There’s something special and perhaps a little magical about the Holiday Season. As the weather starts to cool and the leaves start to change, there seems to be excitement in the air in anticipation of the holidays. We tend to look for greater human connection as we plan gatherings from Thanksgiving feasts to New Year’s celebrations. While some see the holidays as the opportunity to connect with family and friends through festive celebrations of their faith, others may enjoy the more commercialized aspects of the season.
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About the American Diversity Report
Need a break? Take in history on the riverfront – by Deborah Levine
originally published in The Chattanooga Times Free Press
We’ve been glued to the news on TV and internet day and night. Definitely time to take a break from holding my breath. What to do? We decided to go to the riverfront, become one with the river’s flow and check out the replicas of Christopher Columbus’ Nina and Pinta. This history buff was fascinated by the ancient boats that sailed the seas. And they brought back fond ocean memories of my island girl youth.
Ultra-Processed from Halloween to Thanksgiving – by Deborah Levine
Every year, we struggle to resist the temptation minute to minute to over-sugar ourselves. It begins with Halloween candy and proceeds to Thanksgiving dinner, exploding with holiday eating extravaganzas with the year’s tastiest foods. By the New Year, the scale shows our over-indulgence. It’s no coincidence that 12% of gym members join in January. And it’s discouraging that 80% of New Year’s resolutions disappear in February.
Build a Stronger Economy: Focus on Minorities & Opportunity Zones – by Rachel Hooks
Everyone is familiar with Wall Street in New York where stock trades are made, but are you familiar with Black Wall Street, an area in Tulsa, Oklahoma? It’s the place where African Americans built their own economy with grocery stores, schools, homes, churches, hospitals, hotels, and other businesses. By 1921, they owned 35 square blocks of property in this community where they flourished, until one day, there was the Tulsa race massacre where this entire community was burned to the ground.
Unfortunately, this community was never the same again and very few people were able to keep their family homes that were destroyed. In a time of segregation, this type of community was necessary to carry out the law, “separate by equal”. I can recall my grandmother, Jimmie Hooks, born in 1930, before her passing this year at age 93, stating that her grandfather had a business, but could not own a home. She would say, “Ain’t that crazy”. This is no longer the case today, every man is considered equal, or are they?
Continue reading Build a Stronger Economy: Focus on Minorities & Opportunity Zones – by Rachel Hooks
Letting Go of Perfectionism: an Act of Antiracism – by Janelle Villiers
I’ve attended the Undoing Racism Workshop offered by The People’s Institute for Survival and Beyond, twice. I’ve gone on to facilitate several DEI workshops and I am also the co-creator of an Intra-Professional Antiracism Dialogue and Discourse Series (IPADDS). While preparing for and facilitating all of these workshops and IPADDS events I was always reminded of a foundational tenant of the Undoing Racism Workshop and that is “Racism de-humanizes us all.” It doesn’t matter what race, Black, White and everything in between, we are all de-humanized by racism.
Continue reading Letting Go of Perfectionism: an Act of Antiracism – by Janelle Villiers
Minding Your Mental – by Ikeko Bass
I am the face of mental health—a survivor of suicide and a testament to the resilience of minding your mental. Did you know that 59.3 million Americans suffer from mental health challenges? Mental health encompasses our psychological, emotional, and social well-being. It influences how we think, feel, and act, shaping our relationships, our ability to manage stress, and the decisions we make.
My journey took me to the darkest place I’ve ever known. Weighed down by years of mounting stress, grief, and hopelessness, my life is a story of rediscovering strength, purpose, and faith in the aftermath of despair. Through my experience, I’ve learned that while mental health challenges do not discriminate, they can forge connections among us. With time, healing, and courage, those challenges can become a source of strength—empowering us to help others on their own journeys. Through self-care, setting boundaries, staying connected, practicing mindfulness, seeking professional help, and cultivating gratitude, I’ve found the tools to effectively mind my mental and embrace a healthier, more balanced life.
The Hundred-Handed Purpose Connector – by Donley Ferguson
Cultivating the Path of Purpose
If I were to tell my story—the story I’d share with the world—it would start with echoes of loss, shadows of hope, and a path carved through trials no one could have foreseen.
The only memory I carry of my father, whose name I bear, is of new Hush Puppies on his feet and the soulful loop of Friends of Distinction’s “Going in Circles” reverberating through the night. I watched his silhouette diminish into the darkness, an untouchable fragment of my life that unraveled into a tragic tale—the stories of his empty pockets, hollow eyes, and the lifeless repose on that frayed couch in a den of broken souls. The whisper of overdose. The finality of it.
In 2020 alone, nearly 70,000 lives were lost to overdoses, a reminder that the pain of addiction reverberates through countless families. My father’s story is one of many, yet it marks the beginning of my journey—a path paved with loss but leading to the discovery of purpose.
Continue reading The Hundred-Handed Purpose Connector – by Donley Ferguson
Ukrainian moment in Chattanooga – by Deborah Levine
(originally published in the Chattanooga Times Free Press)
Always a fan of international projects, I eagerly attended the recent reception marking Chattanooga’s new collaboration with Ukraine’s city of Trostyanets. What a pleasure to meet its mayor, Yuriy Bova! Mayor Tim Kelly had formalized a cooperative agreement with the war-torn Ukrainian city that’s only 20 miles from the Russian border.
Speaking with Mayor Bova and his interpreter was a real pleasure. I was delighted when he mentioned his desire to be online. I told him about my podcast and asked if he’d like to do an interview. Never imagining that he would say yes, I held my breath as his staff made the arrangements to connect my office in East Ridge with his in Ukraine. Would this actually happen?
Continue reading Ukrainian moment in Chattanooga – by Deborah Levine
Global Human Rights in Focus – by Dean Bordode
Current Challenges and Pathways
to Progress
Introduction
The global state of human rights in the 21st century continues to evolve, with notable advances in areas such as LGBTQ+ rights and gender equality, alongside persistent challenges like systemic discrimination, conflict-induced displacement, and the rise of authoritarian regimes. Despite progress, marginalized communities remain vulnerable, and civil liberties are under constant threat.
This report explores the current human rights landscape, drawing on contributions to various advocacy initiatives, including my work supporting Jewish groups and activists, amplifying the voices of LGBTQ+ communities, and addressing key global challenges. With decades of experience in human rights advocacy, I’ve supported efforts by Jewish rapporteurs in the U.S. and Canada, as well as contributed to reports on LGBTQ+ rights through submissions to bodies like the ILGA, the Centre for Human Rights at the University of Pretoria, and the UN Human Rights Committee via SOGI (Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity) submissions. These efforts emphasize the need for a collective, coordinated approach to addressing the pressing issues we face today.
Continue reading Global Human Rights in Focus – by Dean Bordode
Glee, Anger and the Unprecedented State of National Affairs – Elwood Watson
For some people, November 5, 2024, was one of the greatest days in American history. Others may well remember it as a day that will live in political infamy. The 2024 presidential election is over, and Donald Trump has been reelected as the forty-seventh president of the United States of America. One can only imagine what Grover Cleveland would think of this chain of events. Cleveland was the only other president to serve nonconsecutive terms — he was the twenty-second and twenty-fourth US president from 1885 to 1889 and from 1893 to 1897.
If most people are honest with themselves, they would probably admit that Tuesday’s results shocked but did not totally surprise them. Trump went on to win both the popular vote and the Electoral College. The latter ultimately determines who wins the presidency. In all fairness, despite what many pundits, critics, radio hosts and numerous other commentators assessments, the election was not a blowout as opposed to the democratic presidential elections of 1972 between presidential-election-
Continue reading Glee, Anger and the Unprecedented State of National Affairs – Elwood Watson