Color of Change

Color of Change

Founded	2005
Founder	James Rucker, Van Jones
Type	501(c)(4)
Focus	Civil Rights, Politics, Mass media
Location	USA
Method	Lobbying, Public Education, Petitions
Key people	Rashad Robinson
Slogan	Changing the color of democracy
Website	www.ColorofChange.org

Color of Change is an organization that aims to strengthen the political voice of black America. It was formed after the events of Hurricane Katrina, a powerful storm that devastated much of the north-central Gulf Coast. Color of Change is a 501(c)(4) non-profit corporation that engages in lobbying and public education. It is registered as a Political Action Committee (PAC) with the Federal Elections Commission. Rashad Robinson serves as its Executive Director.

Background

Color of Change was co-founded in 2005 by James Rucker and Van Jones. Rucker had previously been Director of Grassroots Mobilization for MoveOn.org Political Action and MoveOn.org Civic Action (2003–2005). Van Jones is the founder of the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights and was executive director at the time.^[1] Van Jones left the organization several years later to move on to other pursuits, such as Green For All.^[2] Rashad Robinson is its Executive Director, having joined the organization in May 2011. Robinson previously held leadership roles at GLAAD,^[3] the Right to Vote Campaign,^[4] and FairVote.^[5]

Color of Change began in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, creating campaigns to help the hurricane's survivors.

Color of Change utilizes the Internet, and specifically e-mail, as its main conduit for communicating with its members. Web 2.0 developments such as social networking sites also contributed to the organization's scope and public impact, particularly in the case of the Jena Six (high school students charged with the beating of Justin Barker).^[6] Rucker attributes the viral-nature of e-communications with helping promote the case of the Jena Six, and sees the Internet as a powerful resource for activists looking to garner attention for causes.^[7] The Democratic Strategist also noted that major blogs and supposedly liberal media outlets were largely silent on the case of the Jena Six,^[8] while The Cornell Daily Sun wrote that web-savvy organizations like Color of Change have been able to adopt new Internet technologies for causes of civic protest, but indicated that these new technologies should not be thought of as a total replacement for concrete grassroots work.^[9]

History

American Legislative Exchange Council

Color of Change began a boycott campaign against the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) on December 8, 2011, objecting to ALEC's support of Voter ID laws.^[10] After the campaign was expanded to protest of Stand Your Ground initiatives, following the Trayvon Martin shooting, a number of major companies pulled their funding from ALEC.^[11] Color of Change also urged its members to take online and offline action to convince corporations to quit ALEC.^[12]

Congressional Black Caucus

The organization also lobbied the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) in 2007 to not host a Democratic presidential debate with the Fox network, which it argued "consistently marginalizes... Black leaders and the Black community.".^[13] Democratic presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama eventually decided to shun the Congressional Black Caucus/Fox debate. James Rucker, one of the founders of Color of Change, argued that Fox was using its partnership with the CBC as part of an image building campaign to make itself appear more "Black-friendly."^[14]

In 2008, Color of Change began an e-mail campaign to urge members of the CBC (those who are superdelegates) to endorse candidates according to how their districts voted.^[15] In February, 2008, Representative John Lewis, a senior member in Congress and the CBC, declared that he would switch his allegiance from Hillary Clinton to Barack Obama because his district overwhelmingly supported Obama in its primary.^[16]

Glenn Beck

In 2009 Color of Change launched a campaign urging advertisers on Glenn Beck's Fox News show to pull their ads, in response to comments by Beck in which he called President Obama "a racist" who has a "deep-seated hatred for white people or the white culture".^[17] Affected advertisers switched their ads to different Fox programs.^[18]

Hurricane Katrina

Color of Change was involved with helping resolve issues associated with the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. They advocated for the availability of housing to those whose homes were lost or damaged. One of Color of Change's past campaigns involved garnering support for Senate bill S.1668, which would have repaired and opened thousands of minimally damaged public housing units.^[19] This bill was not enacted.^[20]

Other related campaigns included the support of satellite voting for disenfranchised voters,^[21] advocating justice for Algiers Point shooting victims,^[22] and advocating against the construction of a 5,800-bed prison in New Orleans.^[23]

Jena Six

Color of Change advocated for the Jena Six, a group of six black teenagers who were charged with the beating of a white teenager in Jena, Louisiana, United States, on December 4, 2006.^[24] The Jena campaign was such a galvanizing force that it tripled Color of Change's membership.^[25] According to the Chicago Tribune, Color of Change raised over $200,000 for the Jena Six defense.^[26] A petition created by Color Of Change called for District Attorney Walters to drop all charges and for Governor Kathleen Blanco to investigate his conduct.^[27]

While there was controversy over how money raised by various advocacy groups was spent, the Chicago Tribune‍ '​s Howard Witt noted that Color of Change were the only national civil rights group to be fully transparent with their use of the funds.^[28]

Nas and Fox News

A campaign against Fox News was developed in protest of recurring remarks that some believed to be racist,^[29] including negative comments directed at President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama.^{[30][31][32][33]} This campaign was led by hip hop artist Nas, Color of Change, Moveon.org, and Brave New Films. The campaign collected 620,000 petition signatures, which were delivered to Fox News headquarters in July 2008.^[34]

Pat Buchanan

In 2011 Color of Change launched a campaign urging MSNBC to fire Pat Buchanan for his remarks about white supremacy^[35] and his affiliation with a white supremacist radio program.^[36]

MSNBC suspended Pat Buchanan's show for four months before cancelling it in February, 2012.^[37]

Trayvon Martin

Color of Change began a campaign advocating "justice" for alleged murder victim Trayvon Martin on March 19, 2012.^[38]

Troy Davis

In September, 2008, Color of Change began a campaign in support of Troy Davis. Over 666,000 petitions urging clemency for Mr. Davis were delivered to the Georgia pardons board.^[39] The Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles denied clemency to Troy Davis.^[40] Color of Change released a formal statement after Troy Davis' death.^[41]

Wall Street

Color of Change advocated for the investigation of Wall Street banks in wake of a national housing and foreclosure crisis.^[42]

All My Babies' Mamas

In January 2013, Color of Change launched a campaign demanding the Oxygen network and its parent company NBCUniversal cease production on the reality TV show All My Babies’ Mamas, starring rapper Shawty Lo and the ten mothers of his eleven children. Within days the campaign garnered 45,000 signatures, prompting Oxygen to announce the cancellation of the show.^[43]

Private Prisons

In 2013, Color of Change launched a campaign targeting the private prison industry, demanding “investors and board members of for-profit prison companies to get out of this exploitative business.^[44]” To date, various corporations have since divested nearly $60 million from the private prison industry.^[45]

Saturday Night Live

In October 2013, an open letter penned by Color of Change Executive Director Rashad Robinson and published in the Hollywood Reporter took Saturday Night Live Executive Producer Lorne Michaels to task for the lack of diversity on SNL, pointing out that only three Black women had joined the show’s repertory cast in its then-39-year history.^[46]

Net Neutrality

In July 2014, Color of Change launched a campaign calling out 10 members of the Congressional Black Caucus for opposing efforts to protect net neutrality, demanding they no longer do the “dirty work” of telecommunications companies like AT&T and Time Warner.^[47]

Amy Pascal

In December 2014, Color of Change launched a petition for Sony to fire Amy Pascal, the co-Chairman of Sony Pictures Entertainment, after her racially insensitive e-mails were leaked.^[48][49] Pascal had suggested President Barack Obama would enjoy Django Unchained and The Butler, two films which deal with slavery in the United States and the pre-civil rights era.^[50][51] ColorofChange contended, "Pascal’s comments are confirmation of the manipulative, exploitative relationship corporations like Sony have with Black folks."^[48] They added, "We must hold Pascal accountable here; not just for her horrendous comments, but also for her role at the helm of a corporate agenda that views Black America as one big, lucrative joke."^[48]

References

External links

• Color of Change