As a child in racially turbulent Detroit, Mort Meisner witnessed an attack on a black boy as white parents shouted the n-word and threw rocks to protest bussing to integrate his elementary school in 1960.
A short time later, seven-year-old Mort stood helpless and crying as white teens yelled slurs at his Jewish mother while attacking her. This – and the vicious beatings that his father inflicted on Mort, his brother, and his mother inside their run-down home – instilled in him a deep disdain for hatred, violence, and discrimination.
Then, a passion for sports and storytelling inspired Mort to study broadcast journalism at the University of Detroit by day, while working as a rock ‘n roll promoter for famous musicians by night. The wild hedonism of the 1970s rock scene, along with the tragic and troubling chaos of his childhood, laid a unique and bold foundation to launch Mort’s career as a renegade for positive change in the TV news industry.
Enough to Be Dangerous chronicles Mort’s against-the-odds success, and his courageous quest to call out sexism and racism in newsrooms in St. Louis, Chicago, and Detroit throughout the 1980s and 1990s.
In this hard-hitting memoir, Mort exposes rampant racism amongst TV news managers who dubbed black male reporters as ‘garbagemen’ and assigned them the worst stories of the day. Mort fought to change this, but at times realized he was fighting an impossible battle against a racist system, even when he took his case to the EEOC.
Mort also spoke up and out against degrading treatment of female reporters and anchors. And he was never afraid to take his complaints to the leaders of America’s major media networks.
With stories that will make you laugh, cry, and cringe, Mort bares his soul on the pages of Enough to Be Dangerous, by sharing his struggles with cocaine addiction as an attempt to soothe wounds inflicted by his parents’ abuse and the wrongs of the world. He also shares poignant moments about his family, and revelations about the power to heal.
Now a leading broadcast news talent agent for journalists across America, Mort Meisner invites you to dive into his timely insights and experiences that echoes today’s headlines about journalism, racism, and sexism. The book balances the somber stories with scenes that titillate with sex, drugs, and rock ‘n roll.
When you read Enough to Be Dangerous, you’ll get an unforgettable peek into a life fully lived and a legacy that’s leaving a powerful imprint on TV news and people everywhere.
About the author
Elizabeth Ann Atkins is CEO of Two Sisters Writing & Publishing, an Emmy Award nominated TV show host, a journalist, book coach, inspirational speaker, certified meditation teacher, fitness enthusiast, and author of 33 books.
Her memoir-God’s Answer Is Know: Lessons From a Spiritual Life-chronicles her life story and shares her spiritual awakening, along with tools anyone can use to explore their spirituality and live better.
Elizabeth co-hosts the Emmy Award nominated MI Healthy Mind, a weekly TV show that aims to shatter stigmas around mental illness and addiction.
The Oprah Winfrey Show featured Elizabeth as a guest to celebrate her 100-pound weight loss and lifestyle as a health and fitness enthusiast.
Elizabeth and Catherine M. Greenspan co-created Two Sisters Writing & Publishing, which: publishes their books; provides ghostwriting, publishing, and book coaching services; hosts monthly writing contests and the Two Sisters Writing Club; and showcases their blog, A Tale of Two Sisters.
The Two Sisters Writing & Publishing Virtual Speakers Agency enables their authors to share messages of Diversity & Inclusion and other Inspiration to audiences everywhere.
The Two Sisters also teach people how to use meditation and journaling to live better with their Power Journal workbooks.
Elizabeth and Catherine have written and published dozens of books, and were proud to publish their mother’s book, The Triumph of Rosemary: A Memoir, by Judge Marylin E. Atkins. Their mother wrote the book herself, chronicling her controversial, interracial marriage to former Roman Catholic Priest Thomas Lee Atkins.
Elizabeth has a master’s degree in Journalism from Columbia University and a bachelor’s degree in English Literature from the University of Michigan. She studied French at Collège de Rivière-du-Loupe in Québec, Canada.
Elizabeth is an inspiring speaker who recites her autobiographical poem, White Chocolate, and has spoken at Columbia University, the University of Michigan, GM’s World Diversity Day, Gannett, Daimler Chrysler, 100 Black Men of America, the NAACP, Beaumont Hospital, Power Networking, Comerica Bank, the National Association of Black Journalists, and the American Library Association.
She has taught writing at Wayne State University, Oakland University, Wayne County Community College District, and at national conferences.
As an actress, Elizabeth plays a major role in the feature-length film Anything Is Possible, nominated for ‘Best Foreign Film’ by the Nollywood and African Film Critics Association. She composed an original screenplay, Redemption, a gritty drama about a Detroit gangster and a writer. And Elizabeth plays a 1950s journalist in the international shipwreck drama, The Andrea Doria: Are The Passengers Saved?
A former Fox 2 Detroit News writer, she has been a guest on Montel, NPR, Good Morning America Sunday, The CBS Evening News, Tyra, several programs on BET, and other national TV shows. After writing her master’s thesis about mixed-race Americans, her work appeared in The New York Times. She’s also been published in The San Diego Tribune, Essence, Ebony, HOUR Detroit, HOUR Home, HOUR Bride, BET.com, Ms., BLAC Detroit, and The Detroit News, where her articles on race were nominated for The Pulitzer Prize. She also wrote a biography for the Presidential Medal of Freedom tribute for Rosa Parks.
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