Coming of Age: Detroit
Coming of Age: Detroit – Labor Pains
In the midst of a life alerting pandemic, the seniors of the Metro Detroit area (both Jews and non-Jewish allies) have remained models of resilience, creativity and reinvention, as adaptable to change as the Motor City itself.
The award winning digital series Coming of Age from Silver Screen Studios and Reboot returns for a second season to feature profiles of an incredible group of older Detroiters, some whose names are sure to be familiar to locals and others to discover and fall in love with for the first time.
Join us for the outrageously colorful stories of entrepreneur Larry Mongo, owner of Cafe D’Mongos Speakeasy in Downtown Detroit, the philanthropy of Max Fisher family scion and matriarch Jane Sherman, a vivid oral history of the Cass Corridor arts scene in the 1970s by legendary artist Nancy Mitchnick, the transformative work of Restoration Arts Theater by founder Dr. James Allen Jones, who brought Shakespeare education to everyone, and the witty insights of Joel Katz, successor to a multi-generational plumbing business that saved many during Detroit’s harsh winters.
As our world continues to adjust to social, political and cultural change, the wisdom, gratitude and optimism of these change-makers offer invaluable insights for current and future generations.
The producers previously profiled some of Detroit’s most notable residents including the late Senator Carl Levin, who spoke about his legacy of advocacy and social justice on behalf of Michigan families and legendary labor organizer Myra Wolfgang, who went from staging sit-ins in the 1930s advocating for Woolworths employees to becoming International Vice President of the Hotel Employees and Restaurant Employees Union and co-founding the Coalition of Labor Union Women.
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Coming of Age: Detroit – Labor Pains
This week marks the 48th anniversary of the founding convention for the Coalition of Labor Union Women (CLUW), formed to help women become union leaders and give their issues greater weight during contract talks. The presiding officer at the event, which attracted more than 3,000 women from 82 unions, was Myra Komoroff Wolfgang (May 1914 – April 1976), one of the nation’s first women union organizers. A labor leader and women’s rights activist in Detroit from the 1930s through the 1970s, Wolfgang advocated for the working poor and for women in the workforce. Learn more and watch here.
Coming of Age: Detroit – Crossing The Aisle
Carl Levin, the late Michigan Senator who represented The Great Lakes State for 37 years until his retirement in 2015, was a big believer in oversight and bipartisanship. A model of leadership and authenticity, he recognized that effective governance required necessary compromise and worked to find common ground with political rivals and the opposing party from the City Council, to the State House to Capitol Hill. Learn about his work and legacy in this interview from early 2020 here.
Coming of Age: Detroit – Pipe Dreams
In this episode of the award winning digital series Coming of Age from Silver Screen Studios and Reboot, Joel Katz shares memories about the civil disturbances in Detroit during the late 1960s, the experience of being an observant Jew in the midst of his military service in Vietnam and loving his kids even when they annoy him. Learn more and watch here.
Coming of Age: Detroit – Sherman’s March to the Promised Land
In this episode of the award winning digital series Coming of Age from Silver Screen Studios and Reboot, Fisher family scion and matriarch Jane Sherman previews seminal moments that strengthened and deepened her Jewish identity throughout her life and offers insights into the Detroit Jewish community’s steadfast commitment to the State of Israel.
Coming of Age: Detroit Trailer
The award winning digital series Coming of Age from Silver Screen Studios and Reboot returns for a second season to feature profiles of an incredible group of older Detroiters, some whose names are sure to be familiar to locals and others to discover and fall in love with for the first time. Learn more and watch.
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