Category Archives: About Deborah Levine

About ADR Editor-in-Chief

Music, theater, TV, dance, Newspaper Opinion Columns

Brace for hard lessons in Ken Burns’ new documentary

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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.

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Diversity Resources

ADR October 2020 – Press Release

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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:

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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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Newspaper Opinion Columns

Why Diabetics need to vote – by Deborah Levine

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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 Deborah Levine, Documentary, Movies and Scripts, Liberator Series, Music, theater, TV, dance

TV Pilot Script: The Liberator’s Daughter

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 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
(c) 2022…Deborah Levine Enterprises LLC

31+  FILM FESTIVAL  AWARDS
The Liberator’s Daughter has 31 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

– Also – Finalist at 1) Delta International, 2) Filmfest International, 3) Blackboard International. Semi-Finalist in 12 film festivals + Honorable Mention at 1) Critic’s Choice International, 2) The Filmmaker’s Space Film Festival, 3) Athens International Monthly Art Film Festival

Pilot Summary: ADRIFT Part A

This story of overcoming adversity features a young woman adrift in New York City. She experiences hate and bullying like so many immigrants and wants to return home to Bermuda. Her father, a World War II military intelligence officer, wants the family to experience a Jewish community. Although her fragile health is at risk in America, Deborah uses her genius IQ to attend Radcliffe/Harvard University. Always outspoken, she challenges the university’s status quo while pursuing studies at Harvard Divinity School and in Folklore and Mythology.
Midway through college, she returns home, her body racked with mysterious inflammation. Like so many young women suffering similarly, Deborah is told it’s all in her head and is sent to a psychiatric hospital. Determination drives her back to Harvard, but insufficiently recovered, she again goes home, completing her degree in NYC.
Deborah’s parents are disappointed and insist that she not be a financial burden. Pressured to quickly get a job after graduation, she becomes a file clerk in Manhattan’s Garment District. Experiencing sexual harassment, she joins the first Women’s Liberation March and reconnects with girl friends.
When Deborah finally gets promoted to secretary,  her parents relocate to Cincinnati for her father’s job. With no resources of her own, she has to leave with her parents for an unknown future in the Midwest. Discouraged, she almost gives up. But inspired by her friends, she prays for the strength that her father had in the war and aims for a future of fame and power.

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Newspaper Opinion Columns

“Domestic Infant Suppliers” buckle up – by Deborah Levine

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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.
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Artists, Newspaper Opinion Columns

Culture Wars: Can artists win? – by Deborah Levine

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Originally published in The Chattanooga Times Free Press   

Why do we now say Kyiv instead of Kiev? It’s because Kyiv is the Ukrainian pronunciation and Russia’s invasion is a culture war.  Their disputes are old-as-dirt and Ukrainian Nikita Khrushchev tried to enable a Ukrainian revival with the transfer of Crimea from Russia. But, Soviet repression went beyond land and sovereignty.

With the USSR dissolution, Ukraine established a new government with its own national anthem in Ukrainian, not Russian. It’s no accident that Putin’s treaty demands include protection for the Russian language. It may seem trivial, but imagine if England suddenly tried to re-establish British control over America and insisted that we revert to British English. If England were like Putin, you might go to jail if you refused to spell “color” as “colour”, the original, British version. Or what about our patriotic song, “My Country, ‘Tis of Thee”? That melody was originally an unofficial national anthem of England. We wouldn’t tolerate going back to its original title: “God Save the Queen”. We’d fight a new War of Independence.

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Newspaper Opinion Columns

It’s called war, folks – by Deborah Levine 

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 Originally published in The Chattanooga Times Free Press

In the days since Russia invaded Ukraine, we’ve tried to avoid World War III. There’s no doubt that the economic strategies are impressive. Putin is right to call out the sanctions as war. The Russian ruble has lost much of its value.  The Russian stock exchange closed for days with one financial analyst toasting its death saying, “Rest in peace dear comrade”. Corporations exited in droves including Ikea, Exxon, Boeing, Ford, Harley-Davidson, Volkswagen, Disney, Nike, Apple, Dell, and Google. Visa and Mastercard suspended their Russian operations.

As devastating as these sanctions have been, Russia continues to demolish cities, take over nuclear facilities, and bomb neighborhoods. And while we’d hoped for a cease fire, plans to bomb Ukrainian military-industrial complex to smithereens were just announced.

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Newspaper Opinion Columns

Ukraine’s aching pain: Cold War 2.0 – by Deborah Levine 

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Originally published in The Chattanooga Times Free Press
(First of 3 columns on Russia-Ukraine war)

Back in 2019, my opinion column called, Don’t Underestimate Putin’sThreat, was published. I quoted Ukrainian-born comedian Yakov Smirnoff’s joke about how the KGB, Soviet Russia’s secret police, stood for Kiss Goodbye Your Butt. Today’s Russia is “…a world erupting with new money and new power” says British producer Peter Pomerantsev in his book, Nothing Is True and Everything Is Possible. Not much has changed. Russia still uses the KGB “false flag” strategy, claiming that the current conflict is Ukraine’s fault, pseudo-annexing Russian-leaning parts of Ukraine and sending in its military as “peace keepers”.

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Newspaper Opinion Columns

Playing the political discourse game – By Deborah Levine

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Originally published in The Chattanooga Times Free Press

 Remember those playground rumbles after school? “You’re wrong!” “No! I’m right and everybody knows it.” In case you’re wondering, this back-and-forth wasn’t between a couple of kids arguing over kickball. This was the former President and Vice President arguing over the United States constitution. Will this conversation be quoted by future generations? Who knows? Maybe it’ll sound like Shakespeare given how the Republican National Committee (RNC) is trying to redefine the violence of the Jan. 6 Capital riot.

The RNC condemned the House select committee investigating Jan. 6 and censured Liz Cheney (R-WY) and Adam Kinzinger (R-IL) for participating in the almost 400 interviews about the “Stop the Steal rally” that day.  The investigation was called a Democrat-led persecution of ordinary citizens engaged in “legitimate political discourse”.

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Newspaper Opinion Columns

Turn up the heat on hate – by Deborah Levine

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Originally published in The Chattanooga Times Free Press
(As antisemitic fliers continue to appear in the Colleyville, Texas, neighborhood, it’s essential to reprint this article)

Since the hostage-taking incident at the Colleyville, Texas, synagogue, my inbox has been full of articles, videos, and conferences on antisemitism. The outrage and worry isn’t surprising given that about 60% of religion-based crimes are against Jews. Hints of the future increase in those numbers are easily seen in the antisemitic fliers left on doorsteps in Florida, Texas, and Iowa. 

And don’t discount individuals like the young woman who accosted a couple of Jewish kids outside a synagogue in New York. The children’s father reported that she said, “something along the lines of Hitler should have killed you all.” When his 8-year old son responded that he’d save his little sister, the woman spit on him and said, “we will kill you all, I know where you live, and we’ll make sure to get you all next time.”
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