What if you had the opportunity to hear compelling firsthand accounts about the often life-or-death stakes of unchecked biases and bigotry? Would you listen?
Biracial journalist Daralyse Lyons has interviewed more than 100 people – academics, politicians, thought-leaders, advocates, activists, and even an incarcerated inmate – for an in-depth exploration of a wide range of topics related to diversity, equity and inclusion. Every other week, for ten weeks, she’ll invite you to join her to learn more about a topic related to diversity. This podcast encourages listener participation, so, on alternating weeks, Daralyse and her co-collaborator AnnaMarie Jones will host a Q&A episode in which they answer listeners’ questions, share about the interview and podcast compilation process, and delve more deeply into each topic. They are excited to partner with you to demystify diversity.
What value does it offer to the listening audience?
- Become more independent and curious thinkers
- Understand more about other races, cultures, religions, orientations, and experiences
- Engage in a community of others who care about diversity and inclusion
- Increase racial literacy and cultural competency
About Daralyse Lyons:
Daralyse Lyons, aka the Transformational Storyteller, is a journalist, an actor, and an activist. She has written more than two dozen full-length books, a handful of short stories, and countless articles, performed in various plays and in improv comedy shows. A member of the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) and a summa cum laude graduate of NYU, with a double-major in English and Religious Studies and a minor in History, she is passionate about exposing the painful side of history, the side that is not written by oppressors. Through her studies, she has come to see the beautiful and overlapping philosophies of Judaism, Islam and Christianity and wonders why people so often use religion as a battering ram, instead of a source of solace and support. As a Biracial woman, she has made it her mission to stand for a more integrated world. As a member of the LGBTQIA+ community, she has had to find her place amidst a multitude of communities that attempt to erase her orientation and has been a voice within the darkness. She has written and spoken extensively on the subject of diversity. Her perspective is one that looks to acknowledge the past while refusing to become incapacitated by it.
AnnaMarie Jones:
AnnaMarie Jones, is a mom, wife, journalist, community advocate, and local TV independent producer. A member of the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ), she is a graduate of Syracuse University, majoring in Speech Communication and minoring in Spanish. AnnaMarie is a board member of St. Mary’s Episcopal Church in Wayne,PA where she helped found the Mainline Refugee Resettlement Organization that gave five refugees from the DRC a safe place to rebuild their lives. She feels blessed to now call these fabulous five brave and beautiful people friends.
Looking beyond oneself, and investing time in community and others, is something that was modeled for AnnaMarie by her late father, Ernest James George. Ernest was born into poverty, systemic racism, and segregation in New Orleans, LA. However, as a light-skinned Black man, he beat the system and was the first in his family to attend college, paving the way for his brothers and sister to get an education too. Ernest eventually became a successful small business owner and philanthropist in the community of Long Branch, NJ, where he did as much as he could to make it a better place for those who live there. As a Biracial woman, AnnaMarie’s passion to foster diversity, equity, and inclusion in her community and beyond, stems from her heart’s desire to honor her beloved father and create the kind of world he could only imagine.