Category Archives: About Us

About the American Diversity Report

Coping with a Loved One’s Hearing Loss — by Katie Schwartz

September 20, 2017 Katie Schwartz

Some of us have extra-sharp hearing, and others begin to lose their hearing at different times. For the first time in history, 20% of those in their late teens and early 20’s are reporting signs of a hearing loss – a problem that will cause major challenges for commerce and industry. (One cause for this is loud music played through earbuds for too long.) Presbycusis, hearing loss caused by age, is another challenge, and often starts in the late 50’s or early 60’s. By age 65, one third of Americans experience this problem. There are simple, practical strategies that can help. Here are three taken from the e-book, “What did you say?”

Continue reading Coping with a Loved One’s Hearing Loss — by Katie Schwartz →

Authors R-Z, Teams & Leaders

Harrity Pledge and D&I Challenge – by Mauricio Velásquez

August 18, 2017 Mauricio Velásquez

An Interview with John Harrity, Managing Partner, Harrity & Harrity, LLP

At a recent Association of Legal Administrators, Washington, DC Chapter meeting – John Harrity, Managing Partner and Diversity Partner of Harrity & Harrity was on a panel and presenting his firm’s Diversity and Inclusion Journey. Harrity and Harrity, LLP is an Intellectual Property Firm boutique based in Fairfax, VA, experiencing high growth. He explained their commitment to Diversity and Inclusion (D&I) and said, “We believe that the ‘practice of law’ is advanced by a more diverse legal team – with diversity of background, upbringing, education, and perspective comes quality legal innovation. At Harrity & Harrity, we are committed to The Harrity Rule, a supercharged version of the Rooney Rule that shows our firm’s commitment to D&I is not window dressing or smoke and mirrors.”

Continue reading Harrity Pledge and D&I Challenge – by Mauricio Velásquez →

Levine articles, Music, theater, TV, dance, Of Women, Race & Ethnicity

Interview with Kim Wayans: Comedian & Advocate – by Deborah Levine

July 24, 2017 Editor-in-Chief

Kim is a key member of the Wayans clan that created TV’s In Living Color. The ten Wayans siblings grew up poor in New York City’s Chelsea neighborhood. Elvira, Kim’s mother, was a homemaker and social worker who took the kids everywhere, no nannies, and no babysitter. Their father was a supermarket manager and the Jehovah’s Witness in the family. With no background in the entertainment business and little money, the Wayans’ success is an unlikely story.

Continue reading Interview with Kim Wayans: Comedian & Advocate – by Deborah Levine →

Authors R-Z, Education, Make a Difference

Making Dago and the World A Better Place, One Child at a Time – by Brett Weiss

July 7, 2017 Brett Weiss

DAGO, KENYA

In 2009, I spent about two weeks in the tiny village of Dago, Kenya and came away determined to do what I could to improve the lives of these hard-working, incredibly kind but extremely poor people. I decided I wanted to make the world a better place, one child at a time. Most of us think about how we can make the world a better place but we all struggle with just how to do it. The challenge is daunting.

Dago is a village in southwestern Kenya of 3,000 people where the average family income is less than $2 per day. They live in tiny mud huts with no plumbing. There has been no electricity but this year the school, orphanage and a few homes have obtained limited electricity. AIDS is a major problem and most people will have little to no medical care in their life. Average life expectancy is early forties. Most clothes are hand-me-downs from charities and food insecurity is a major problem. The average person has only four years of education and few have ever gone to high school because the government does not pay any of the costs of high school.

Continue reading Making Dago and the World A Better Place, One Child at a Time – by Brett Weiss →

Authors I-Q

US Territories and the North Korean threat – by The Rev. Dr. John Pawlikowski

July 2, 2017 John Pawlikowski

Listening to the national news programs of late as they report on the intensifying threat from North Korea has raised my ire. Much is made about the future potential of North Korean weapons to hit major population centers of the USA such as Seattle, San Francisco and Los Angles as well as South Korea and its large contingent of American military personnel. Without question all Americans need to share this concern. But mention is rarely, if ever made, of the even greater and current threat to the Pacific regions of Hawaii, Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas and American Samoa. Parts of Alaska also fall into this category. To me it seems that we value the lives of those Americans less than those of us living on the U.S. mainland. We have little sense as a nation of the apprehension currently felt over the North Korean threat by our fellow citizens in places such as Guam.

Continue reading US Territories and the North Korean threat – by The Rev. Dr. John Pawlikowski →

Articles about Writing, Authors A-H

26 tiny paint brushes- on writing! – by Terry Howard

June 21, 2017 Terry Howard

Okay, I love to write.

Am I good at my craft? Well, only my readers can answer that question. But I’m here today to share a bit about my history as a writer utilizing the Q & A format. Here goes:

Q: Terry, when did you decide to become a writer?

A: Although I love sports, it didn’t take me long to realize that a NBA career was not in my future. And science and math were not my strong points. Singing? Dancing? Since I’m the worst singer and dancer in the history of the world I ruled out those two options. So I figured that since putting pen to paper was something I enjoyed, plus I had great English teachers, I decided to major in English in college.

Continue reading 26 tiny paint brushes- on writing! – by Terry Howard →

Authors R-Z, Books

‘Violence Against Black Bodies’ is About More Than Black Deaths – Book Review by Elwood Watson

June 19, 2017 Elwood Watson 1 Comment

It wasn’t supposed to be like this, not now at least. America is firmly within the twenty first century, yet we are struggling to deal with the problem that W.E.B. Dubois so aptly identified in 1903 as the problem of the twentieth century. That problem was the color line, which refers to institutional racism, discrimination and segregation. Looking ahead over a century later, it seems little has changed. While that assertion is unfair to a point—after all, we had a black president and legal segregation is prohibited –certainly the dynamics of racism are still as vibrant, conspicuous and ubiquitous in American life as ever—there is a problem throughout U.S. history that never subsides, and, as if to operate in cyclical fashion, sometimes gains momentum.

Continue reading ‘Violence Against Black Bodies’ is About More Than Black Deaths – Book Review by Elwood Watson →

ADR