Category Archives: About Us

About the American Diversity Report

Authors A-H, Gender, Sports

Diversity and Speech Part 19: The Gendered Sports Dilemma – by Carlos E. Cortés

The theme for this month’s edition: what gender related issues should be addressed and how can they evolve productively?  Let’s up the ante.  What gender related issues must be addressed?  Here’s one: transgender women in sports.

Oh that all equity conflicts could be resolved simply by mouthing diversity clichés.  Not this one.  With regard to this perplexing issue, two pro-diversity camps have gone to war.  Probable allies on most equity concerns, these two camps have dug in their heels, often engaging in hyper-accusatory rhetoric in what has become known as the TERF wars.

TERF stands for trans-exclusionary radical feminists.  That term is used derogatorily by trans activists when referring to feminists who are perceived as not fully and unconditionally accepting trans women into their ranks.  Targets include TERF lesbians, revealing an LGBTQ split over this issue.    Continue reading Diversity and Speech Part 19: The Gendered Sports Dilemma – by Carlos E. Cortés →

Authors I-Q, Of Women, Race & Ethnicity

I’m Black and I’m Proud – by Eva Johnson

Eva Johnson and John Lewis
Eva Johnson and John Lewis

I attended 12 public schools in Chattanooga during times when almost everything was racially separated: schools, churches, restaurants, tours,  organization memberships.  After my high school  graduation and an  early marriage, I relocated  with family to New England and eventually graduated from  Southern Connecticut University.  In the mid-seventies when I became an educator in a large suburban high school in Hamden, Connecticut, only about 10% of the school’s staff and student body was African American.

Continue reading I’m Black and I’m Proud – by Eva Johnson →

Authors A-H, The Arts

The He(Art) of the Museum  – by Cindy Steede Almeida

2 Comments

BermudaCuriosity is a good thing. For those of us who are curious about the ancient world and have a need to discover the source and unearth the past to make sense of our present world, a museum ticket is our gateway to other worlds!

My curiosity led me to uncover the mystery of the word museum or mouseion (Greek) meaning the seat of the muses. In Greek mythology the nine muses were held in high esteem. The Merriam-Webster dictionary attributes the inspiration for song, poetry, the arts, and sciences to these sister goddesses. The Muses were to be enshrined in these edifices as a source of inspiration. According to Britannica.com, a mouseion was built to be a designated institution for philosophical discussion and contemplation. It was intended to be a place of learning and the arts.  Continue reading The He(Art) of the Museum  – by Cindy Steede Almeida →

Black-Jewish Dialogue, Levine articles

Black-Jewish Dialogue: February 2021

HISTORY, ARCHIVES & MUSEUMS

The monthly Black-Jewish Dialogues began in Chattanooga virtually in July 2020 and quickly spread across the USA and internationally. As our communities progress in understanding each other,  we explore new topics each month. History is frequently an underlying theme.

Many thanks to our February Presenters:

John Edwards: Chattanooga historian working with the Bessie Smith Cultural Center and President of The Chattanooga News Chronicle.

Dr. Dana Herman: Managing Editor and Director of Research & Collections of the American Jewish Archives.

CLICK to hear the February Black-Jewish Dialogue

CLICK for background information and links to earlier dialogues

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

Authors A-H, Social Issues

Diversity and Speech Part 18: Hate Speech – by Carlos E. Cortés

Hate speech may be the thorniest point of contention between diversity advocates and free speech absolutists.  Of course most people oppose hate and detest hate speech.  But what should we do about it?  That’s where disagreements begin.

Let’s look at hate speech from four perspectives.  Legal: what does the U.S. Constitution say about hate speech?  Behavioral: is hate speech merely speech?  Aspirational: ideally, what would we want when it comes to hate speech?  Operational: how might government hate speech restraints work in practice?

Continue reading Diversity and Speech Part 18: Hate Speech – by Carlos E. Cortés →

Authors A-H, Race & Ethnicity

Defeating Disparity– By Katelyn DeBaun-Fee

Race & Economic Disparity

By the end of 2020, federal student loan debt in the United States surpassed $1.7 trillion, increasing by over 100% in the last decade. While this has become a national crisis impacting nearly 45 million borrowers, Black women are the most heavily burdened. A 2020 report by the AAUW indicates that Black women, on average, hold over $37,000 in loans each, compared to $31,346 held by white women, and $29,862 held by white men. As a whole, Black women, despite being the most institutionally educated demographic in the U.S., have a total of $35 billion in student loan debt.  Furthermore, 57% of Black female college graduates indicate that they struggle to repay their student loans. While white borrowers are able to pay back an average of 10% of their total student loan debt each year, Black borrowers are only able to pay an average of 4% back, largely due to racial pay disparity.

Continue reading Defeating Disparity– By Katelyn DeBaun-Fee →

Authors R-Z, Inclusion

Is it just a Box? – by Michele Wages

Complexity of Diversity

As I rode the elevator, I overheard a conversation between two African American adults.  They were talking about one of their bosses and one said, “People who are not Black do not understand the prejudices and oppression we have gone through.”

As I left the elevator and walked into the doctor’s office, I was handed a clipboard with some required forms I needed to fill out.  One section caught my attention: Race.  It asked me to check a box.  I immediately thought about the conversation I just heard, and looked over my choices, Caucasian, Asian, Hispanic, Native American, Pacific Islander.  I then thought about prejudices and oppression for each choice.

Continue reading Is it just a Box? – by Michele Wages →

Go Green, Levine articles, Of Women

Greenpeace, Matriarchs, and Me — by Deborah Levine

2 Comments

GreenpeaceI’ve always included articles on the environment in the 15 years of the American Diversity Report.  When I considered doing an article on the iconic Greenpeace movement which started much of our environmental activism, I thought it would be an intellectual and historical project.  But,  my 93-year old Aunt Polly informed that Green-ness runs in the family,. Greenpeace is just a cousin away,  including one of the movement’s matriarchs.

Continue reading Greenpeace, Matriarchs, and Me — by Deborah Levine →

Authors R-Z, Education, Trends 2021

The Changing IT Arena – by Sridhar Rangaswamy

9 Comments

2021 Cyberspace Trends

Many thanks to Deborah Levine, editor of the American Diversity Report, for assisting in sharing my work with the ADR. I’ve been part of IT field for a long time and have presented on Big Data, technology in education. I have also been part of Takelessons.com in teaching SQL.

  I used to teach RDBMS for new employees in 1998, then taught in Oracle University on RDBMS, SQL in 1999-2003. I have taught also PeopleSoft University on the Workflow. And have taught as a Mentor for Cyber Patriot in the year 2019 locally in Summerville, SC. Let’s take a look at how IT has evolved and what’s coming up in the future.

Continue reading The Changing IT Arena – by Sridhar Rangaswamy →

Authors A-H, Social Issues, Teams & Leaders, Trends 2021

Diversity and Speech Part 17: Diversity Training – by Carlos E. Cortés

2020 turned into a momentous year for diversity training.  The COVID-19 pandemic forced many diversity trainers, myself included, to re-invent themselves by adapting their workshops into an online format.  The Memorial Day killing of George Floyd thrust anti-racism into the center of diversity training, challenging those presenters who had generally soft-pedaled the issue.  President Donald Trump’s September 22 executive order, “Race and Sex Stereotyping,” caused government agencies and contractors, including some higher education institutions, to suspend or mute their diversity training.

Continue reading Diversity and Speech Part 17: Diversity Training – by Carlos E. Cortés →