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About the American Diversity Report

Advisors, Authors A-H, Politics

Random thoughts on No Kings Day protests – by Terry Howard

“Sorry, but I don’t remember seeing many white faces during civil rights protests and marches in the sixties.
So, I’ll take a pass.”

That was one of the “no thanks” responses I got from “Fernando,” one of several Black folks I invited to attend the recent No Kings Day protest with me. Hold that for now because I want to leave with a full-throated response to “Fernando” in closing.  

Now in case you didn’t know, cared to know, or reside on another planet (and much to the chagrin of “someone” who is obsessed with crowd size), in the largest single day of protest in American history, over 8,000,000 people took part in some 3,300 “No Kings” rallies recently spanning every continent on Earth while millions more participated remotely by watching coverage on television or online.

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       Georgia protesters                       Virginia protester

So, despite temperatures in the mid-forties, I made the short drive to a local No Kings Day protest.  It seemed that the only difference between that protest compared to the one I attended last year was a much bigger turnout, more young people in attendance and more creative posters, some with graphic images and language way too inappropriate to include in this narrative. Plus, given that this an election year a few politicians were there deftly working the crowd. And from what I could glean from some conversations, many protesters were there not necessarily to protest for themselves but for generations to come. 

Continue reading Random thoughts on No Kings Day protests – by Terry Howard →

Advisors, Authors R-Z, Politics, Social Issues

Pope Leo XIV is a Change Agent – by Mauricio Velásquez

A courageous voice in a wilderness of quiet conflict avoidance is refreshing, Pope Leo XIV’s regular critical comments of Trump’s policies are honorable and most important, necessary in today’s theater of hate and division.  Pope Leo XIV has been a “moral check” on our present administration, challenging them as not being even humanitarian.  He speaks  for so many – representing Catholics from all over the world.  

Most important to note is how Pope Leo XIV critizes policy, the administration’s actions and not Trump personally.  Donald J. Trump spews hate and suspicion every day and is a serial liar and it is Pope Leo XIV who cannot look the other way and “calls out Trump” constantly, regularly.  Pope Leo XIV has criticized Trump’s policies on immigrants (“inhuman”), Iran War (“atrocious”) and calls out Trump’s action as not Christian.  It is the right approach – separate the person from their actions and focus on their actions and consequences of their actions.

Continue reading Pope Leo XIV is a Change Agent – by Mauricio Velásquez →

Authors R-Z

The Fueling Of A Renaissance: Part 2 – by Regina Sën

Calm Heart, Clear Mind

This is the story of how, amid the world unraveling in catastrophe—uncertainty looming and megastorms colliding—one woman found her way to wholeness and back to functioning, determined to love come what may, and there lifted.

We live in a nation that is far removed from the wisdom that unfolded in the previous article “Fall of The Spiral Curtain,” and it is barren of the knowledge of emotion and energy hygiene, a necessary support in such a journey: to love come what may.

Continue reading The Fueling Of A Renaissance: Part 2 – by Regina Sën →

Authors R-Z, Social Issues

Fall of the Spiral Curtain – Part 1 – by Regina Sën

The fall of the iron curtain can never precede the fall of the spiral curtain. We are witnessing, in real time, the dangers of allowing citizens to rise in power before transcending the human spiral, in a land barren of emotional and energy hygiene, under fire, under pressure. In communities of old, regardless of faith or tradition, we encounter “the human spiral”: cycles of fear, judgment, shame, and misunderstanding that wound us—and others—in invisible ways. The following story explores the luxury of being sheltered, and patterns of reactivity that pass silently through generations, even when we are “raised with love.” Through the wisdom of a trusted elder (*do you have one?*)—a Guru, an ‘Aunty’, an ‘Old Soul’, whoever *your* people recognize as wise—we learn to bear witness to this spiral, to sit with another’s pain and misunderstanding, ultimately finding liberation: transcending through unconditional love, finding the hope of safety to grow in.

Continue reading Fall of the Spiral Curtain – Part 1 – by Regina Sën →

Authors I-Q, Go Green

Designing a successful environmentally conscious business – by Julie Morris

What Ecopreneurship Means

For academics, diversity professionals, and cultural inclusion advocates stepping into entrepreneurship, the pull is real: build an environmentally conscious business that aligns with values while still earning serious revenue. The tension is just as real, many future entrepreneurs worry that sustainability will dilute competitiveness, raise costs, or become performative in a marketplace that rewards shortcuts. Ecopreneurs are proving a different story through green entrepreneurship that treats environmental problems as green business opportunities rather than constraints. With the right grounding, sustainable startups can become credible, profitable ventures with impact that holds up under scrutiny.

Continue reading Designing a successful environmentally conscious business – by Julie Morris →

Authors I-Q, Education

Make a Difference Through Collaborative Movements in Education – by Muhammad Usman Qazi

In recent years, much attention has been given to bridging the education gap and improving access to learning. While these efforts are essential, they represent only the beginning. The true impact of education emerges when access is combined with collaboration—when individuals, communities, and organizations come together to create meaningful and lasting change.

Continue reading Make a Difference Through Collaborative Movements in Education – by Muhammad Usman Qazi →

DL Opinion columns

Chattanooga’s Sister City in Ukraine – by Deborah Levine

originally published in The Chattanooga Times Free Press

Much excitement at City Hall on March 6 when Mayor Tim Kelly announced that the City of Chattanooga and the Ukrainian City of Trostyanets have solidified their friendship with an official Sister Cities agreement. It was amazing to be present at this Zoom signing ceremony of the documents connecting Chattanooga and Trostyanets as official Sister Cities. 

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Advisors, Authors R-Z, Inclusion

12 Major Myths of Diversity and Inclusion (D&I) – by Mauricio Velásquez

What Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Is Not

Having worked in the field nearly 33 years now and as President, CEO, of DTG fornearly 30 years, I have confronted these myths over and over and I am constantlydebunking them. I often distribute this document prior to a diversity and inclusion-related conversation, forum or training to undo the bias about an upcoming workshop onbias (what I call bias squared).

Continue reading 12 Major Myths of Diversity and Inclusion (D&I) – by Mauricio Velásquez →

DL Opinion columns

Celebrate Goodwill Industries Day! – by Deborah Levine

originally published in The Chattanooga Times Free Press

The Grand Opening of the new East Ridge Goodwill facility on February 26 was a reminder that despite the raging anger, grief and bloodshed in a world now at war, there is also kindness, generosity and courage. With a packed parking lot, the line waiting to enter Goodwill at 8:30am on a rainy day extended around the building and beyond. Young, elderly and diverse, the folks in line looked happy and excited to be at the opening and eager to get goods at this huge new location which filled the Food City on Ringgold Road that had been empty for almost 6 years.

Goodwill was founded more than a century ago by Rev. Edgar Helms who described it as “industrial program as well as a social service enterprise…a provider of employment, training and rehabilitation for people of limited employability, and a source of temporary assistance for individuals whose resources were depleted.” According to Goodwill Industries, more than 85 cents of each dollar from purchases goes towards helping people transform potential into opportunity. An additional section of the East Ridge Goodwill is planned to help people with disadvantages find employment and earn a family-sustaining wage.

Continue reading Celebrate Goodwill Industries Day! – by Deborah Levine →

Authors A-H, Of Women

Women’s History Month: Remember Viola Liuzzo – by Terry Howard

Hard to believe that a little over a year ago – April 25, 2025, to be exact – a white woman by the name of Mrs. Viola Liuzzo, if we were blessed to have had her still alive last year, would have been 100 years old. 

So, on March 25, 2026, it will be sixty-one years since an assassin’s bullet in 1965 snuffed out her life on an Alabama highway; sixty-one years since, during the interim, the passage of the Voting Rights Act four months after her death; sixty-one years, during the interim, Dr. King was also felled by an assassin’s bullet; and sixty-one years since, during the interim, that the hard earned right to vote was instrumental in the election of the first African American president of the United States. One could make a compelling argument that Liuzzo’s assassination was a factor in the fight for civil rights.

Continue reading Women’s History Month: Remember Viola Liuzzo – by Terry Howard →