I remember being very young hearing a story about my grandma that broke my heart. My aunt says my grandma would work all day cleaning ships and would come home filthy. She was dirty from head to toe, the only things clear were her eyes. This was shocking for me to hear. She was always positive and laughing and joyous. But my grandma worked her entire life, put in an arranged marriage at 14, raised her five children by herself, and moved to the U.S. with nothing. Never did I see her cry or down or complain. She took care of her children and grandchildren without a single complaint. I wonder sometimes the courage it takes to move to the U.S. without anything. How she faced ridicule and hate from being poor and never good enough for my grandfather’s mother. She did it without complaint and she never let the hate get to her.
Category Archives: Make a Difference
Projects that are making a difference, improving lives, and building communities.
The Matches in our Differences – by Jolie McGann
Growing up in a predominantly white area, going to a predominantly white school, and participating in predominantly white activities, it took Josephine a moment to recognize and understand the concept of diversity. Her parents worked as hard as they could, but the financial status and lack of free time made it difficult for them and their daughter to explore the world and culture around them. The family was surrounded by and would continue to be surrounded by the same types of people, which is not necessarily a bad thing, but when Josephine was old enough, around 10 years old, to try out for an AAU sports team, she and her family realized the beauty and power of diversity.
Continue reading The Matches in our Differences – by Jolie McGann
Empowering Working Women – by Sydney Brown
A woman can be successful. A woman is successful. A woman is never less and a woman should never be accepted as less. A woman is powerful and a woman is a leader.
This is what I reminded myself each morning as the first day at my new job approached.
I was gifted and accomplished in sports writing and dreamed of becoming a sports journalist. My dream was approaching only days away at Sports Media US with my first-ever job as a sports journalist in the busy city of Chicago. The first day at my job came and went, and while I was getting adjusted to my job I realized something. I didn’t see many women in the office or any women working as sports journalists in particular and that startled me. I didn’t know whether to feel grateful or a little scared, wondering why many women weren’t working alongside me in the office. Nonetheless, I started working on new tasks and writing new stories she enjoyed and spent lots of her time perfecting them even if it meant staying late.
The Injustice of Both Sides – by Alexis Mountry
Enough is enough, the racial discrimination I have encountered living in America is something that we as a country need to fight against. I believe this will make the world a better place and prevent our future generations from having to encounter this hatefulness. Growing up I had one parent who was Laotian and another who was African American. My mom, who is an African American woman, met my dad, a Laotian man, at a restaurant called Steak and Shake when she was a waitress there. They later had me, their biracial daughter, who they were happy to bring to the world.
Continue reading The Injustice of Both Sides – by Alexis Mountry
A Family Addition – by Alison Lemmons
Growing up, I had never had much experience with different cultures. My family, comprised of my mom, dad, and two older brothers, never traveled out of the country, and most of our vacations only took us as far as the beaches in Florida. However, things began to change as I entered the eighth grade.
A few years prior, my parents had announced a big change happening within our family—they were adopting a young girl from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) in Africa. I was finally going to have a sister.
Catalyzing Inclusive Urban Economies- by Ainesh Dey
The Dynamics of Urban Economies in India
In the rapidly changing landscape of urban economies in India, nuanced civic engagement, enhanced transparency, accountability, and representation have come to the forefront as significant issues. This piece seeks to investigate the shift in the public administration’s discourse from a traditional solution to a more collaborative one with the aim of creating inclusive and sustainable policy frameworks.
The prospect of nuanced civic engagement in democratic processes plays an important role in spearheading transparency, accountability and representation. It also strengthens the overall socio-political and economic character of contemporary administrative discourse. At a time when we are experiencing a paradigm shift from traditional redressal of grievances to instances of collaborative solution building, considerable emphasis has been laid on the effective streamlining of policy frameworks, thereby making them more inclusive and sustainable.
Continue reading Catalyzing Inclusive Urban Economies- by Ainesh Dey
Women GroundBreakers & STEM: Lulu Copeland
When Deborah asked me to be part of the Women GroundBreakers Storytelling panel, Serving our Diverse Communities, I knew I had to say yes. She had said yes many times when I reached out. This is my turn. So, here’s my story… (Deborah coached us on telling our story, starting with something easy to share and for others to absorb, consider something that might shock people…then try to blend into something somewhere between the two.)
Politics, Supreme Court and Decisions 2024 – by Marc Brenman
Very recently, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that only Congress could keep anyone off a ballot due to “[engagement] in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof,” under the 14th Amendment to the Constitution. The Colorado Supreme Court had kept Donald Trump off the state’s ballot because of his participation in the insurrection at the Capitol on January 6, 2021. The Court was silent on whether Trump has committed insurrection or not. Allegedly, the Court’s 9-0 decision was due to its fear that political chaos could result if it ruled in Colorado’s favor.
This judicial philosophy is know as consequentialism, making decisions based on the anticipated consequences of the decision. Other major ways of making decisions include stare decisis, depending on previous decisions; strict constructionism, depending on the plain black letter words of Congress and the Founding Fathers; and Originalism, depending on the intent of the Founding Fathers and authors of the Constitution.
The current conservative majority of the Supreme Court has pretended to be Strict Constructionists and Originalists. They showed this tendency for example, in the anti-abortion decision, where they noted that a right to abortion is nowhere found in the Constitution. They shoved the decision off to the states to make. But wait! Secretaries of the states have always made the decision as to who would be allowed on ballots. So the current Court is at a minimum inconsistent, if not hypocritical. Another example of them straying from their beliefs is their decisions on gun control. Here they ignore the plain, original language of the Constitution, which prefaces a right to bear arms with the phrase “a well-regulated militia.” Clearly, no individual acting on his own is a well-regulated militia or a militia of any kind.
If one thinks along the consequentialist lines of the current Supreme Court, where does one end up? The next shoe to drop will be the Court’s decision on Trump’s desired immunity from prosecution. If the Court rules that he is immune, they are giving up American democracy and creating the probability of an American emperor. If the conservative majority rules this way, they will have ignored what President George Washington tried to teach us when he refused to become king.
American democracy has been a mixed bag; we’ve had only about about 140 years without slavery, 100 years of women’s rights, about 80 years of Asian-American rights, about 50 years of children who don’t speak English being able to get a public education, and less than 50 years of disability rights and environmental justice. Even those timelines were sullied by Jim Crow, segregation, redlining, domestic violence, discrimination, and inadequate enforcement of civil rights laws. It was a noble experiment, now ready to be handed back to white male nondisabled suprematists who have nostalgia for slavery and declared War on Women. Trump and his American Nazis are ready to declare victory. About 38 to 48% of the American electorate are ready to surrender their human rights to achieve their view of economic prosperity. This is similar to the Peoples Republic of China, and includes about 52% of white women, half of people with disabilities who vote Republican, and even a substantial minority of African-Americans and Hispanics, all voting against their self-interest.
There seems to be no remedy for masses of people who desire to harm themselves. Undocumented people coming across the southern border have tried to save us from ourselves. Their criminal conviction rate is about 45% below that of native‐born Americans in Texas. But maybe Texas is an aberration. On the other hand, these undocumented people have been growing our food, caring for our children, fixing our roofs, mowing our lawns, and generally doing all the hard work we’ve gotten too lazy to do.
Meanwhile, Democratic congresspeople and mayors in Michigan and senators from Maryland and Virginia are focusing on issues a third of a world away in Palestine instead of serving their constituents. For example, 47% of Cong. Tlaib’s constituents are Black, who have no stake whatsoever in the Middle East, but have many domestic challenges and needs. There must be some middle ground. But as the saying goes, if you see a turtle on its back on a fencepost, it didn’t get there by itself…
Governor “King on Steroids” Mark Robinson – by Terry Howard
“Martin Luther King on steroids!”
Huh? Did I hear that right? No wait. Maybe it was a buildup of wax in my ears. Did I see that right? Or perhaps it was a coffee smudge on my eyeglasses.
But no, as much as I’d like to blame it on my lying eyes or deceitful ears, I heard and read that right. Those were the exact words from the mouth of former president Trump in endorsing Republican Mark Robinson for governor of North Carolina. But he didn’t leave it at that – “I think you’re better than Martin Luther King. I think you’re Martin Luther King times two.”
Okay readers, calm down and take a deep breath. We’ll get through this. I promise.
Continue reading Governor “King on Steroids” Mark Robinson – by Terry Howard
Women GroundBreakers Storytelling: Serving Diverse Communities
On March 7, 2024 we celebrated Women’s History Month with a panel of Women Groundbreakers whose work locally and globally serving diverse communities will Inspire & Instruct. Facilitated by Deborah Levine and sponsored by the American Diversity Report and G100 Women Leaders, the panel shared their expertise and experience. CLICK to hear their WUTC interviews.
**CLICK for PANEL RECORDING**
Deborah Levine is Founder/Editor-in-Chief of the American Diversity Report, award-winning author of 18 books, TN Chair of G100 Women Leaders, opinion writer with The Chattanooga Times Free Press, and a Forbes Magazine top Diversity & Inclusion Trailblazer. She is the Founder of Women GroundBreakers Storytelling and the Women’s Council on Diversity.
LuLu Copeland is a Consultant at Regional Economic & Workforce Development, Director of Economic & Workforce Development Administration at Chattanooga State Community College and Executive Director at TN-China Network. Lulu is the TN state lead for Million Women Mentors (international movement promoting STEM careers for women).
Gail Dawson is an Associate Prof. of Management and Director of Diversity & Inclusion at the Rollins College of Business /U. of TN/ Chattanooga. She holds a Ph.D. in Business Administration (U. of S. Florida) and teaches graduate and undergraduate classes including human resource management, diversity, and organizational behavior.
Vanessa Jackson is a Program Specialist with the City of Chattanooga’s Office of Multicultural Affairs and was one of Chattanooga’s first Neighborhood Relations Specialists, amplifying the voices and mitigating the barriers of diverse communities. She holds a BA in Political Science and Cultural Studies (U. of TN/Knoxville) and a MA in Public Administration (U. of TN/Chattanooga).
Teletha McJunkin has roots in social work where she first learned how to listen deeply and communicate with diverse stakeholders. For the past 8 years, she has been leading and coordinating international, multicultural, multi-lingual teams as they navigate change and develop strategies in the areas of human and environmental rights.
CLICK to hear their WUTC radio interviews.
Note: Event Planner Cathrine Bays: Certified as a government meeting planner by the Society of Government Meeting Professionals, she served as Chattanooga’s chapter president, fundraiser, and educational program leader for 15 years. She recently worked as an Event Strategist for Maritz Global Events and Conference Director for the National Harm Reduction Coalition.
