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Archives: Medias

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What Defunding Police Departments Really Means For Black Communities

As cities start to slash police budgets, COC President Rashad Robinson explains why he supports defunding the police, which he calls a “violent institution,” and uplifting communities of color after decades of disinvestment. “This is not a time for tweaking or tinkering, it’s time to start over,” he says. “Minneapolis has taken the first step towards remaking public safety in a way that protects Black lives and invests in Black and Brown communities. We hope cities across the country follow.”

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Georgia Shows How Serious the Threat of Voter Suppression Will Be

Georgia’s primaries — with malfunctioning machines, long lines, polling sites that opened late and too few back up paper ballots, especially in Black neighborhoods — feel like a warning for what’s to come this November. Rashad Robinson is quoted, “The systemic under-resourcing of polling locations in predominantly Black communities like Atlanta is an intentional method of voter suppression. This is why it’s so urgent that the Senate act immediately to fully fund safe elections in the HEROES Act, and mandate that states spend that money addressing and preventing problems like the ones Georgia primary voters experienced today.”

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Boycott Facebook: Civil Rights Groups Call On Big Advertisers to Yank Ads Over Hate Speech Policies

Color Of Change, the NAACP, Anti-Defamation League and several other civil rights groups are calling on major corporate advertisers to withdraw their money from Facebook in July over its failure to stop hate speech. As the nation grapples with how pervasive systemic racism is in the wake of George Floyd’s death, activists say years of private discussions with Facebook execs about racial violence and discrimination on its platform have resulted in next to no changes. Many think money is the only thing that can sway Mark Zuckerberg now.

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Murder Charge for Atlanta Cop Who Shot & Killed Rayshard Brooks Shows the “Power of a Movement”

Rashad Robinson discusses the killing of Rayshard Brooks, the charges filed against the police officers, and why it’s crucial to defund the police on Democracy Now! “What we’re seeing with these charges is a deep recognition of the power of a movement — the power of a movement to push and exact consequences. At the end of the day we have to raise the floor of what’s acceptable and we also have to keep a deep vision for what human rights looks like.”

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Rashad Robinson on Recent Spike in Hanging Deaths, the Cancellation of “Cops” & Boycotting Facebook

Rashad Robinson is interviewed about how “reality” crime shows are often PR for police departments, showing only cops’ perspective and never diving into the backstories of the people being dehumanized and brutalized by cops. He talks about Color Of Change’s work to get Cops, Live PD, and other shows that glorify corrupt law enforcement pulled off the air.

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As Police Shows Leave TV, Activists Hope Inaccurate Portrayals Of Police Leave, Too

NPR’s Michel Martin speaks with Rashad Robinson, president of Color of Change, about the group’s ongoing campaign to put an end to harmful and inaccurate portrayals of policing on television. After they got Cops and Live PD canceled, he remarked, “What I’m encouraged by is that we are entering a new context where, hopefully, we have the ability to set new rules as more and more Americans wake up to recognizing systemic racism.”

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TV Shows Shape How Law Enforcement Is Viewed. Where Will They Go From Here?

CBS released a statement that “Black Lives, Black Culture, Black Communities Matter.” Many noted the irony, coming from a company where police and law enforcement are the stars of some of their highest-rated, longest-running shows. Color Of Change President Rashad Robinson is quoted talking about the Normalizing Justice report. “We end up with people thinking the system is working fine because of all the images coming into their homes. If you look at these shows, Black people exist. But racism doesn’t.”

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How We Can Build Power & Accountability in This Moment

Join us each week until the pandemic is over as Black leaders talk about the ways we can build power in this moment. We’re proud to partner with Blavity to deliver an honest, Black-led discussion about the pandemic and its impact on Black people. You’ll hear from Color Of Change’s criminal justice, economic justice, voting rights, and media and culture change experts on all the ways coronavirus is affecting us and what we can do about it.

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Democratic Leaders Clash with Black Lives Matter Activists Over ‘Defund the Police’

While Democrats introduced a police overhaul package to outlaw chokeholds and no knock warrants, require body cameras and punish abusive officers, Rashad Robinson says Congress has work to do. “Right now we seem to try to solve all of our society’s problems by increasing the role and responsibility of law enforcement, and it has not worked. There are a number of places — from dealing with grand juries to all the ways in which police get so many different rules after they shoot someone and kill someone — that have to be dealt with.”

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How Coronavirus Is Hurting Black Communities

The coronavirus pandemic is impacting every aspect of our society and exposing deep, systemic inequalities that mean Black communities will be hit harder than most. As the news changes minute-to-minute, BET and Color Of Change are teaming up to make sure Black people have the clear and focused information we need to take action, protect ourselves, and support the most vulnerable in our community.

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Voter Registration Is Soaring Amid Nationwide Protests

This article discusses Color Of Change’s effort to get people registered and out to vote come November. “We’ve seen thousands of people flooding our website to get more information on how to vote, and I think that is a direct response to this moment that we’re in and people looking for outlets to channel their rage right now,” says Jennifer Edwards, COC’s Sr. Director of Digital Engagement and Democracy. There’s been an uptick in voter registrations — especially in battleground states Florida, Texas, and Georgia — as activists work to turn growing calls for police reforms into systemic change.

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Labor Leaders Under Pressure to Oust Police Unions

Since George Floyd’s death, labor leaders have been under pressure to sever ties with law enforcement groups and take a stand against police brutality. Color Of Change is in talks with several AFL-CIO affiliated groups to press for the removal of police unions. Scott Roberts, COC’s Sr Director of Criminal Justice Campaigns is quoted, “There’s a debate going on and we’re trying to support the folks within labor that understand that police unions are not trying to protect the humanity and dignity of all people.”

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