The 7th episode of Season 2 of the Demystifying Diversity Podcast follows Daralyse Lyons in the third and final installment of a 3-episode series exploring Black experiences, past and present. In this episode, Daralyse explores Black Joy, Success, Culture, and Community. Through personal narratives, interviews, and research, Daralyse and those who generously leant their voices to this episode explore the ways in which Black people have found and continue to develop personal and cultural identity through community and determination. This episode draws heavily upon the personal experiences of those who have persisted through daunting discrimination to become leaders in business, art, academia, and so much more.

In this episode, you will learn about:

• How determination, grit, and risk-taking has enabled Black people of all different life experiences to achieve their goals despite discrimination.

• The power of giving back - reaching backwards to support others that are choosing a similar path as the one you've personally traveled.

• The power of love as a unifying force of creation for the Black community and everyone else.

• How mentorship and community can be deciding factors in the trajectory and scope of someone's success.

• How understanding one's personal identity and experiences is a process, cultivated over time, through a lifetime of work, relationships and experiences.

This episode's guests include:

Don Wyatt - The John M. McCardell Jr. Distinguished professor at Middlebury College, he is an expert in Asian Studies, with a primary concentration in China. Don is currently working on a history of foreign slaves in Imperial China. His lived experiences growing up in a racially-divided Midwest town lend to his expertise in this area.

Kweisi Ausar - Kweisi is an expert in workplace spirituality and other topics related to human dynamics in organizations. He specializes in empowering individuals to transcend undesirable, dysfunctional, and harmful conditioning by cultivating spiritual competencies that are designed to increase mental, physical, and spiritual well-being.

Ghetto Don Visionary - Ghetto Don Visionary is a New York City-based Reggae artist whose music and art is inspired and informed by contemporary events, spirituality, and a willingness to examine racism as an addiction.Through songs like Racist Anonymous and Racism Vaccine, Ghetto Don Visionary invites listeners to confront the dynamics that keep racism alive both within the United States and within themselves.

William Tyrone Toms - The Co-Founder & Chief Creative Officer of REC Philly, a multi-million dollar creative hub and incubator based in Philadelphia, Will was recently named one of Forbes 30 under 30. His mission through REC Philly is to create business ownership for the Black community in Philadelphia, a city in which the population is over 40% Black, but less than 4% of businesses are Black-owned.

Latoya C Smith - Latoya is an editor and literary agent. She has established her own entrepreneurial endeavor as a full-time editor and literary agent after starting her career working for big publishing houses. She is also host Daralyse Lyons' literary agent.

Britany Chung Campbell - Brittany is a book coach and sensitivity reader who helps coaches, consultants and entrepreneurs go from an idea to a compelling book with consistent sales, and specializes in amplifying the voices of authors with historically marginalized voices.

Brittany Monet - A R&B/pop/soul singer, and artist behind the song Better that serves as the theme music for Season 2 of the Demystifying Diversity Podcast. Better was inspired by, and recorded in direct response to the murder of George Floyd in the summer of 2020.

Don Trahan - Don Trahan is a Licensed Professional Counselor, National Certified Counselor, approved Clinical Supervisor Professor, international consultant and global leader in diversity, equity, and inclusion change management and known professionally as Dr. Don. At 35 years old he holds 5 degrees, 2 of which are doctorates. Dr. Don is an expert in intersectional descrimination, in the form of racism and ageism, supporting organizations in shifting harmful dynamics for their workforces.

Jette Stubbs - Jette is a Career & Business Coach, creator of The Happy Career Formula, and co-creator of Mosaic Untold Lives: Secrets and True Stories From Women of Colour. Her experiences in the corporate world shape and inform much of the work she does today.

Hookz - Hookz is a New York City-based, Haitian American musician, producer, rapper and long-time music industry professional. Having started in the music business at the age of 15, Hookz is an expert in the ways in which the industry exploits young artists, particularly those of color, for short-term profit.

Daneil Chambers - A lifelong student with multiple degrees and a passion for learning, Daneil Chambers considers her primary identity to be that of problem-solver. She has made it her mission to think critically and constructively about ways to support positive social change. The founder of ISpy Injustice, she hopes to inspire others to take an active role in dismantling unjust systems and in sharing stories that inspire empathy and cross-cultural understanding.

Channing Gerard Joseph - Channing teaches at the University of Southern California's Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism. He is an award-winning journalist whose byline has appeared around the globe. Channing is a proud descendant of the enslaved people who built America and gave it soul, and has done research to trace his ancestry back to the exact slave auctions in which his ancestors were bought and sold - including the one in which his family's freedom was purchased.

Click here for a full transcript of this episode.