49: Stories of Diversity and Inclusion with Daria Peoples-Riley

<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">I cannot begin to tell you just how excited I am to introduce you to one incredible badass, author and illustrator Daria Peoples-Riley, on today’s episode. Daria is an author and illustrator whose books, as you will hear, are adored by children and adults alike.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">We begin by checking in on how Daria is navigating all that is going on in the world these days, how 2020 has influenced her work, and details on her latest book,</span> <em><span style="font-weight: 400;">America, My Love, America, My Heart</span></em><span style="font-weight: 400;">. Daria then discusses the responsibility of parents, teachers, and librarians to ‘decolonize their shelves’, recounts her professional history including her transition to writing full-time, and shares the stories behind her books and their themes. She also discusses how she battles the inner voice when writing, her perspective of illustrating, the importance of learning through process, and offers a glimpse into her upcoming project. She concludes this moving conversation by offering gratitude to those who have helped her, especially The Highlights Foundation, and offers advice on how listeners can in turn help Black authors and artists. Daria Peoples is truly a gift, and my sincere hope is that today’s profound conversation with this amazing lady will inspire you not only to think and consider your own next chapter, but to also diversify your bookshelf, to support your children’s school in representing diversity and inclusion, and to make your contribution, as Daria states, ‘so that we can reclaim what America is’.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">As always, if you need help keeping up momentum with your goals, setting boundaries, ensuring that you’re taking care of yourself, or even if you just want to chat,</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">please feel free to</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">send me an email at</span> <span style= "font-weight: 400;">support@kellytrav