WE ARE BETTER THAN THIS, a Virtual Conversation on the Late Elijah Cummings New Political Memoir

Darryl Wilson is a librarian of two years working for DC Public Library at the Petworth Neighborhood Branch. He is a graduate of the University of Maryland, College Park , and a long time resident of Washington DC. His favorite aspect of public librarianship is coordinating programs and activities that speak to the interests of adults within a community.

Darlene Taylor is the founder of INKPEN, a local nonprofit that shares a love of books with students in DC public schools through libraries. After a career in global corporate communications and congressional affairs, Taylor turned her love of literature to fiction writing. She is a lecturer at Howard University and the recipient of fellowships from the D.C. Commission for the Arts and Humanities, American Association of University Women, Callaloo, Kimbilio, and Kweli.

James Dale worked closely with Congressman Elijah Cummings for almost an entire year, gathering childhood lessons, professional and personal stories, insights, reflections, hopes and fears for the future, as well as interviews and input from the Congressman’s colleagues and family, and ultimately worked closely with the Elijah’s wife, Dr. Maya Rockeymoore Cummings, on completing the memoir of this extraordinary life. Jim has collaborated on a number of books on sports, business, medicine, and life lessons. His works include The Power of Nice with agent-negotiator Ron Shapiro; Just Show Up with Hall of Fame baseball player Cal Ripken Jr.; and the recently released The Q Factor with Super Bowl–winning coach Brian Billick.

A former adjunct professor in the Women in Politics Institute at American University, Maya has also served as the vice president of research and programs at the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation (CBCF), senior resident scholar at the National Urban League, chief of staff to Congressman Charles Rangel (D-NY), professional staff on the House Ways and Means Committee, and as a CBCF legislative fellow in the office of Congressman Melvin Watt (D-NC) among other positions.

Maya’s areas of expertise include health, social insurance, income security, education, women’s issues and youth civic participation. She is the author of The Political Action Handbook: A How to Guide for the Hip-Hop Generation and co-editor of Strengthening Community: Social Insurance in a Diverse America among many other articles and chapters. Rockeymoore serves on the board of the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare and the National Association of Counties and is a member of the National Academy of Social Insurance. The recipient of many honors, she was named an Aspen Institute Henry Crown Fellow in 2004 and is the recipient of Running Start’s 2007 Young Women to Watch Award.

A regular guest on radio and television shows, Maya has appeared on NPR, CNN, Black Entertainment Television, ABC World News Tonight, Fox News, Al Jazeera and C-SPAN. Her opinions have also been quoted by the New York Times, Washington Post, USA Today, LA Times, Boston Globe, Black America Web, and Houston Chronicle among other prominent national news sources.

Award-winning journalist Suzanne Malveaux serves as the network's national correspondent, covering politics, national news, international events and culture. Previously, she co-anchored CNN's Around The World and co-anchored the network's Emmy-winning coverage of the revolution in Egypt and the network's Peabody Award-winning coverage of the Arab Spring.

Malveaux also covered the White House for more than 10 years as a White House correspondent--covering Presidents Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, and Barack Obama traveling to Europe, Africa, The Balkans, Latin America, Southeast Asia, Australia and the Middle East. She has interviewed all 5 living Presidents, and several First Ladies. Malveaux also made news when she interviewed Donald Trump in April 2011, challenging him on his false Obama birther narrative, as he contemplated a Presidential run.

Malveaux earned a Bachelor's degree from Harvard University and a Master's degree in Journalism from Columbia University's Graduate School of Journalism.