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 Bermuda Magazine, The Harvard Divinity School Bulletin.

Podcast with Veteran George Eshleman: The Keeper

The KeeperGeorge Eshleman is a veteran who inspired the upcoming film THE KEEPER which is based on his real-life experience hiking the Appalachian Trail while carrying 363 military name tapes from military members who committed suicide to raise awareness.

 

Hear George discuss:

  • What inspired him to hike the Appalachian Trail to promote veteran mental health awareness…
  • How he dealt with his own depression…
  • What it was like working with Co-Directors Angus Benfield and Kendall Bryant Jr. and the cast…
  • What we can do to address the rising rate of suicide among veterans.

The KeeperCLICK for podcast

Mothers Day: Matriarch Training – by Deborah Levine

Mothers Day is a great American traditions, but I’m not sure I like it. Unhappily, I have a really big problem with these days because I don’t have the goods. My mother and grandmother who were such loving figures in my life are gone. My father, who I take after in so many ways, is gone, too. I’m feeling a bit sorry for myself.  My children live far away but will no doubt call or send a card. I’m grateful for their love but I would really like to call my own parents. Just knowing they were around made life balanced and feel more secure.

Continue reading Mothers Day: Matriarch Training – by Deborah Levine

Broadway songs for our sanity – by Deborah Levine

originally published in The Chattanooga Times Free Press

We live in a time of chaos and raging hate. How do we survive? The Arts can help and we should turn to them. My dad read poetry non-stop when serving as a US military intelligence officer during World War II. He said that’s how he kept his sanity dealing with the horrors of war. Dad summoned the Arts generations ago, when we moved reluctantly to American and us kids were heartbroken leaving Bermuda behind. He took us to art galleries and art museums and, fantastically, to a Broadway theater to see the musical, “West Side Story”. Wow! Maybe this America thing isn’t so bad!

Continue reading Broadway songs for our sanity – by Deborah Levine

Holocaust education is necessary now more than ever – by Deborah Levine 

Originally published in The Chattanooga Times Free Press

When I was invited to give a webinar for Echoes and Reflections, an organization in partnership with Yad Vashem (The World Holocaust Remembrance Center), I freaked out. This was Big Time and I better be good at it. Reviewing my documentary: Untold, Stories of a World War II Liberator and my dad’s wartime letters, I was reminded that not long ago, I made a similar presentation at a Chattanooga high school. A student told me that she wanted to hear “both sides of the story”. I wondered what she was seeing online, and knew that these archival documents are still relevant today, and Holocaust education is even more so.

Continue reading Holocaust education is necessary now more than ever – by Deborah Levine 

Inter-generational education needed now – by  Deborah Levine

originally published in The Chattanooga Times Free Press

All too often we look at the elderly as outliers to society, and the presidential election is embedding in our minds that being old is a non-starter. It’s getting harder to look at an elderly person and feel that you’re experiencing a great moment. Instead, they’re recipients of our sympathy, and objects of charity. That’s why funding Social Security is the only political issue focused on seniors. And that’s women who want to advertise products or be newscasters on TV face-lift themselves silly. The value of being a senior citizen is fading. 

Continue reading Inter-generational education needed now – by  Deborah Levine

Tracking our Terrorist Destructors – by Deborah Levine

I used to write about terrorist destructors in the U.S. every spring. My articles began with the domestic terrorism of the Oklahoma City bombing more than thirty years ago on April 19.  That’s when I became the community/media liaison for Oklahoma’s Tulsa Jewish Federation. It was shortly after the bombing destroyed the Murrah Building and so many lives were affected. I felt compelled to investigate what led to the deadliest bombing, prior to 9/11, on our native soil.  The violent hatred that I saw has not only continued, but has expanded globally, and now, it  encompasses the entire year.

Continue reading Tracking our Terrorist Destructors – by Deborah Levine

UNTOLD Stories of a World War II Liberator

EDUCATION TOOL &
AWARD-WINNING DOCUMENTARY
(scroll down for links)

Holocaust education is a vital element to counteracting the  antisemitism and Holocaust denial as they grow world-wide. Educators and students, community leaders and activists should  hear the first-hand Untold stories of WW II and the Holocaust. Deborah Levine, daughter of a World War II military intelligence officer, has created this documentary as a tool for counteracting hate and for Holocaust education. Her father, Aaron Levine was a ” Ritchie Boy” trained at Fort Ritchie, the U.S. secret military intelligence camp focused on training men, often Jewish immigrants who spoke German, to interrogate Nazi prisoners of war.

Hear the wartime perspective of Aaron Levine as he liberated death camps, served as a spy, and wrote letters about his experience. Be inspired by the love letters of Estelle Swig Malloy, a Special Education pioneer whom Aaron married after they graduated from Harvard. Then hear the memoirs of Polish Holocaust Survivor, Leon Weisband who documented the Nazi invasion of his hometown.

“No student of history can come away from this without a deeper understanding of the sacrifices that were made to end the Holocaust and of the power of storytelling to heal the human heart.”
~ Dylan Kussman, Hollywood actor/producer

“Deborah Levine’s work continues to be of utmost importance for students of all ages. The specific story of ‘UNTOLD’ MUST be told today and forever, so that the words ‘Never Again’ never lose their meaning!”
~Avi Hoffman, CEO Yiddishkayt Initiative, Inc.
“Many liberators such as Levine’s father kept their experience largely secret So this is an important resource for Holocaust education and research…and a very engaging introduction to the journey of the Jewish community over the past century”
~ The Rev. Dr. John T. Pawlikowski: Founding member of the US Holocaust Center, Prof of Social Ethics/Catholic Theological Union
Religion Communicators Council names Wilbur Merit Awards:
American Diversity Report and Untold, Stories of a World War II Liberator:
Deborah Levine , Dennis Parker , Michael A. Levine , @Dylan Kussman, Charlene White , Trish Ross , Joel D. Scribner , Greg Glover, @George Hoctor, Chase Parker.

 

From her roots in the only Jewish family to have lived in Bermuda for 4 generations, to her role as a Forbes Diversity & Inclusion Trailblazer, Deborah has been dedicated to “Tikkun olam”, Hebrew for “repair of the world”. This latest project is decades in the making, and is broadcast internationally by Jewish Life TV

“Untold” in its radio theater, documentary and music formats is a Winner in 17 International film festivals including: 1) Lily Indie Film Fest, 2) 4theatre selection, 3) NYC Independent Film Festival (11th season), 4) Red Moon Festival (8th season), 5) Spring Time International, 6) Bright International, 7)  Dreamz Catcher International, 8) Indie Cine Tube Awards, 9) Lightbox International, 10) Crown International, 11) Delta International, 12) EdiPlay International, 13) Red Wolf Film Festival, 14) Indiefare International Film Festival, 15) FlightDeck Film Festival, 16) Cine Sepia Reels Carnival, KIIFF Kurdistan International Independent Film Festival.

Author: Deborah Levine
Director: Dennis Parker
Music Composer/Performer: Michael A. Levine
Actors: Dylan Kussman, Joel Scribner, Charlene Hong White, Trish Ross, Chase Parker, George Hoctor, Greg Glover.

CLICK to see documentary
UNTOLD, Stories  of a WW II LIBERATOR

 

CLICK for the Jewish Federation of Greater Chattanooga version of UNTOLD

Actors: Deborah Levine, Rabbi Craig Lewis, Rabbi Sam Rotenberg, Bea Lurie, Jed Meson, Dr. John Steinberg, Richard Zachary,

CLICK for TEACHING GUIDE:
Untold, Stories of a World War II Liberator

 

International Women’s Day: Past and Present Converge – by Deborah Levine

Originally published in The Chattanooga Times Free Press

Don’t be surprised that I love March, Women’s History Month. I was in the first Women’s Liberation March down Manhattan’s 5th Ave. in 1970. Betty Friedan led the march with NYC providing a permit for using just one lane of traffic. The 50,000 turnout was massive and Betty led us into the full width of 5th Avenue, startling law enforcement. I remember tripping over traffic cones meant as barricades. Unfortunately, some barricades seem to last forever. 

Continue reading International Women’s Day: Past and Present Converge – by Deborah Levine

Finding the joy in a world gone to the dogs – by Deborah Levine

 ( originally published in The Chattanooga Times Free Press)  

With the news being so depressing and alarming these days, is there any relief? There’s Russia and the murder of Putin protester Alexei Navalney, and the Middle East mess. Then there’s the US with 2024 having the second-highest number on record of mass killings and deaths to this point in a single year. Last year ended with 42 mass killings and 217 deaths. I’m guessing that the final numbers for 2024 will be even worse. My brain hurts and I’m sure that I’m not alone in looking for a ray of sunshine. 

Continue reading Finding the joy in a world gone to the dogs – by Deborah Levine

Janet Rutkowski Podcast: Artist and Curator

Janet RutkowskiJanet Rutkowski is a Brooklyn-based artist with a studio in Barryville, NY.  She’s a self-taught artist whose work spans over 35 years and primarily works in steel, although during the pandemic, she created hundreds of works on paper entitled Quarantine Compositions. Janet is also a curator and currently has a large show in celebration of Women’s History Month entitled: Behind The Mask. The Art of Women Welders. It features 29 women welders and over 50 works of powerful art, as well as one of her large scale pieces.

Here Rutkowski discuss:

  • The inspiration for her work
  • The role of women in the current art world today
  • The current show that she co-curated featuring women welders for Women’s History Month.
  • Her numerous projects and events  (CLICK to visit her WEBSITE )

CLICK for the podcast