BRJA 20th Anniversary Event: Opening Reception for Dianne Lyday: Needlework

When: Sun, Jun 5th 3:00pm —5:00pm

When June 1, 2022 - July 18, 2022. Appointments by request.

Dianne Lyday was a long-time member of the Agents of Change Collaborative and a founding member of Baltimore Racial Justice Action (BRJA) in 2003. An essential part of BRJA, Dianne shared her talents as a Facilitator/Trainer, Administrator and Advisory Board member. Dianne passed away (covid related) December 26, 2020.

Dianne was an accomplished poet and writer, author of the book “For the Good of the Children: Racism, Red Tape and the Myth of Family Reunification" and a Baltimore City Historical Society prize winner for penning new lyrics to the state song "Maryland, My Maryland". (These lyrics did not replace the lyrics of the state song but provided alternative, more inclusive, and justice-focused lyrics instead of the original pro-secessionist lyrics.)

Those who knew Dianne for many, many years saw her grow into the person she was aspiring to be, transforming through her deepened understanding of the ways in which white supremacy and racism work in American society, and bringing a level of honesty and self-reflection to discussions that white people rarely have the courage to bring. Dianne knew that being a "white ally" was not an identity, but a sustained and honest practice, and she was faithful and unsparing in that practice. Those who knew her for many years or just a few months knew that about her, and we all loved her for it.

Dianne was not only a valued member, friend, and family within the BRJA community, but she was a daughter, a sister, a mother to Jason and Bryan, and a grandmother and great-grandmother. We are deeply grateful to them for sharing Dianne with us for all these years.

One of Dianne’s loves in life was fiber arts - in particular quilt-making and embroidery, often in large works that combined both. As in other parts of her life, Dianne was all-in once she had a project in mind, and the projects were ambitious in scale. Five of her quilts will be on display (on loan from her son, Jason) as well as embroidery pieces. In addition to Dianne’s work, this exhibit of fiber artists include: Hannah Brancato, Oletha DeVane, Kate Drabinski, Joan Gaither, Alex Garove, Mygenet Harris, Grace Hulse, Diane Kuthy, Olivia Robinson, Harriet Smith, Valeska Populoh, Rachel Valsing. The exhibition of her work was lovingly organized by her family, friends and colleagues at BRJA.