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 21 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

1 Comment

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

DL Opinion columns

Eat that pizza now – by Deborah Levine

1 Comment

Originally published in The Chattanooga Times Free Press

In this week of chaos, I looked online for occasional moments of relief. I found fascinating videos of animals looking for food in all the wrong places: an escaped ostrich-like emu stopping highway traffic and of a herd of elephants crossing a street into a village. But my favorite was a bear cub eating a delivery pizza on a doorstep in Colorado. I chuckled as he devoured the entire pizza.

But I felt guilty for laughing because bears on our doorstep are like canaries in the coal mine.  They signify the new COVID-19 reality, and it isn’t funny.

Continue reading Eat that pizza now – by Deborah Levine →

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

DL Opinion columns

Ginsberg’s Daring Legacy – by Deborah Levine

Originally published in The Chattanooga Times Free Press

The announcement of the passing of Chief Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg came during the online services celebrating the Jewish New Year. I could see an old friend on Zoom just put her head in her hands and stay there. I’d seen the announcement a few minutes before services started at sunset so I’d had a brief moment to digest the news. I immediately texted my cousin. We both identify with the description of Ginsberg as “Elder Badass”, having fought our own life-long battles for women. She texted back, “Nooooo!”. Our grief was immediate and we could already hear rumblings of imminent battle.

Jewish tradition holds that someone who dies as the New Year begins is among the most righteous. The Divine holds death back for these souls until the year’s last moment because they’re so needed, driven by the biblical obligation, “Justice, Justice, shall you pursue”.

Continue reading Ginsberg’s Daring Legacy – by Deborah Levine →

DL Opinion columns

QAnon, COVID-19 and conspiracy addiction – by Deborah Levine

Originally published in The Chattanooga Times Free Press

QAnon has gone mainstream. This fringe group’s theory that there’s a deep state dedicated to child trafficking, cannibalism, and anti-Trumpism is no longer under the radar. Some point to the successful Georgia primary of QAnon backer, Marjorie Greene, as proof. Others point to President Trump congratulating her and calling her a “Future Republican Star”.  While Vice President Pence tried to counteract Trump’s enthusiasm for QAnon, the fact that QAnon ended up on the front page of The Chattanooga Times Free Press tends to support the mainstream theory.

Continue reading QAnon, COVID-19 and conspiracy addiction – by Deborah Levine →

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.

#    #   #

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