In this episode of the Demystifying Diversity Podcast, host Daralyse Lyons explores the enduring legacy of white supremacy and racism, and how it currently impacts our society today. This episode is the first installment of the White Allyship series, in which Daralyse interviews white allies who are actively doing work to break down barriers and make the world more inclusive from their self-acknowledged place of power, privilege, and influence.

In this episode, you will learn about:

• How racism and other -isms will continue to pervade our society as long as privileged groups allow it to.

• How microaggressions, when permitted, perpetrate harm in subtle and overt ways.

• The role that privilege, anger, and the shirking of responsibility have in creating a culture of discrimination.

• How, when unchecked, cultures of discrimination and mistrust lead to opression and systems that beget political despotism and autocracy.

• How genuine connection and a desire to understand individual experience is a powerful antidote to creating cultures of discrimination.

Our guest experts this episode include:

Joe Henderson - Joe is a lifetime student and practitioner of non-aggressive martial arts, as well as a student and practitioner of personal immersive development with 35 years experience of training facilitation. Joe is the Founder and Director of Next Level Trainings, Philadelphia.

Melinda Briana Epler - Melinda is the Founder and CEO of Change Catalyst and author of How to Be an Ally: Actions You Can Take for a Stronger, Happier Workplace. Melinda is a diversity and inclusion expert who works as a strategic advisor for tech companies, tech hubs and governments around the world. Her TedTalk, 3 Ways to Be a Better Ally in the Workplace, is a must-watch.

Ryan Honeyman - Ryan is a Partner at LIFT Economy and coauthor of The B Corp Handbook: How to Use Business as a Force for Good. Ryan provides diversity, equity, and inclusion consulting services to B Corps and other social enterprises with a specific focus on working with white-led and/or majority white companies to educate, organize, and mobilize white-identified people towards collective liberation.

John Monaghan - John, the Director of Partnerships at All Aces, Inc. has over 20 years of community engagement and problem solving stemming from his experience in law enforcement. John is a former massage therapist and martial arts devotee turned law enforcement officer who, after retiring from the position of Chief of Police in New Hampshire, became a full-time advocate for racial equity and social justice.

Bryan Miller - Bryan is the Executive Director of Heeding God's Call to End Gun Violence, a grassroots and faith-based organization headquartered in Philadelphia, whose mission is to reduce and prevent gun violence. He has made it his mission to end gun violence, after the loss of his brother to murder in 1994.

Simon Chadwick - Simon grew up in Apartheid South Africa. His father, Bishop Graham Chadwick, was a prominent anti-apartheid activist. He spent much of his young life in South Africa, then was educated at Oxford in politics, philosophy and economics. Now, he is a United States Citizen and the author of For the People: A Citizen's Manifesto to Shaping Our Nation's Future.

Alex Vacaro - Alex is the Richard H. Rothman Professor and Chairman, Department of Orthopaedic Surgery and Professor of Neurosurgery at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia. He has over 830 peer-reviewed and 210 non-peer reviewed publications and is the President of Rothman Institute, Chairman of the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Co-Director of the Regional Spinal Cord Injury Center of the Delaware Valley and Co-Director of Spine Surgery and the Spine Fellowship Program at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital where he instructs current fellows and residents in the diagnosis and treatment of various spinal problems and disorders.

Jen O'Ryan - Jen O'Ryan, the founder of Double Tall Consulting, she is the author of Inclusive AF:A Field Guide for Accidental Diversity Experts and a self-titled accidental expert in diversity and inclusion.

Rob Lawless - In November of 2015, Rob set out to make 10,000 friends through hour-long, one-on one conversations. Now halfway through, he has spoken to people of a variety of backgrounds and identities, from more than 75 countries, and can see how his life experiences have enabled him to take certain risks while being loved and supported in his passions and his purpose.

Emily Anderson - Emily is a former marketing director and lifestyle expert turned human-centered designer who specializes in digital empowerment. When she's not working on another book project or using her writing as a catalyst for change, Emily is striving to bring about gender diversity in tech through her work as a coding teacher for Girls Who Code.

Peter H Reinke - Jr. Business Development Officer & Assistant Vice President at Univest Bank & Trust and the founder of the people-centered networking group Friends of Pete.

Click here for a full transcript of this episode.