Dahlia Lithwick, a senior editor and legal correspondent for Slate.com, writing primarily about law and politics, will be the keynote speaker at National Council of Jewish Women, Michigan's (NCJW|MI) annual benefit luncheon on Oct. 24. Lithwick is host of Amicus, Slate's award-winning biweekly podcast about the law and the Supreme Court. She is also a legal commentator for the NPR Show "Day to Day" and appears as a frequent guest on MSNBC and C-SPAN.
The event will be held at Adat Shalom Synagogue (29901 Middlebelt Road, Farmington Hills) and proceeds raised will be used to support the 128-year-old organization's many community-service projects and social justice advocacy work. Recent projects include the sixth Back 2 School Store, which provided free clothing and school supplies to 550 children in need in Detroit, a program providing backpacks and school supplies to homeless students in Oakland County, literacy outreach, meals on wheels and bereavement support groups. Advocacy work has included a gun violence prevention program featuring a Parkland parent, equal pay rallies and an upcoming program focusing on labor trafficking prevention to be held on Nov. 12.
Lithwick, whose work has also appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, Harper's and the LA Times, will talk about "Women and the Supreme Court: What the women justices have taught us about gender and the law." Her third book, "Lady Justice," about women and the law in the current political climate, will be published by Penguin Press next year.
Jennifer LoPatin, president of NCJW|MI, said: "As advocates for social justice and reproductive freedom, our organization is very concerned about current lifetime Supreme Court and federal judiciary appointments and the implications for Roe vs. Wade. Dahlia Lithwick's insight into the highest court of our legal system is invaluable at this time."
The benefit luncheon will also honor two local women. Jackie Victor, the co-founder of Avalon International Breads, a socially responsible artisan bakery in Detroit founded in 1997, will be awarded "The Woman of Vision Award." The thriving retail and wholesale business, started at a time when Detroit was struggling, has now grown to four retail locations and 120 team members. Victor is also a strong supporter of the urban agriculture movement and the Downtown Synagogue and is also a proud member of the Detroit Food Academy.
"The Josephine S. Weiner Award for Community Service" will be awarded to Lisa Lis, a full-time professional volunteer. Lis is currently involved with Gleaner's, Henry Ford Hospital, the Detroit Zoological Society and Forgotten Harvest and is a past chair of the Jewish Women's Foundation and past president of Women's Philanthropy of the Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Detroit.
The October 24 "Women of Vision" event begins with registration and boutique shopping from 9:30 to 3:30 p.m., a meet-and-greet for Patron Level attendees with Dahlia Lithwick from 10:30 a.m. to 11:15 a.m., and speakers and awards from 11:45 a.m. to 1 p.m. There will also be lunch, door prizes and a 50/50 raffle. Tickets to view the speaker are $45, or for the lunch and speaker combined, $125. For additional information, visit www.ncjwmi.org.
Published: Wed, Oct 09, 2019
