Medias – Page 10 – Color Of Change

Archives: Medias

Comparison Between Capitol Siege, BLM Protests Is Denounced

Black activists have come out countering the false narrative Republicans are spreading — equating the deadly siege on the Capitol with last summer’s Black Lives Matter uprisings. The latest right-wing effort to misrepresent the BLM movement, they are trying to paint Black activists as violent, anarchist extremists. But BLM leaders distance themselves from provocateurs. In a recent analysis of 7,750 BLM demonstrations in 2,400 locations across the US, it turns out 93% happened with no violence. Color Of Change’s Scott Roberts is quoted saying equating Trump’s rioters to BLM could lead to even heavier law enforcement, surveillance, and violence against Black activists. “There is a real danger of this false equivocation.”

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Racism Rocks Foundation of American Democracy & Color Of Change Is Fueled to Fight

Since the now infamous attack on the Capitol January 6, Color Of Change has rolled out a number of campaigns to stop the spread of white nationalism. COC President Rashad Robinson is quoted. “The wanton disregard for Black life and justice stands in stark contrast to the images of police opening up our country’s Capitol to white supremacist insurgents who vandalized one of the greatest American symbols … To Black communities who have always faced racist policing, the answer is clear; these are the results the system was built to deliver.” For Color Of Change, the solution is to stop investing in a justice system that fails and brutalizes Black community and start investing in one that will keep all Americans safe.

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Can Reality TV Shows Help Lead the Way for Inclusivity?

There are signs the reality TV industry is trying to change its racist ways after a number of Black and Brown cast members complained about stereotyping and how they were being portrayed. Black characters have come forward saying they were edited after the fact to seem crazy or lazy. And since George Floyd’s death set off a racial awakening, networks are listening. CBS announced a goal of having 50% of all its reality cast be BIPOC. Kristen Marston, Color Of Change’s Culture & Entertainment Advocacy Director, is quoted. “We’re seeing studios and networks and execs really paying more attention and addressing the diversity on their sets.” And after 25 seasons, ABC’s The Bachelor has finally cast its first Black lead.

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Police Criticized for Double Standard After Capitol Riot

The difference could not be more stark in how police treated Black Lives Matter protesters last summer and how they responded to a predominantly white, pro-Trump crowd that assaulted the U.S. Capitol. Color Of Change President Rashad Robinson is quoted, saying what happened should come as no surprise. It is further proof of how America’s police force is a system was designed to control and criminalize Black people. “In 2015, the FBI published a report about how police departments had been infiltrated with white nationalists, and we haven’t seen anything in terms of legislation to deal with this… It’s not an accident, what happened, it’s a consequence of a whole set of enablers from those in government to those and social media platforms, to folks in mainstream media.”

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What Netflix’s 2020 Cancelations Actually Say About Diversity In TV

As COVID-19 shut down productions across networks, TV execs scrambled to adjust programming schedules and made calls on series expected not only in 2020, but also in 2021 and beyond. As a result, a slew of shows got the boot. Color Of Change’s Culture & Entertainment Advocacy Director Kristen Marston is quoted. “The recent cancelation of progressive shows with diverse casts speaks to a larger systemic issue that networks and distribution companies have in following through on their commitments to diversity and inclusion. Shows that position BIPOC, women, and LGBTQIA+ stories must not only be greenlit, but supported with resources and promotion to elevate them.”

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America in 2021: Racial Progress in the South, a White Mob in the Capitol

The day after Georgia’s voters flipped the Senate by electing a Black and a Jewish man, underscoring the rising political power of racial minorities, the forces of white grievance politics struck back. Confederate flags few as a white armed mob in support of Trump’s attempts to overturn the election overtook the Capitol. Color Of Change President Rashad Robinson is quoted in making sense of the polarized realities in America today. “We don’t get racial justice out of a true democracy. We get a true democracy out of racial justice. In 2020, for the first time ever, racial justice became a majoritarian issue at the polls. Now we have to do the work to make sure that what is a majority issue actually becomes a governing majority. Because that is how you make a democracy function — when the will of the people are actually delivered on.”

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What Kim Foxx’s Reelection Says About Racial Politics, Fear And Justice

Kim Foxx’s recent reelection as Illinois’s top prosecutor shows that a sea change in American politics in underway. Color Of Change’s Senior Director of Criminal Justice Campaigns Scott Roberts says Foxx’s 2016 election was the start of a national wave of support for reform-minded prosecutors being elected. “We were watching closely to make sure that she was able to bring it home … and really serve as an example to prosecutors around the country,. That we can even survive vicious attacks by everyone from the Department of Justice to local police unions. And even in the face of, frankly, heightened violence in Chicago this summer, that people will still choose a reform agenda, that this agenda is popular, that it’s a winner. And we’re hoping that that will, you know, stiffen the backbone of these prosecutors around the country.”

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‘Blatant Racism in Practice’: For Pinterest Whistleblowers, Settlement Is a Slap in Face

Fast Company talks about what the lawsuit against Pinterest reveals about how much more seriously Silicon Valley takes discrimination alleged by white women than Black women. Color Of Change’s Senior Campaigns Director Jade Magnus Ogunnaike is quoted. “This week, we saw, yet again, another large corporation display clear inequitable treatment of Black employees in Silicon Valley. Pinterest’s handling of Francoise Brougher’s lawsuit—paying out $22.5 million—compared to how the company practically ignored Ifeoma Ozoma and Aerica Shimizu Banks after they called out intense discrimination, is blatant racism in practice.”

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Tech’s Race Problem Is All About Power

Color Of Change President Rashad Robinson is quoted in this article about why big tech still remains so white and so reluctant to deal with the human rights repercussions of its work. Time and again, we see an industry whose products and working conditions contradict the industry rhetoric about changing the world for the better. Too often, experts say, workers from underrepresented groups, regardless of their numbers, aren’t in positions to effect real change at tech companies and face enormous structural barriers in trying to rise to the upper ranks. It’s not enough to just “have the right people in the room,” he says. “If we end up with diversity for diversity’s sake, that doesn’t actually change the nuances, the structures, the contours, and in particular, the rules.”

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AUDIO INTERVIEW: White Supremacy Is Baked Into Our Electoral System

This year’s elections show that that the deep, foundational biases of our democracy have come back to haunt us—again. In this conversation about representation, the electoral college, and how our votes get counted, Color Of Change President Rashad Robinson how barriers to casting and counting the votes of Black Americans have been “baked in” to our political system. “The majority of Americans and went to the polls and did not want Donald Trump to be president. And they elected someone that they do not necessarily love to get rid of Trump.” He says the electoral college was specifically designed to prioritize slaveowners in the South. “What Black people have had to do is win races with our hands tied behind our backs.”

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Far Too Little Has Changed with American Policing

This expose, by a human rights activist and filmmaker who made a documentary about the NYPD, talks about what it’ll take to really change the legacy of violence against Black people by police. Some of Color Of Change’s solutions–making officer misconduct records and disciplinary histories publicly accessible, creating a national registry of officers flagged for firing because of misconduct on the job, and responding to mental health crises with healthcare rather than police intervention–are centered. The Movement for Black Lives similarly proposes democratic community control of local, state, and federal law enforcement, giving the communities victimized by policing the authority to control budgets and hire, fire, and discipline officers.

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The Music Industry Needs to Change. Here’s their Roadmap.

This summer, the Recording Academy gave Color Of Change $1M, asking for their help in addressing racism and inequity in the music industry. Their solution is #ChangeMusic, a roadmap records labels, studios, production and promotion agencies can use to address a history of exploitation and devaluing Black people’s contributions. COC President Rashad Robinson is quoted, “In a year of uprising, sickness, and distance, music has been both a healing force and a call to action. It’s helped us process our pain and drive social change. This moment offers an unparalleled opportunity to take action… the music industry must tear down the barriers that have been up for far too long. #ChangeMusic is our first step.”

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Archives: Medias

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