Detroit

It did not take long after the Great Recession hit in 2007 for Detroit to emerge as a symbol of American crisis. Most of Detroit’s young Jewish professionals have chosen to chase their dreams in more prosperous urban atmospheres. Yet even in the wake of disaster, a small but vibrant wave of Jewish renewal is gathering momentum and providing hope for Detroit’s future.

European Jews first arrived in Detroit around 1840 and within the first generations began buying ranches and farms in its neighboring suburbs. In 1967, the Detroit Riots sparked the “white flight,” a sudden mass departure from the city center. The urban Jewish population has since dwindled to about 72,000, according to a 2005 Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Detroit study, including Oakland, Wayne, and Macomb counties.

“Detroit is a complicated, complicated place,” said Blair Nosan, a 25-year-old resident and Jewish farmer/food preservationist. An advocate for food justice and the accessibility of healthy produce, Nosan does freelance food education work in both suburban and urban communities and strives to forge connections between the two.

After eight months at ADAMAH, a Jewish environmental fellowship in Connecticut, Nosan returned to Detroit out of neither guilt nor obligation but a desire to create a life in an urban environment near her family. “[Detroit] definitely won’t get better if everyone continues to abandon it,” she said, adding that it is the desire and motivation to participate—community involvement—that matters.

What she describes as a “dearth of conventional outlets” has pushed innovative solutions like the Corktown Community Kitchen, with which she is involved. Started by the organization Detroit Evolution, it provides a communal space for food education, outreach, and large community meals featuring fresh produce. Nosan hopes it can “provide a model for communities interested in having similar resources.”

Other creative happenings include last summer’s community chicken race, featuring live chickens. Detroit’s first race of this nature, the tag-line humorously proclaimed, “city chickens only.” The winner’s proceeds went to the organization of their choice; Team Anthea won, raising $255 for the Still Point Buddhist Center.

Like Nosan, Zack Sklar, 25-year-old chef/owner of Cutting Edge Cuisine, came back to Detroit from Hyde Park, NY to be closer to family. For him, bringing back Jews is synonymous with bringing back jobs. He saw in his return an opportunity to use his skills to start a local catering company.

Miriam Liebman, another young Detroiter, says that while many view Detroit as a lost cause, “people of our generation don’t view it that way.” She sees an inspiring level of dedication there, adding that with its small, struggling Jewish community, it is possible to feel a part of something special and real. She hopes one day more service organizations, like AVODAH, will come to Detroit.

Nosan described Friday nights at Detroit’s Isaac Agree Downtown Synagogue, Conservative by affiliation: “Services are attended by an unpredictable mix of young and old, new and returning… What I love about it is that it’s a Jewish space that is really open-ended. Friday nights are community-led, driven by demand and the knowledge of the participants... It’s what I need right now as a young person. I want to be surrounded by friends and community and singing and laughing, and it really serves that need.”

While some young Jews continue to leave Detroit for economically healthier cities, others are creating a growing, energized community. Working to rebuild a city they feel not indebted to, but excited about, they hope their example will someday serve as a model for other cities.