Category Archives: Uncategorized

“Domestic Infant Suppliers” buckle up – by Deborah Levine

originally published in  The Chattanooga Times Free Press

Writing about abortion is like leaping into a tornado, but here goes. I’ve always hated the idea of abortion, the term evokes pain and suffering as well as sorrow and mourning, whether you’re pro or anti-abortion. But I’ve advocated for giving women choice over their bodies since joining the many Jewish women involved in the first Women’s Liberation March in Manhattan in 1970.

While the protests of the seventies were a revolution, touching multiple area of our lives in the workplace and community,  anti-abortionists saw us as irrational, unattractive feminist shrews. They called us “anti-family,” “angry battle-axes” and “radical Commie lesbians.” The “Domestic Infant Supply” language in the current supreme Court draft doesn’t just echo those sentiments, it magnifies them.
Continue reading “Domestic Infant Suppliers” buckle up – by Deborah Levine

Cedar Christmas Tree by Wesley Sims

Cedar Christmas Tree

Holiday traditions cling like ivy.
As a youth, come mid-December,
I went hunting for a cedar tree with Dad.
We trekked across tan, sage grass fields,
December-drab pastures, or maybe drove
a mile or two into nearby woods
in his ’49 Chevy to find a suitable
dark green specimen about six feet tall,
not so misshapen it couldn’t be trimmed
to some semblance of conical symmetry.
We hauled it home, square-cut the trunk,
made a stand of two crossed boards
nailed to the bottom.
Whacked off a stray branch or two,
whittled the top to take a star.

Continue reading Cedar Christmas Tree by Wesley Sims

A shadow pandemic of gender violence – by Deborah Levine

Originally published in The Chattanooga Times Free Press

As we come to the end of March, Women’s History Month, we need to see this time as a wake up call regarding women’s safety. The shootings at Asian spas in Atlanta, where most of the victims were women, underscore the vulnerability of these women. Yes, the Asian-American community as a whole is experiencing a rising number of hate crimes given COVID. And Asian-American women experience twice as many hate incidents as men.

An Asian American studies professor noted that women have always dealt with harassment and public safety issues, but COVID provided another excuse to target Asian women. Bullies attack the vulnerable and stereotypes of Asian women as meek and subservient make them easy targets. That’s why it was unusual that a 75-year old Asian-American fought back when attacked on a street corner, sending her attacker to the hospital. She isn’t the only woman to be fed up with harassment and violence.

Continue reading A shadow pandemic of gender violence – by Deborah Levine

Art of Healing – by Deborah Levine

originally published in The Chattanooga Times Free Press

Of all the inauguration speakers, the one that truly hypnotized me was Amanda Gorman, the first National Youth Poet Laureate. The tiny young powerhouse joins the roster of famous inaugural poets like Robert Frost and Maya Angelou. Reading “The Hill We Climb”, she had us all climbing with her. It was a joy to see her energy, hear her inspiring verses, and be reminded that poetry heals the soul.

The words bring optimism about the future. A colleague messaged, “The seed of hope has been planted. It is up to each of us to build upon that hope in order to cultivate and strengthen the ties that bind us together as a People —one Nation, under God, with liberty and justice for all!”

Continue reading Art of Healing – by Deborah Levine

Seun Babalola: DOCUSERIES ON AFRICA

docuseries in AfricaOluwaseun Babalola is a Sierra Leonean-Nigerian-American filmmaker who founded DO Global Productions, a video production company specializing in documentaries and docuseries in Africa. Her focus is to create and collaborate on projects across the globe, while providing positive representation for people of color. She is a co-founder of BIAYA consulting, a consulting firm that bridges resource and knowledge gaps for Africa entrepreneurs in emerging industries. BIAYA’s first project was a convention in Lagos, Nigeria  to help build a sustainable creative industry that can grow and export content.

Thanking our ADR Donors

ADROur virtual Town Hall, The Future of Diversity Amid Pandemic,   took place on Sept. 14, 2020 with help from multiple donors.  Your generous support of our mission to Promote Diversity, Foster Inclusion and Counteract Hate is much appreciated. I can’t thank you enough for joining me in these DEI efforts to make a lasting real-world difference – needed now more than ever.

  • Cindy Steede Almeida
  • Lori Strauss Bantz
  • Sandra Benson
  • Earl Berkun
  • David Blair
  • Bill Bond
  • Garnet Chapin
  • Stephen Crevoshay
  • Alnoor Dhanani
  • Lakweshia Ewing
  • Roslyn Gerwin
  • Vivian Hershey
  • Terry Howard
  • Janice Jacobs
  • Marilyn Kallett
  • Elizabeth Keenan
  • Martin Kimeldorf
  • Gene Konsavage
  • Miki Leischner Levine
  • Carole Long
  • Ronald Lake
  • Cathy Light
  • Sharon Riegie Maynard
  • Susan McCuistion
  • Frank Miller
  • Gay Moore
  • Janet Cooper Nelson
  • Jennifer Rose Norred
  • Nicole Sloane
  • Sandy Norris Smith
  • Janet Thal
  • Elwood Watson
  • Barbara Weitz
  • Richard Zachary

Systemic Racism and Corporate Social Responsibility

HISTORIAN ELWOOD WATSON URGES COMPANIES TO SUPPORT BLACK COMMUNITY BY ADDRESSING ECONOMICS OF SYSTEMIC RACISM 

Systemic Racism Corporate Social Responsibility Goes Beyond Cosmetic Changes to Brands, Says Professor  

 

WASHINGTON – Professor Elwood Watson, PhD is calling on corporate America to address the economic impact of institutional racism – in allegiance with the Black Lives Matter movement and all people of color – rather than making superficial branding changes to products some perceive as racist.

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A COVID-19 Mother’s Day Gift – by Deborah Levine

Originally published in The Chattanooga Times Free Press

Maybe you’ll get to hug your mom in person this weekend, but it’s likely that your Mother’s Day moment will be online or by phone. We’re not back to what we call normal and travel is still a luxury many of us don’t have. Especially if Moms are older and health-compromised. COVID -19 may have many of us disappointed over missing a warm embrace, but it should also make us plan the appreciation of the women in our families, and communities, more deliberately.

My daughter in New England announced weeks in advance that my Mother’s Day gift would be arriving soon. It doesn’t matter what kind of present she sends, I could feel her love bubble up through my cell phone. And she probably felt the mommy love I sent her way. We both know that feeling well. It just gets magnified thinking of Mother’s Day. Continue reading A COVID-19 Mother’s Day Gift – by Deborah Levine

Honoring Vietnam War Veterans – Jenna Spain Hurley

National Vietnam War Veterans Day recognizes veterans who served in the US military during the Vietnam War – observed annually March 29.

Vietnam WarIt’s one thing to return to a place for the sake of your own memories, quite another to go there on the pretext of someone else’s, to walk through their shadows and rekindle their nightmares. As a member of the subsequent generation, the Vietnam War is not a living memory for me, much like the East-West divide and Berlin Wall are not so much defining moments in cultural identity for today’s German teenagers as they are fodder for museum exhibits and high school history exams. Even as someone raised in part by a Vietnam War veteran, somehow, the war was something that just simply was, a small, if persistent, shadow in the background of our lives. Continue reading Honoring Vietnam War Veterans – Jenna Spain Hurley

‘Tis the Season of Love, but the Era of Hate – by Deborah Levine

Originally published in The Chattanooga Times Free Press

This time of year should be all about kindness, generosity, and, of course, love. But there’s precious little love in the air these days. Whether watching the news, looking at Face Book, or checking out Twitter, what we see is the glorification of snark. Insults, meanness, threats, and derogatory language permeate every thread of our society’s fabric. We are at war with each other and love is hard to come by. So I resorted to love expressed in a different era, in a different war.   

Continue reading ‘Tis the Season of Love, but the Era of Hate – by Deborah Levine