Imara Jones is an American political journalist and

transgender A transgender (often shortened to trans) person has a gender identity different from that typically associated with the sex they were sex assignment, assigned at birth. The opposite of ''transgender'' is ''cisgender'', which describes perso ...

activist who is the creator of TransLash Media, a cross-platform journalism, personal storytelling and narrative project. She was also the host of ''The Last Sip'', a weekly, half-hour news show which targeted

Millennials Millennials, also known as Generation Y or Gen Y, are the demographic cohort following Generation X and preceding Generation Z. Researchers and popular media use the early 1980s as starting birth years and the mid-1990s to early 2000s a ...

of color, especially women and the LGBTQ community. She is transgender. In 2019, she chaired the first-ever

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

High Level Meeting on Gender Diversity with over 600 participants. Jones’ work as a host, on-air news analyst, and writer focuses on

social justice Social justice is justice in relation to the distribution of wealth, opportunities, and privileges within a society where individuals' rights are recognized and protected. In Western and Asian cultures, the concept of social justice has of ...

and equity issues. She has been featured in a number of news outlets such as ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'', ''

The Nation ''The Nation'' is a progressive American monthly magazine that covers political and cultural news, opinion, and analysis. It was founded on July 6, 1865, as a successor to William Lloyd Garrison's '' The Liberator'', an abolitionist newspaper ...

'',

MSNBC MSNBC is an American cable news channel owned by the NBCUniversal News Group division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. Launched on July 15, 1996, and headquartered at 30 Rockefeller Plaza in Manhattan, the channel primarily broadcasts r ...

CNBC CNBC is an American List of business news channels, business news channel owned by the NBCUniversal News Group, a unit of Comcast's NBCUniversal. The network broadcasts live business news and analysis programming during the morning, Day ...

NPR National Public Radio (NPR) is an American public broadcasting organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It serves as a national Radio syndication, syndicator to a network of more ...

, Mic,

TheGrio TheGrio is a brand name owned by American media company Allen Media Group for a television network and a website aimed at African-Americans. History TheGrio is to "focus on news and events that have a unique interest and pronounced impact with ...

, ''

ColorLines ''Colorlines'' is a digital news platform that publishes political content focusing on social justice and progressive activism. History ''Colorlines'' was founded in 1998 as a print publication published jointly by the Applied Research Center ( ...

'' and the ''In The Thick'' podcast. She was also interviewed for the New York City

Transgender Oral History Project The Transgender Oral History Project is an initiative by and for the transgender community. TOHP collects interviews and produces multimedia content featuring stories of transgender-identified people, and exists to empower trans folks through shari ...

in collaboration with the

New York Public Library The New York Public Library (NYPL) is a public library system in New York City. With nearly 53 million items and 92 locations, the New York Public Library is the second-largest public library in the United States behind the Library of Congress a ...

. Jones has held economic policy posts in the

Clinton White House Bill Clinton's tenure as the 42nd president of the United States began with his first inauguration on January 20, 1993, and ended on January 20, 2001. Clinton, a Democrat from Arkansas, took office following his victory over Republican inc ...

and communications positions at

Viacom Viacom, an abbreviation of Video and Audio Communications, may refer to: * Viacom (1952–2005), a former American media conglomerate * Viacom (2005–2019), a former company spun off from the original Viacom * Viacom18, a joint venture between Pa ...

, where she led the award-winning Know HIV-AIDS campaign. She holds degrees from the

London School of Economics The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), established in 1895, is a public research university in London, England, and a member institution of the University of London. The school specialises in the social sciences. Founded ...

and

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

. Jones is currently a Soros Equality Fellow and on the board of the Anti Violence Project and the New Pride Agenda.

Education and early life

Jones holds an undergraduate degree in political science from

, and a master's degree in economics from the

. Prior to her career in journalism, Jones worked on international trade policy at the

, and as an executive at

Awards and titles

Jones has won

Emmy The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the year, each with their own set of rules and award catego ...

and Peabody awards for her work. She was named a 2018 Champion of Pride by ''The Advocate'' magazine. In 2023, ''Time'' magazine included Jones in the

Time 100 ''Time'' 100 is a list of the top 100 most influential people, assembled by the American news magazine ''Time''. First published in 1999 as the result of a debate among American academics, politicians, and journalists, the list is now a highly ...

list of the most influential people of 2023.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Jones, Imara African-American activists African-American women journalists African-American journalists African-American LGBTQ people Living people Activists from Atlanta Transgender women writers Transgender journalists Transgender rights activists American transgender writers American LGBTQ journalists Peabody Award winners Columbia College (New York) alumni Alumni of the London School of Economics Year of birth missing (living people) 21st-century American LGBTQ people 21st-century African-American women Transgender history in the United States American transgender women