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In the Media

‘Cops’ Revival One Year After Cancellation Labeled ‘Repugnant’ By Activists

A year after George Floyd’s death and Color Of Change got Cops pulled from the airwaves, it’s back on Fox Nation. The reality series was canceled during last summer’s Black Lives Matter protests as a new awareness of how TV shows often glorify violent policing took hold. The decision has been met with anger from racial justice advocates. Jade Magnus Ogunnaike, Sr Director of Media, Culture, and Economic Justice, is quoted. “Color Of Change’s members fought for eight years to have the television show Cops canceled for a reason: It is an insidious program that distorts the truth about crime in our country and purposefully encourages the public to support the harmful behavior of police, prosecutors, and other law enforcement figures. Cops and shows like it should not be televised—on any network.”

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Thousands Were Released from Prison Because of COVID. Will They Have to return?

A year ago the CARES Act prioritized the use of home confinement to release thousands of incarcerated people as COVID-19 roared through facilities. Now their future is uncertain. Color Of Change is calling for their freedom. Sr. Director of Criminal Justice Campaigns Scott Roberts is quoted. “For this particular group of people, most are elderly or sick. Everyone has some kind of health condition that qualified them for release. All have been vetted, and it was determined they could go home. Seems if there is any group we should let remain at home, it is this group… It would make common sense, especially since the president has said he wanted to reduce the prison population.”

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Twitch Streamers Participate in #ADayOffTwitch Boycott

On Twitch, viewers can participate in a live chat while a creator is streaming, and recently there’s been a lot of “hate raids,” where hundreds of automated bot accounts flood the chat with harassment and slurs. Creators who are Black, identify as LGBTQ, and have disabilities have been outspoken about the raids and Twitch’s failure to take action. Color Of Change will soon meet with leaders at Twitch to go over demands to make the platform a safer space for Black creators. Jade Magnus Ogunnaike, Sr. Director of Media, Culture and Economic Justice says, “The most important thing is that tech organizations have to do is build out civil rights infrastructure at their companies. You have to have a team who’s consistently evaluating and seeing problems before they can even happen. If Twitch had a team like this, they would have seen the possibility of hate raids coming on.”

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Black Women on Team USA Have to Play Two Games

Slate interviewed 7 powerhouse Black women from Team USA on the racism they’ve endured — and how they are pushing back to move professional sports forward. Gwen Berry set off a firestorm for raising her fist on the podium of the Pan American Games and is sponsored by Color Of Change. She says, “We can start off with the corporations because, you know, they were the ones donating the most money… I feel like we haven’t seen enough. The problem is people care when it’s relevant, but they will move on after 48 hours or after a month or two, they don’t care about the actual results. Now, the reason that I work with Color of Change is that they have literally been doing everything in their power to make sure we see some type of changes we’ve been advocating for.”

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#ChangeMusic & Diverse Representation Launch Black Music Exec Pipeline Program

As part of its #ChangeMusic initiative, Color of Change is partnering with Diverse Representation to launch the Black Music Executives Pipeline Program to increase the number of Black executives in the industry. While nearly 50% of professionals artists are Black, less than 10% of music executives are. T change this, the Black Music Executives Pipeline Program will select 12 participants for a three-month training program that will provide them with the tools and resources needed to build a successful career later this year. Ryan Butler, DEI Director at the Recording Academy is quoted. “As leaders in the music industry, it is up to us to usher in a new age in vision and set a new tone.”

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Grammy Awards Will Have Inclusion Rider to Ensure Diversity in 2022

The Recording Academy announced next year’s Grammy Awards will be produced using an inclusion rider, an important step toward making the awards more diverse. An inclusion rider is a contractual requirement designed to ensure equity and inclusion at all levels of production. Color Of Change President Rashad Robinson, who helped created the #ChangeMusic initiative and is promoting the new inclusion rider, is quoted. “There are a lot of unwritten rules in the entertainment industry that create racial exclusion, and at Color Of Change, we know that to change society you have to change the rules. This inclusion rider is a written rule that will change the culture of hiring at the Grammys, and will make inclusion the norm.”

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Thought Leadership

NPR INTERVIEW: Live From The HIBT Summit, Rashad Robinson

The Ted Radio Hour’s Guy Raz interviews Color Of Change President Rashad Robinson for their final 2021 main stage event. In this live interview, Rashad talks about finding strength and purpose through activism. On the one-year anniversary of George Floyd’s murder, he talks about why activism does not have to center around sadness and tragedy, how activism is about the power of the people, recognizing victories, celebrating moments of joy, and creating a new era of self- and community-care. “Black joy is not the absence of pain, but the presence of aspiration. It’s not just about what we are fighting against but what we are fighting for.”

Hear the full interview at https://n.pr/3zwku8s

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ATLANTA VOICE OP-ED: “Cop City” is an Environmental Nightmare and a Threat to Black Lives

Scott Roberts, Color Of Change’s Sr. Director of Criminal Justice Campaigns, writes about a new multimillion-dollar militarized police training facility being built in Atlanta — despite the opposition of thousands of residents. The new facility is being nicknamed Cop City. Building it will destroy the city’s forest — Atlanta’s main defense against flooding. Cop City would include shooting ranges and a mock city with buildings and roads to allow APD to practice urban warfare tactics. It would be larger than the NYPD and LAPD sites put together. As Scott explains, “This isn’t just bad policy without transparency; it’s a threat to the environment and Black lives.”

Full article at https://bit.ly/3kvnDRn

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MINN POST OP-ED: Safety Not Fear, a New Approach to Public Safety

Scott Roberts, Color Of Change’s Sr. Director of Criminal Justice Campaigns, explains why we cannot accept tinkering with the current model of policing in place of real change. In Minneapolis, communities are coming together to make the city safer and Color Of Change launched Safety Not Fear. “The campaign gives Minneapolis members a platform to highlight what works and what doesn’t to keep communities safe. It’s clear that police reform and new police training requirements are not working. What we’re doing isn’t working for Black & Brown communities facing police violence, for families concerned about crime, for folks who don’t consider the place they call home safe.”

Full article at https://bit.ly/3zbey4x

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THE HILL: Translating Presence Into Power

The Hill reports on how Color of Change has become a leader in the push to hold tech giants accountable. “Part of what we’ve had to do over the last several years is translate presence into power,” President Rashad Robinson says. He’s been pivotal in pushing social media platforms—especially Facebook, to conduct a civil rights audit. “My work every single day is working to build the infrastructure to get people lined up to fight — so we can have more people fighting for change, more people holding these companies accountable, and more ways to right the balance of power.”

Full article at https://bit.ly/38RLlkk

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THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER: Pride 2021 & 10 LGBTQ Changemakers

Color Of Change President Rashad Robinson made the Hollywood Reporter’s top 10 list of LGBTQ changemakers this year. After George Floyd was murdered, his renewed efforts to make the entertainment industry confront its portrayals of cops had a huge impact. COPS and Live PD were canceled, and more than a dozen TV shows brought on Color of Change to rethink depictions of policing, the justice system and racism. Next Robinson wants to see people of color get their due in LGBTQ stories.

Full article at https://bit.ly/2X3i587

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WASHINGTON POST INTERVIEW: Rashad Robinson Is an Intersectional Leader Fighting for Equity & Justice

Columnist Jonathan Capeheart sat down with Color Of Change President Rashad Robinson – who he calls “a civil rights leader you should be paying more attention to” – for Pride month. Rashad calls what’s happening now “a deep cultural shift in America” and explains what it is means that racial justice has become a majoritarian issue in America as racial justice that moved people to the streets. He talks about how to transform the presence of Black people into real power, and what cues we can follow from the LGBTQ movement.

Full audio interview at https://wapo.st/3yYadl7