All posts by Editor-in-Chief

Deborah Levine founded the American Diversity Report in 2006. She is a Forbes Magazine top "Trailblazer" and award-winning author of 20 books. Her published articles span decades including: American Journal of Community Psychology, Journal of Public Management & Social Policy, The Bermudian Magazine, The Harvard Divinity School Bulletin.
Being Diverse, Transformation Podcasts

Sandra Moore Podcast: Advantage Capital

SSandra Mooreandra M. Moore is managing director and chief impact officer at Advantage Capital. The firm focuses on high growth and high wage business investing in communities where access to investment capital has historically been hard to find.

Businesses in the United States owned by Black and Brown entrepreneurs typically begin with just one-third the capital of the typical White entrepreneur-owned startup, and as a result, receive far fewer investment dollars because they lack collateral. How can entrepreneurs of color gain greater access to capital and resources to grow and build their businesses, and ultimately have a greater impact on the local communities where they live. *What are the measurable outputs and outcomes of impact investing in businesses located in distressed areas, and how are we pushing the envelope of what’s possible to set the industry standard? *What is the power and potential of public-private partnerships that can help fund minority owned businesses that often lack equitable access to capital; how are we advancing the legislative landscape for local economic development?

The fact that minority-owned businesses traditionally face highly uneven access to investment capital, therefore start out with a significant disadvantage in many cases. *Through leveraging government incentives, there are alternative investment dollar alternatives for small businesses that lack collateral or are deemed higher risk because they are located in distressed or rural areas. *Impact investing in distressed and rural communities can have profound effects on people’s lives, including the creation of higher paying jobs, more wealth opportunities and benefits for workers, and career training.

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DL Opinion columns

Counteracting the “Heil Hitler” phenomenon – by Deborah Levine

 originally published in The Chattanooga Times Free Press

On the morning before the Jewish New Year, I walked into a neighborhood grocery store and was greeted by a customer with “Heil Hitler!” and a Nazi salute. My stunned silence prompted the man to shout “Heil Hitler” even louder.  He eagerly came closer to me, repeating the Sieg Heil salute, which was adopted in the 1930s to signal national obedience to Adolf Hitler. The crowd waiting in line for the cashier giggled. I gagged, and hoped it was all just a bad joke.

But it wasn’t. He turned to the crowd and explained why they should join him. “Hitler could rally the crowd, inspire everyone to join him. So follow me, Heil Hitler, then we’ll all say a prayer.” Hearing this linking of  Hitler to faith and prayer, the cashier turned green. I turned purple. 

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Levine articles

Writing – Storytelling – Coaching

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DL Opinion columns

Royal Ripples – by Deborah Levine

2 Comments

originally published in the Chattanooga Times Free Press

With the passing of Queen Elizabeth II, I remember when my daughter first heard the queen speak on the radio. “Wow! I never heard English spoken so beautifully. Who is that?” I smiled because I’d grown up trying to imitate the “Queen’s English” as a youngster in the British colony of Bermuda. I was doubly saddened by the queen’s passing because it came just days before my birthday. How does one celebrate life and death at the same time? My first instinct was to ignore my birthday. Who wants to celebrate getting older anyway?  So I vacillated between mourning and sulking. 

Continue reading Royal Ripples – by Deborah Levine →

Interfaith Podcasts, Religious Diversity, Transformation Podcasts

Rev. Fred Davie Podcast: Religious Diversity at Interfaith America

religious diversity Reverend Fred Davie is a Senior Advisor for Racial Equity at Interfaith America, where he executes programming with a primary focus on the intersection of race and religion. He is also a minister in the Presbytery of New York City, and recently served as the Executive Vice President at Union Theological Seminary.
Hear Rev. Davie address these vital questions:
  1. Why does Interfaith America consider religious diversity a foundational American strength?
  2. Why should religion be front and center in conversations about both diversity and social change?
  3. How does religious diversity help build better institutions and a better civil society?
You will be inspired to engage in ongoing discussions of …
  • The need for a positive conversation about religious pluralism.
  • How our diversity conversation should be more focused on highlighting the contributions that America’s varied communities bring to our potluck nation rather than continually centering tension and oppression.
  • How religion is a force that inspires many and is a bridge of cooperation between our diversity and the largest contributor to our civil society.

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DL Opinion columns

Brace for hard lessons in Ken Burns’ new documentary

Originally published as opinion column in The Chattanooga Times Free Press)

To all of you who, like me, have been long time Ken Burns fans, his documentaries have been mesmerizing: Civil War, Jazz, Baseball, Vietnam and The Roosevelts. And while I eagerly await his upcoming movie, The U.S. and the Holocaust, I have a certain amount of dread about its release. We’re living in a time when even The Diary of Anne Frank is controversial. The banning of Maus demonstrated how divided we are over telling the stories of the Holocaust. Given Ken Burns’ focus, I suspect the outcry is going to be loud and vicious.

Continue reading Brace for hard lessons in Ken Burns’ new documentary →

Diversity Resources

ADR October 2020 – Press Release

ADRFOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE      October 25, 2022
CONTACT: Deborah Levine   info@diversityreport.com

HEALTH EQUITY AND HEALTHCARE DISPARITIES SPOTLIGHTED IN AMERICAN DIVERSITY REPORT

New Edition Includes Articles, Podcasts, Poems

CHATTANOOGA, TN – Deborah Levine Enterprises LLC today announced the latest issuance of the American Diversity Report (ADR), an award-winning digital multi-media platform containing the latest news, educational resources and related information highlighting key issues of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) in the public arena. The theme of the October edition is health, healthcare and equity.

“Our economy is volatile, and an uncertain political environment surrounds the health and wellbeing of Americans,” says Deborah Levine, Editor-in-Chief of ADR and an award-winning author of 15 books. “The diversity of our situation is evident as Covid disproportionally impacted people of color per new infections and higher death rates, as well as glaring disparities in affordable healthcare coverage.”

“This new edition of the American Diversity Report serves as a valuable public resource on critically important topics of DEI during these turbulent times,” adds Levine, who is also a columnist for the Times Free Press newspaper of Chattanooga and was named a “Diversity and Inclusion Trailblazer” in 2019 by Forbes Magazine. “We are all linked by our common humanity and concern for our own the health, in addition to the health, wellbeing and healthcare of our families, colleagues and friends – especially as the United States becomes increasingly more diverse in all aspects of public and private life.”

In addition to the timely articles listed below, the October edition also includes poetry and podcast interviews. The featured articles by ADR advisors and contributors include the following:

_________________________
Deborah Levine is a management consultant, speaker and leading diversity change agent with 33-years of experience. The inventor of the Matrix Model Management System of neuro-communication, she has received the Champion of Diversity Award from DiversityBusiness.com, the Excellence Award from the Tennessee Economic Council on Women, and the Chattanooga Award for Management Consulting.

Levine’s published articles span decades in journals and magazines such as, The American Journal of Community Psychology, Journal of Public Management & Social Policy, The Bermudian Magazine, and The Harvard Divinity School Bulletin. She’s also a syndicated writer for The Good Men Project, a former blogger for The Huffington Post, and has been featured on C-SPAN Book TV. Further information is available online at https://deborahlevine.com/

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DL Opinion columns

Why Diabetics need to vote – by Deborah Levine

originally published in The Chattanooga Times Free Press

It’s amazing that Medicare recipients just gained a cap on insulin prices. It’s truly incredible considering the pharmaceutical industry lobbying efforts against any price controls or negotiations. Spearheaded by The Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, often known as Pharma, those efforts have been ongoing for years. And in September 2021, it was reported byThe Hill, a media company based in Washington, D.C., that Pharma was launching a seven-figure ad campaign against the proposals moving through Congress to allow negotiation of drug  prices. 

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About Us

ADR TESTIMONIALS – 2022

2 Comments

THANK YOU!

LotteryMany thanks to all of you who participated in writing 2022 testimonials! We are delighted to quote you and share your thoughts with our readers around the world. If you’d like to add your testimonial, please do so in the Comments section.

  • Heidi McCarthy – Winner
    The lack of diversity and understanding in the corporate environment is crippling creative, thoughtful individuals from success in their careers; leaders must be credentialed in understanding the bias that accompanies diverse populations in the workplace. Deborah Levine- you have been my mentor – as well as a source of inspiration and hope since graduate school at Vanderbilt University; you helped me understand how my cultural background as the first American born daughter of a Yugoslav alien post WWII shaped my ethics , worldview and life path through your books and articles.💙🎶🙏🎹
  • Venita R. Thomas – Winner
    As a Veteran (U.S. Army) with a disability, I’ve learned from ADR the much-needed importance of DEI. Lessons I’ve learned and will teach; the “E” is not just for “equity”, but for “endurance”, and diversity is not just for the theory of acceptance, but for appreciation.
  • William Hicks – Winner
    As a kid growing up, one of my very favorite television programs (when television was in its early adolescence…yes I am that old!) was “Superman” starring George Reeves. At the very outset of the show, with the ‘Superman’ march playing in the background, was the superhero’s statement of purpose: Superman fought for “truth, justice and the American way!” Deborah Levine today stands in the place of the fictional “Superman” and fights for truth and justice in the American Diversity Report (ADR). Entries to the monthly American Diversity Report are vetted as to accuracy of fact and documentation of source materials cited. ADR addresses the important issues confronting us with integrity and with respect for their complexity.
    Ms. Levine, founder and editor, an award-winning author in her own right, provides a forum for writers with integrity, the highest of moral and scholastic standards and skill to share their sense of justice and truth with others towards the betterment of the human condition. While the fictional “Superman” leapt “tall buildings in a single bound” in pursuit of his crusade against crimes against the “American way”, the American Diversity Report cuts through the tangled webs of deception and confusion to present us with food for thought about pathways to a better human interaction in such diverse areas as education, politics, art and religion. I highly recommend the American Diversity Report for those interested in “truth, justice and integrity of thought.”
  • Isowo Smart. G – Winner
    Thank you once again Deborah for all you are doing in the humanitarian world. The priceless impact you are making in the lives of inmates in and outside of the correctional facility walls speaks volume. We have followed your work keenly, and at this point we must say you remain not only as a beacon of Hope to the inmates but also as a role model to our NGO as well.
    We at CENPRIR (now Impact One Plus Foundation) are deeply appreciative of your impactful work.

Continue reading ADR TESTIMONIALS – 2022 →

Editor-in-Chief, Uncategorized

“Domestic Infant Suppliers” buckle up – by Deborah Levine

originally published in  The Chattanooga Times Free Press

Writing about abortion is like leaping into a tornado, but here goes. I’ve always hated the idea of abortion, the term evokes pain and suffering as well as sorrow and mourning, whether you’re pro or anti-abortion. But I’ve advocated for giving women choice over their bodies since joining the many Jewish women involved in the first Women’s Liberation March in Manhattan in 1970.

While the protests of the seventies were a revolution, touching multiple area of our lives in the workplace and community,  anti-abortionists saw us as irrational, unattractive feminist shrews. They called us “anti-family,” “angry battle-axes” and “radical Commie lesbians.” The “Domestic Infant Supply” language in the current supreme Court draft doesn’t just echo those sentiments, it magnifies them.
Continue reading “Domestic Infant Suppliers” buckle up – by Deborah Levine →