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.
DL Opinion columns, Holocaust/antisemitism

Holocaust Remembrance with determination – by Deborah Levine

originally published in The Chattanooga Times Free Press

International Holocaust Remembrance Day is January 27th, the anniversary of the 1945 liberation of the Nazi’s Auschwitz-Birkenau extermination camp. In 2005, the United Nations assigned the date to commemorate the Holocaust’s 6 million Jewish victims. But recently, the Google calendar removed International Holocaust Remembrance Day as part of the trend to blank out cultural and ethnic observances. Given the growing antisemitism and violence, like the recent arson of a Mississippi synagogue, many of us are determined to disallow this erasure of the Holocaust.

Continue reading Holocaust Remembrance with determination – by Deborah Levine →

DL Opinion columns

Protect and Serve: East Ridge Fire Rescue – by Deborah Levine

(originally published in The Chattanooga Times Free Press)

I was intrigued by the email about the ‘Push In’ celebration of a new fire truck in East Ridge, a role model for growing TN cities. I joined the community folks, council members, fire fighters for a tradition since the 1800s when fire trucks were pulled by horses. This modern truck cost $900,000, and given the powerful engine, we didn’t have to push it into the fire engine bay to put the truck officially in service. But what fun to do it! 

Decades ago, the downtown fire station was a privately owned, relatively small building. Now the East Ridge Fire Rescue is a city service and the building is a modernized version of the original. Even so, it may be outgrown in the not too distant future, symbolic of the growth in East Ridge. 

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Levine articles, Teams & Leaders

Leadership in Our Challenging Times – by Deborah Levine

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I often hear that leadership is greatly needed in these challenging times. But what does leadership mean? Is it a matter of personality? Is leadership defined by mission and goals? Are leaders inspirational figures who leave the nuts and bolts to others? The more we try to define leadership, the more the concept undefinable. “There are almost as many definitions of leadership as there are persons who have attempted to define the concept,” said Ralph Stogdill, a Professor of Management Science and Psychology known for his research and publications on the Personal Factors Associated with Leadership.

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DL Opinion columns, Ukraine

Ukraine requests holiday support: Light in the Dark – by Deborah Levine

originally published in The Chattanooga Times Free Press

I just got a message from Yuri Bova, mayor of the Ukrainian city, Trostyanets. He wanted to catch me up on their wartime situation and get my support. Trostyanets is just 20 miles from the Russian border and was high on Putin’s list when Russia invaded Ukraine. The city was devastated by Russian troops that Putin intended to lead parades celebrating the Russian takeover of Kyiv, Ukraine’s capital. That didn’t happen. What did happen was the wrecking of schools, hospitals, roads, and stores along multiple murders and thefts of everything of value. Horrifying! 

What to do? That’s what I asked myself when Mayor Yuri came to Chattanooga to visit Mayor Tim Kelly and Sister Cities. It was heartrending to hear about the destruction then, and still is. I was so moved that I wrote a column about Ukraine for the Times Free Press in March 2025. And I included stories about my friend Angelika Riano who had recently returned from Ukraine where she supported the International Ukrainian Crisis Fund. Her involvement in the Fund’s humanitarian aid was inspiring then, and remains so today.   

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About Deborah Levine, Liberator Series, Music, theater, TV, dance, World War II Documentary

TV Pilot Script: The Liberator’s Daughter

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The Liberator's Daughter LOGLINE

A World War II Liberator’s daughter honors his legacy by battling disabilities, discrimination, and hate in her journey from being disabled and homeless, to repairing our broken world.
6-part TV Series


32+  FILM FESTIVAL  AWARDS
The Liberator’s Daughter has 32 WINNER AWARDS at international film festivals including:
1) WRPN Women’s International Film Festival, 2) Hollywood Blvd Film Festival, 3) Cineplay International, 4) Dallas Shorts, 5) Indiefare International, 6) Airflix Film, 7) Multi Dimension International, 8) Bright International, 9) EdiPlay International, 10) Magic Silver Screen Festival, 11) Medusa Film Festival, 12) Movie Play International, 13) Red Moon Film Festival, 14) Krimson Horyzon International Film Festival, 15) Cult Movies Festival, 16) Crown International, 17) Swedish International, 18) NYC International Film Festival, 19) London New Wave Cinema Awards, 20 & 21) Indie Cine Tube Awards, 22) 4th Dimension Independent film Festival, 23) Cooper Awards, 24) Tokyo Shorts, 25) 8 & Halfilm Awards, 26) New York Neorealism  Film Awards, 27) Golden Giraffe International film Festival, 28) Liber Films International film Festival, 28) Cooper Awards, 29) ASAA Abdolrahman Sarraei Academic Awards, 30) Sofia International Film Festival, 31) Your Way International film Festival, 32) Alpine IFF.

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Trends 2026, Ukraine

Send Best Wishes to Ukraine 2026

Your Support Counts!

It was a pleasure and an honor to have a  zoom call last week with Yuri Bova, the Mayor of Trostyanets, a Ukrainian city just 20 miles from the Russian border.  He and I met when he came to Chattanooga to talk with Mayor Kelly and attend a reception for him coordinated by Sister Cities.  We became friends and when he asked to chat and update me, I was thrilled.

Yuri explained how many Ukrainian children are orphans, they lost their parents when Russia invaded. They would deeply appreciate our support so that they wouldn’t feel alone.  What might school children in Chattanooga do to develop connections and inspire hope for the coming year? We discussed logistics and our focus turned to the creation of short videos. These videos would be in English and uploaded to YouTube. The links could be sent to me and I’d share them with Mayor Bova’s staff. Then, they could be accessed by television stations in Trostyanets and be given translated subtitles. This would allow the videos to be shared across Trostyanets, and perhaps across all of the Ukraine.

SAMPLE VIDEO:

Please use the contact form to paste your YouTube video links to me.

Also, you can help Ukrainians through this new website: https://www.chattanooga-ukraine.org 

Holocaust/antisemitism, Transformation Podcasts

Sidney Klein Podcast: Holocaust Artist and Educator

Syd1

 Sidney  Klein: Born-again as a Holocaust Artist on October 7, 2023 (when Hamas invaded Israel) after a 55-year no-painting hiatus. He paints the effects of antisemitism-the death and destruction and hopes to lessen antisemitism as viewers see, feel, and are affected. His work is in the Heller Museum in NYC, the Gross-Rosen Muzeum in Rogoznica, Poland, and Yad Vashem Holocaust Art Research Center in Jerusalem, Israel. You can CLICK to see his work:  STUDIO

Hear Sid talk about…

1) How he transformed from an MBA businessman to an artist.
2) Why focus on the Holocaust?
3) What is his artistic mission? and where does his work go in the future?

SidTakeaways that the audience can continue to discuss:
Is it better to REMEMBER or FORGET? and For whom?

CLICK for podcast

DL Opinion columns

AI is scary, but more human than you think – by Deborah Levine

originally published in the Chattanooga Times Free Press

Artificial Intelligence is like the weeds growing in my backyard. The AI quickly takes over all the other plants and I often forget that there were actual flowers blooming by my back porch. The impact on our lives is spreading widely. It can be scary when emergency phone lines are now answered by AI. And I was not happy to hear that my son-in-law would lose his position in international banking to AI. So I didn’t know what to think when I was offered a job with an AI company. 

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DL Opinion columns

Hannukah, festival of lights and miracles – by Deborah Levine

Originally published in The Chattanooga Times Free Press 

A friend who runs local programs for seniors asked me about Hanukkah. She knew that the Jewish holiday was coming before Christmas, but wasn’t sure when. The first of 8 nights of Hanukkah begins at sundown on Sunday, December 14. The date often differs according to our calendar, but remains constant on the Jewish calendar as the 25th of the month of Kislev.    

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Levine articles, Religious Diversity

Sacred Calendars and Holidays Define Us — by Deborah Levine

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Religious diversity and holidays are challenging regardless of the time of year with deeply held beliefs regarding food, sacred texts, and worship traditions. Yet, there is no season like the end of the year for demonstrating cultural differences linked to religion. The differences can be glaring, giving rise to culture clashes and political controversies. It’s astonishing that there was ever a planetary-wide agreement on a calendar that named the months, determined their length and decreed when one year ends and the next begins. How did that calendar happen and can we capture the global mindset that created it for today’s “Holiday Season”?

Continue reading Sacred Calendars and Holidays Define Us — by Deborah Levine →