I had the honor of speaking to Imara Jones, a journalist and media maker based in New York City who tells trans stories to save trans lives. We talked about the importance of media representation of transgender people, the violence against Black and Brown trans women. and the controversy surrounding BET and the ad that Imara created that never aired although it was supposed to. At our core, we want to be seen as exactly who we are, sadly, living in our truth makes us a target for violence. In 2020 alone, we've had over 27 murders of transgender women in the United States, that is simply unacceptable.
Guest Bio:
Imara Jones, whose work has won Emmy and Peabody Awards, is the creator of TransLash Media, a cross-platform journalism, personal storytelling and narrative project, which produces content to shift the current culture of hostility towards transgender people in the US. She is also the first Journalist-in-Residence at WNYC’s The Greene Space where she hosts the monthly program Lives At Stake. In 2019 she chaired the first-ever UN High Level Meeting on Gender Diversity with over 600 participants. Imara’s work as a host, on-air news analyst, and writer focuses on the full-range of social justice and equity issues. Imara has been featured regularly in The Guardian, The Nation, MSNBC, CNBC, NPR, Mic, Colorlines, and is a frequent guest host of the In The Thick podcast. Imara has held economic policy posts in the Clinton White House and communications positions at Viacom. Imara holds degrees from the London School of Economics and Columbia. Imara is currently a Soros Equality Fellow and on the board of the Anti-violence Project, and the New Pride Agenda. She goes by the pronouns she/her.
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