Color Of Change helps you do something real about injustice.
We design campaigns powerful enough to end practices that unfairly hold Black people back, and champion solutions that move us all forward. Until justice is real.
This Art Basel, join us for Health, Wealth + Power -- a virtual journey and immersive experience with 4 groundbreaking artists. The exhibit is sure to captivate the mind and illuminate ideas to redefine policing and safety for Black people. It'll be up December 3rd + 4th 10am - 8pm EST.
Today tech is dominated by a few mega-companies. We’ve watched Facebook, Google, and Amazon get bigger and bigger. These monopolies leave us at risk; it's why we still have to deal with misinformation and voter suppression online. It's time for antitrust reform!
Police foundations endanger Black communities, using corporate money to buy weapons and fund surveillance behind closed doors. How can Black Entertainment TV support them? BET’s president sits on the board of the NYC Police Fdn and ViacomCBS donates to them. Not okay.
Wisconsin is protecting a violent white supremacist over the safety of protestors. Kyle Rittenhouse was declared not guilty for 2 murders -- 0 accountability for taking protestors' lives. Wisconsin's leaders need to make a public commitment to squashing any anti-protest bills that put racial justice protesters in danger.
Police foundations are a threat to democracy and Black lives. And you know their sponsors: Verizon, Walmart, Starbucks, Amazon, Bank of America, Target, AT&T, Uber among others. We can't let companies say they support Black people and keep giving to those who harm us.
Monopolies are why healthcare and medication costs continue to skyrocket, why misinformation is still rampant on Facebook, and why small Black-owned businesses struggle to compete. We're asking Congress to invest in antitrust laws that will help promote racial justice.
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RECENT VICTORIES
Criminal Justice
Gwen Levi Is Now Free
Gwen Levi is a 76-year old cancer survivor, grandmother, and Black woman. She is one of thousands who were deemed high risk for COVID-19, and released from prison in 2020 to finish their sentences at home. Recently, she was sent back to prison after missing a phone call from her case manager while attending a computer skills class. In just 4 days, 50k Color of Change members signed a petition calling for her release. Thanks to this public outcry, and the work of her legal team, Ms. Levi was just sent home on compassionate release – which means she is truly free and back with her family, including her 94-year old mother who she helps take care of. Meanwhile we continue to fight for clemency for the 4,000 elders under home confinement who risk being re-incarcerated on a technicality like Ms. Levi, or when the pandemic is declared over.
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Corporate Accountability
Toyota Pulls Funding from Congressmembers Behind the Attack on Capitol
On January 6, 2021, hundreds of armed white nationalists burst through the doors of the Capitol while Congress was in session, threatening to kill people inside. In the wake of the insurrection, we called on dozens of corporations to stop funding crooked Congress members. We launched InsurrectionIncorporated.com, pressuring Toyota, Cigna, AT&T to stop donating to those undermining our democracy. After hundreds of Color Of Change PAC members called Toyota execs, Toyota agreed! Elected officials inciting the insurrection will NOT be allowed to hide behind their Congressional titles. And we continue to hold companies like Cigna, Intel, and JetBlue accountable for supporting those who voted against certifying the 2020 election results and are trying to disenfranchise Black voters today. This is how we protect democracy.
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Corporate Accountability
Color Of Change Helps Athlete & Activist Gwen Berry Attract New Sponsors
All of Gwen Berry’s corporate sponsors dropped her after she boldly raised her fist in protest at the 2019 Pan American Games. Time and again, we’ve seen Black athletes unfairly punished for using their voice to stand up for justice. Color Of Change stepped in to sponsor Berry. We were also part of a successful campaign to get the U.S. Olympic Committee to reverse course and allow athletes to wear armbands, raise their fists, or kneel on the podium to express their political beliefs. Now we’ve persuaded AirBNB and Puma to sponsor Berry as well, which means she’ll have the proper support to succeed going into the Tokyo Olympics. In addition, we continue to demand that the International Olympic Committee drop Rule 50, and calling on major athletic companies like Nike to join us.
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Color Of Change helps people respond effectively to injustice in the world around us. As a national online force driven by 7 million members, we move decision makers in corporations and government to create a more human and less hostile world for Black people, and all people. Until justice is real.
The New York Times dives into America’s evolution with language and the new terms coming into play in the movement for racial justice and gender inclusion. For those pushing for changes in society, words matter — and not just in the ways you’d think. Color Of Change President Rashad Robinson explains how the way we articulate ideas helps us understand who’s to blame for the current imbalances of power and where the real solutions lie. “Saying something like, ‘Black people are less likely to get a loan from the bank,’ instead of saying, ‘Banks are less likely to give loans to Black people,’ might feel like it’s just me wording it differently,” he explains. “But ‘Black people are less likely to get a loan from the bank’ makes people ask themselves, ‘What’s wrong with Black people? Let’s get them financial literacy programs.’ The other way is saying, ‘What’s wrong with the banks?’”
A Minneapolis ballot initiative, which would have removed a requirement for a minimum number of MPD officers, was defeated when 56% voted against installing a new Department of Public Safety with a more holistic vision that relies less on cops with guns. Still many advocates in the “defund” movement see just how much progress has been made. Momentum for similar efforts continue to build in Washington D.C., Austin, and Los Angeles. Color Of Change President Rashad Robinson says social movements can take years to create sweeping change, and this one has pushed a major shift in the conversation in a short time.“I couldn’t imagine a ballot measure like this even being on the ballot three years ago,” he said. “Movements lose until they win.” A Star Tribune analysis found the strongest support among younger voters, around the University of Minnesota, and near where George Floyd was killed. Opposition was strong in wealthy areas, and the city’s largely Black north side, where people expressed fears about violent crime.
Black users say they got blocked on Facebook all the time, sometimes even for just discussing racism, whereas open violent threats against them go unpunished. Color Of Change President Rashad Robinson says the failure to kick Trump off Facebook before the insurrection is indicative of how Facebook sweeps violent, racist threats under the table all the time. Leading up to January 6, Robinson called Mark Zuckerberg to challenge the company’s decision. “Zuckerberg dismissed concerns that Trump’s post would whip up vigilantism against Black community and insisted the post was staying up to warn the public of the threat of military force,” according to Robinson. History, of course, has shown otherwise.
The world reacts to Facebook’s name change to Meta, as people across the world debate the triumphs and failures in creating safeguards for emerging social media technologies, and confronting the limits of corporate greed and the blindspots of corporate culture. The company’s detractors say a name change that nods toward the “metaverse” isn’t enough. Critics include Color Of Change President Rashad Robinson, who told lawmakers on both sides of the aisle, that the new name is“exactly what you should name a company that needs to be broken up.” Many other lawmakers and advocates are quoted as well.
Politico talks about the latest report from Color of Change and watchdog group LittleSis exposing the corporations that contribute to police foundations. The report shows Bank of America, AT&T, Target, Verizon, Walmart, Starbucks, Uber, Delta Airlines, and major sports teams all give to police foundations — funneling money for special equipment and programs that target Black and Brown communities. Now Color Of Change are members are stepping up to urge companies to divest from police foundations across the country. The full report can be found at https://policefoundations.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/Police-Report-2021_10_05_FINALV3.pdf
Many of the same corporations trumpeting support for Black lives are duplicitously bankrolling police violence through little-known but powerful police foundations, a new Color Of Change and LittleSis report revealed. The report highlights financial ties between police foundations and 55 Fortune 500 firms. It notes, “There is a police foundation in nearly every major American city, behind almost every police department, backed by wealthy donors and giant multinational corporations. In 2020, many police foundations’ top corporate sponsors made public statements in support of Black Lives Matter while providing a corporate slush fund for police.” COC President Rashad Robinson is quoted, “Only cutting ties with police foundations will show that corporate leaders are serious about protecting Black lives and bringing our police departments into the 21st century… We cannot let corporations talk about ‘Black lives’ on their Twitter feeds while also funding police violence on our streets.”
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Strategic Initiatives
Democracy & Census
Black people have the power to shape our democracy and set the agenda when they speak up and turn out in elections.
Through our Black Brunches we have brought together more than 20,000 people across 20 cities—including many new to politics. Going into 2020, we have tremendous opportunities to register new voters, protect voting rights, and make sure our communities are counted and represented in the 2020 Census.
We are engaging local leaders and our 1.7M members to help set a progressive agenda around criminal justice reform and boost civic participation in Black communities.
No one holds more power in our justice system than prosecutors. They decide who to prosecute, what the charges will be, and routinely make decisions that destroy Black people’s lives.
We are ushering in a new era of prosecutor accountability by mobilizing Black communities across the country. Already, we've pushed prosecutors and candidates in a dozen cities make pledges to cut incarceration. We continue to build momentum to end the most unjust, destructive and racist practices in our system from money bail to over-sentencing, over-policing, and sending our children to adult prisons.
TV and film play a profound role in shaping American culture. Yet, when it comes to representation of Black people, culture, and issues, far too much of the content Hollywood produces promotes dangerous misunderstandings that holds back racial justice in the real world. COC Hollywood is our initiative to change the rules in Hollywood by ensuring accurate, diverse, empathetic and human portrayals of Black people onscreen. We consult on film and TV projects, partner with changemakers inside the industry, work to raise standards around hiring and diversity, and elevate Black stories.
