ColorOfChange.org changing the color of democracy

We still can't figure out why Businessweek would green-light cover art that depicted minority-borrowers as the sources of bad behavior in the subprime mortgage collapse. The housing crisis devastated communities of color, but Businessweek chose to portray derogatory images of minority homeowners actually benefiting from the crisis. Alyssa Rosenberg of ThinkProgress agrees.. If you believe that images depicting Black folks as lazy or manipulative should never grace the cover of a mainstream news outlet join our campaign to end this kind of misrepresentation at represent.colorofchange.org.

Earlier this month, we learned about advertisements released in April which place an eerily positive spin on Pennsylvania's restrictive and oppressive voter ID law. The ads were the brainchild of Chris Bravacos, a fundraiser for Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney. The ad's slogan, "your right to vote: it's one thing you never want to miss out on," with a smiling cast of multiracial individuals masks the discriminatory function of the Pennsylvania voter ID law. Although the ads have been removed from the internet, the political implications of the video's production continues to resonate.

In order to meaningfully diversify media ownership and ensure access to local programming for communities of color, the Federal Communications Commission must approve hundreds of new community radio licenses in urban centers. African Americans live in cities in significantly higher percentages than the total population, but we are able to tune in to just 7 community radio stations — out of more than 800 in the nation — in our largest 50 urban centers.

The FCC is responsible for ensuring that the public airwaves serve all of the public. But until now, the big commercial media outlets — the ones that monopolize most of what we hear on urban radio — have successfully pressured the FCC to keep community radio out of their most lucrative markets. Click here to tell the FCC today: our cities need community radio!

UPDATE: (02/28/12) "Evangelist Franklin Graham apologizes to Obama for questining his Christian faith"

Rev. Franklin Graham, son of Rev. Billy Graham, just can't seem to accept that President Obama is a Christian. During an interview this morning on MSNBC's "Morning Joe," Graham said that he accepts statements presidential candidates Rick Santorum and Newt Gingrich have made about their faith. But he implies that President Obama is lying when it comes to the topic of his religion. ColorOfChange Executive Director Rashad Robinson had this to say...

XXL Magazine has published a video of a 45-year-old rapper encouraging teenage boys to force themselves on underage girls. The graphic monologue is disturbing. So is the willingness of Harris Publications, which owns XXL, to give this kind of dangerous rhetoric a platform.

We're calling on Harris Publications to fire XXL Editor-in-Chief Vanessa Satten, who presides over the workplace culture that allowed such a grave misstep. Here's the message we sent to our members, after you read it please join us.

Today Fox News' Eric Bolling referenced the tragic death of Whitney Houston in a brutal, race-baiting attack on Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA). Bolling said:

"Congresswoman, you saw what happened to Whitney Houston. Step away from the crack pipe, step away from the Xanax, step away from the Lorazepam because it’s going to get you in trouble.”

On Thursday, Pat Buchanan used his column to announce that he has officially parted ways with MSNBC. He credited the more than 86,000 ColorOfChange members who flooded the network with emails and phone calls late last year. Buchanan writes:

A group called Color of Change, whose mission statement says that it "exists to strengthen Black America's political voice," claimed that my book espouses a "white supremacist ideology." Color of Change took particular umbrage at the title of Chapter 4, "The End of White America."

We gave MSNBC props last month when the network suspended Buchanan. On Thursday, ColorOfChange had reason to celebrate once again.

UPDATE: (03/29/12) Mr. Knighten is eligible to have his charges dropped in exchange for 20 hours of community service.

Last month, police and federal agents raided activist Albert Knighten's home and arrested him. His crime? Operating a pirate radio station out of his spare bedroom. Now the retired Navy air traffic controller faces a felony charge for operating the station without a license — a charge that could land him behind bars for five years. It's the latest incident to highlight the need for community control of media, specifically the important role that low-power radio stations can play in communities of color.

It's an issue that's been on ColorOfChange's radar for a while. We were part of the coalition that helped pass the Local Community Radio Act last year, a major piece of legislation that will ensure that people like Knighten are no longer sanctioned for bringing relevant news and information to their neighbors. Unfortunately for him, the bill is just now being implemented. His station was ahead of its time.

Late last year, the Opportunity Agenda released a report titled, "Opportunities for Black Men and Boys: Public Opinion, Media Depictions, and Media Consumption." 

The report speaks to why what's said in the media about Black folks really matters. An issue of special relevance this week, given our recent victory in removing Pat Buchanan and his white supremacist rhetoric from MSNBC.

UPDATE: You can watch the archived video of the event or listen to the audio recording here.

 On Monday, January 9th, ColorOfChange Executive Director Rashad Robinson will participate in a webcast titled, "Civil Rights and the Airways: Building Community Radio in Communities of Color." Co-sponsored by allies including the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights and Media Action Grassroots Network, this discussion is the place to learn about how to transform the media landscape in your community. Please join us! Tune in here Monday, January 9th at 4pm EST.