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.
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About the American Diversity Report
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.
Continue reading Chattanooga’s Sister City in Ukraine – by Deborah Levine
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
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
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
Save our planet: No last straw – by Deborah Levine
originally published in The Chattanooga Times Free Press
I had a meltdown over the Trump administration’s revoking the 2009 “endangerment finding” that says climate change is a danger to public health. Trump is grasping at straws claiming that this would save Americans trillions of dollars. But research by organizations such as Nature Climate Change shows that climate risks, especially flooding, could wipe out almost $1.5 trillion in US home values by 2055. My climate activism DNA was activated big time when Trump declared climate change a ‘scam’. Even his small actions like promoting plastic straws over paper ones got me going. Dumping that crap into creeks, landfills and oceans was poison to this Bermuda island girl.
I started writing articles about the environment years ago, focusing on the ocean and the plastic dumped in it. My Aunt Polly, then 93 years old, explained how such activism ran through our family. Polly and her husband Erwin Strasmich left their Bermuda home and bought a home near Erwin’s cousin Irving Stowe in Providence, Rhode Island. But soon, the Stowes moved on and created planet-saving history.
Continue reading Save our planet: No last straw – by Deborah Levine
R-E-S-P-E-C-T Women’s History Month – by Deborah Ashton
Well, at least we as women have one of the longest commemorative months of the year. But equal pay and fair treatment would be preferable. That would be a measure of respect.
As of 2025, women earn less than men at all education levels, except that Asian women with a bachelor’s or advanced degree earn more than Black men with similar degrees. The gender pay gap is narrowest among individuals without a high school diploma. In essence, education only acts as an equalizer for those with the lowest level of schooling.
2025 Pay Inequality – See chart in headline
In 2003, serving on The Conference Board’s Tough Issues in Diversity panel, I showed that analyzing U.S. weekly median earnings requires considering gender, race or ethnicity, and education level. Over 20 years ago, gender had a greater effect on pay than race/ethnicity and that being a woman of color amplified the negative impact on pay. I found that higher education did not narrow the pay gap. Sadly, that remains true.
For woman of color the pay gap increases as they obtain higher levels of education. This remained true in 2014, when I analyzed the 2013 Bureau of Labor Statistics for the Harvard Business Review. Black women and Latinas vied for last place on the earning ladder for each level of education. By 2025, Black women were the biggest losers, earning less than any other group at each level of education, with the exception of Black women and Hispanic women/Latinas with bachelor’s degrees tying for last place in median weekly earnings.
Yes, equitable pay would demonstrate that women’s work is respected as much as men’s. However, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, even when women are performing the same jobs, women are paid less than men. For example, female computer programmers earn 34% less than their male counterparts, while female marketing managers make 23% less than male marketing managers.
Addressing respect for women should be a no brainer, since women are approximately 50% of the global population. However, mainstream media allow talk show hosts, guests, and scriptwriters to use the B-word for women. If the importance of censorship is recognized to censor the N-word for people of African ancestry and censors the F-word for gay men, why are women’s psychological safety and psyche disregarded?
Why do mainstream media, cable, or streaming/podcasts, tend to refer to women by their first name? Men are routinely referenced by their surname. Why are women’s titles rarely mentioned? While serving as Secretary of State, Kissinger was often called Dr. Kissinger in news coverage, especially when his official title was not mentioned. Secretary of State Rice was often referenced as Condoleezza rather than Dr. Rice in similar circumstances.
Even when women ran for president of the United States, there was a distinction between how men were referenced than women. This may have been partially due to political strategists or political consultants, who tend to be men, wanting the women candidates to be perhaps more relatable and approachable. But think about it. When former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and former Vice President Kamala Harris were running for president both in the primary and the general election, their campaign kept canvassing them as Hillary and Kamala. Former President Obama campaign did not promote him as Barack. Nor did President Trump campaign promote him as Donald.
While some may say that Hillary Clinton’s campaign focused on her first name because there had been a President Bill Clinton, George W. Bush campaigned as Bush even though President George H. W. Bush had been in office less than ten years, previously. He did not run as ‘George W’. Research has shown this name bias undermines creditability and authority. Surnames are indicative of a position of power and respect, first names are not, unless the first name is preceded by a royal title, à la, Queen Elizabeth!
Women’s History Month is a wonderful recognition of women’s achievement throughout history. Besides recognizing women for their contribution to society and culture, provide them respect and equitable pay. They earned it!
Bombing innocent children – Terry Howard
Okay, I’ll take my licks and apologize if anyone finds my headline repulsive; Sorry… Lo siento …Je suis désolé(e) …Es tut mir leid …or Entschuldigung …. 对不起 . …..Now if I missed a sorry in another language, well here’s my blanket apology; I’m sorry about that too.
So, with that said and out of the way, how about we consider our “repulsiveness” in a historical context. Let’s talk about the lingering power of images that are burnt into our subconscious and remain buried there sometimes for a lifetime.
Renewing Diversity No. 14: Interrogating Gender Bias in Artificial Intelligence – by Carlos Cortés, Angela Antenore
In 1816, 19-year-old Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin captivated her close friends with a story about a monster. Two years later, now married and known as Mary Shelley, she stunned the reading world with her novel, Frankenstein, or, The Modern Prometheus (1818).
Frankenstein’s monster was a man. It remained so in most film renditions. Notable exceptions were the 1935 “The Bride of Frankenstein,” who was actually created by Dr. Victor Frankenstein as a partner for his original male version, and the 2026 “The Bride”.
Frankenstein’s monster was not totally evil. He was big, strong, and often unaware of his ability to create havoc because of his size and strength. In some versions, such as Guillermo del Toro’s 2025 film, the monster’s human sensitivities figure prominently.
Today we are dealing with a monstrous new creation, artificial intelligence (AI). To the best of our knowledge, AI doesn’t have feelings. However, we know something else. AI is male tilted, and some of our fellow human beings are responsible.
DEI Cutbacks and Immigrant Mental Health – by Diane Storman
Research increasingly links the erosion of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives, alongside rising anti-immigrant rhetoric, to a significant decline in the mental health of immigrant populations (Lopez et al., 2017). This crisis is the direct result of a convergence of systemic hostility, and the withdrawal of institutional safeguards converge. The impact manifests as increased discrimination, reduced access to culturally competent care, and a pervasive fear of law enforcement intervention. As vital safety nets are dismantled, immigrants are left to navigate a landscape where institutional support is replaced by the constant threat of detention or deportation.
Continue reading DEI Cutbacks and Immigrant Mental Health – by Diane Storman