants and an informal “reflection and dialogue” session while we eat
• 1:15pm – 2:30pm: Return to hotel and allow time to clean up from gardening
• 2:30pm – 3:30pm: Panel discussion led by Shirley Stancato, President/CEO of New Detroit, about engaging young generations in community work and involving them in diverse partnerships
Panelists:
N. Charles Anderson, President of Urban League of Detroit
Kari Alterman, Director of American Jewish Committee of Metro Detroit where she was involved in organizing the Black-Jewish Young Adults Group
Jordan Wolfe, Director of CommunityNEXT

• 3:45pm – 4:45pm: Organized discussion with Youth Voice, a grassroots initiative of the Harriet Tubman Center for Community Organizing, about the work they do to empower students in Detroit Public Schools to achieve systemic change that addresses issues in schools
• 4:45pm -5:45pm: Group brainstorming/reflection session
• Dinner on own

Thursday, June 30th

• 8:30am: Breakfast at hotel
• 9:30am – 11:00am: Final reflection

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