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.
Commerce, Levine articles, Religious Diversity

The Powerful Connection of Spirituality and Entrepreneurship– by Deborah Levine

When COVID-19 changed the economy, more people became entrepreneurs. The act of creating your own business has an underlying connection between spirituality and entrepreneurship.  How does that work? The first element is the business side of the endeavor and its bottom line, otherwise known as ‘show me the money.’  The second motivation is self-fulfillment.  Some refer to this element of entrepreneurship as ‘personal satisfaction.’  But the core of the vague term ‘personal satisfaction’ is what is best described as a spiritual sense of purpose.  This spirituality is sometimes linked to one’s particular faith tradition, but is not necessarily so.  Rather, there is a commonality in this spiritual sense of something greater than ourselves that translates across the boundaries of specific religions.  Most importantly, there is tremendous power where this spirituality and business overlap.

Continue reading The Powerful Connection of Spirituality and Entrepreneurship– by Deborah Levine →

Holocaust/antisemitism, Levine articles, Religious Diversity

Explaining antisemitism – by Deborah Levine

Antisemitism goes back long before the term was  coined by a German historian in 1781. Violent attacks and expulsions of Jewish communities span centuries. The Babylonians exiled Jews from Zion, the earliest use of the term, into Middle Eastern and Mediterranean regions. The Romans forced Jews into Europe. Blamed for causing the Black Plague, Jews were driven out of England, France, Germany, and Italy. They fled to Eastern Europe but experienced violent pogroms and isolation into The Pale. Throughout it all, the elements of antisemitism rarely changed.   

For example, the Blood Libel dates as far back as the Temple in Jerusalem with claims that Jews sacrificed Greeks. It reappeared in the Middle Ages when an English cult announced that Passover Seder wine was actually Christian blood. Centuries later, a mob destroyed a synagogue in Damascus for this blood libel. As recently as 1928 in New York, Jews were accused of kidnapping and ritually killing a young girl.

Continue reading Explaining antisemitism – by Deborah Levine →

Black-Jewish Dialogue

Black-Jewish Dialogue Nov.: Economics and COVID-19

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The November Black-Jewish Dialogue focused on the economic impact of COVID-19 on our communities. With participants from coast to coast, Bermuda and Hungary,  the dialogue has grown from a local Chattanooga initiative to a global discussion. Hosted by  Chattanooga’s Mizpah Congregation in partnership with the American Diversity Report, the dialogue began in August of this year with monthly virtual sessions.  Many thanks to Dr. Gail Dawson, Dr. Les Petrovics, and John Miles for sharing their expertise and experience with us.

CLICK for the November Dialogue
recording

Dialogue Partners:
American Diversity Report,  Chattanooga News Chronicle, Mizpah Congregation, Jewish Federation of Greater Chattanooga, C.U.R.B. – Citizens Uprooting Racism in Bermuda.

Race & Ethnicity, Social Issues, Transformation Podcasts

Forest Harper: INROADS Closing Corporate DEI Gap

InroadsForest T. Harper Jr. is the President and CEO of INROADS, the nation’s largest non-profit model of salaried corporate DEI internships and corporate and community leadership development for outstanding ethnically diverse talent at the pipeline and mid-career level.

This year marks 50 years for INROADS. Hear how the organization is important to corporate America’s landscape today and is proving effective in closing America’s Racial Wealth Gap.  Understand how to execute diversity & inclusion strategies to accelerate organizations in today’s multicultural market.  Harper shares how vital it is to establish talent pipeline development for attracting, recruiting and sustaining diverse talent as well as securing C-Suite alignment.

CLICK for INROADS podcast

Social Issues, Transformation Podcasts, Workplace Strategies Podcasts

Laurel Taylor: Student Debt Specialist

student debt Laurel Taylor is the Founder and CEO of FutureFuel.io, a student loan repayment platform that uses innovative, technology driven solutions for customers to pay down student debt quickly and efficiently. Financial wellness and equal opportunities should go hand in hand, however, historically that’s not always the case. Regardless of one’s diverse background, financial literacy should be at the forefront of an overall healthy relationship with financial wellness. Laurel  has used her own personal experiences with student debt as a catalyst to founding FutureFuel.io and dedicating her life to help those burdened with student debt.

CLICK to hear Laurel Taylor’s podcast interview

Wellness Podcasts

Dr. Zibin Guo: Tai Chi for Wellness

Zbin GuoDr. Zibin Guo: Professor of Medical Anthropology at University of Tennessee Chattanooga.
He specializes in teaching and conducting research in the field of medical anthropology. He employs an applied anthropological approach to study human beliefs and practices related to physical and mental health; and to develop innovative programs to promote populations’ well being in the context of cultural relativism:

• Wheelchair Tai Chi program.
• Bringing Wheelchair Tai Chi Chuan to the Paralympics
• Cross-culture dementia research
• Asian Americans’ health cultural adaptation in the United States.

CLICK for Dr. Guo’s Podcast Interview

For more information about Dr. Zibin Guo and his work, CLICK on  these websites:

Appllied Tai Ji

Adaptive Tai Chi International

Tai Ji Community

Arts & Culture Podcasts

Natasha Copeland: Award-winning NBC 4 Journalist

NatashaNatasha Copeland is an Emmy award winning journalist, with more than two decades of experience. She is a news assignment editor for NBC 4 in Washington, DC. Natasha develops, plans and fact checks daily breaking news, community -related news, and major local and national news. She has been the logistical lead for stories that include General Elections to live community events. Currently, most news coverage revolves around the Covid 19 pandemic.

Natasha’s focus is on The People in her private life as well as her media career. She and her husband, now retired from law enforcement, are community advocates and activists for the underserved.

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Editor’s Note: It was truly a pleasure interviewing Natasha whose compassion for the people she serves is matched by her perseverance in becoming a leader in an industry where there are few women of color.  Now working from home given COVID-19, she maintains both her family and her NBC staff with grace and  extraordinary skill.  Dealing with the heart-breaking stories of the pandemic era, Natasha Copeland is an inspiration. She’s a reminder that media, like medical personnel, serve on our front lines.

CLICK for Video Recording/Podcast of Natasha Copeland’s interview

Arts & Culture Podcasts

Charlie Buhler: Bi-Racial Film Director

Charlie BuhlerCharlie Buhler is a film director who has been strongly influenced by her upbringing as a bi-racial woman growing up in a predominantly white area in South Dakota. Charlie uses her work to make sense of the dichotomy between how she experienced the world and how the world experienced her through the lenses of race and gender.

Hear her speak about her path to becoming a film director and the importance of representation on-screen. Be inspired by Charlie’s experience as a woman of color in the film industry.

CLICK for Interview with FILM DIRECTOR CHARLIE BUHLER

Black-Jewish Dialogue, Healthcare, Pandemic

Black-Jewish Dialogue October 2020

Health, Healthcare and Equity

Presenters for this Black-Jewish Dialogue session included Beverly Coulter, Pastor William Hicks, and Dr. Frank Miller with facilitators: Rabbi Craig Lewis of Mizpah Congregation and Deborah Levine, ADR Editor. The discussion included descriptions of the healthcare challenges facing the African-American community and the Jewish community, as well as mutual challenges in the COVID-19 era.

Continue reading Black-Jewish Dialogue October 2020 →

Uncategorized

Seun Babalola: DOCUSERIES ON AFRICA

docuseries in AfricaOluwaseun Babalola is a Sierra Leonean-Nigerian-American filmmaker who founded DO Global Productions, a video production company specializing in documentaries and docuseries in Africa. Her focus is to create and collaborate on projects across the globe, while providing positive representation for people of color. She is a co-founder of BIAYA consulting, a consulting firm that bridges resource and knowledge gaps for Africa entrepreneurs in emerging industries. BIAYA’s first project was a convention in Lagos, Nigeria  to help build a sustainable creative industry that can grow and export content.