Michael Berry was born in Highland Park. His parents, Lebanese immigrants, attempted to return to their native country in 1930, but because of an economic depression — one worse than in the U.S. — they returned to Michigan and settled in Dearborn, according to a biography about Berry on the Michigan State University College of Law website.
He graduated from Fordson High School in 1938, obtained an undergraduate degree from Wayne State University — Wayne College at the time — and attended the Detroit College of Law. He opened a legal practice upon his graduation in 1950.
Berry, a Democrat, ran and won a seat on the Wayne County Road Commission in 1967. During his 16 years on the Board, he played a large role in expanding Detroit Metropolitan Airport.
Source: Gus Burns, Michigan’s first Muslim lawyer, Michael Berry of Dearborn, dies at 95, MLive, October 25, 2015.