ColorLines

Last updated
Colorlines
EditorCharlene Sinclair
Former editorsToccara Castleman

Akiba Soloman

Aura Bogado

Kai Wright
CategoriesRace and Politics
FrequencyDaily
Publisher Race Forward
Founded1998
Country United States
Language English
Website www.colorlines.com
ISSN 1098-3503

Colorlines is a digital media platform that seeks to build a political home for everyday people and activists. The platform creates accessible multimedia to power its vision of a just multiracial democracy where all thrive. [1]

Contents

History

Colorlines was founded in 1998 as a print publication published jointly by the Applied Research Center (now Race Forward), and the now defunct Center for Third World Organizing, a training center for community organizers of color. [2] Founded by Bob Wing and Jeff Chang, Colorlines worked to popularize a race-centered cultural and political analysis and bring attention to contemporary race justice issues and movements in the United States. [3]

In 2010, Colorlines became an exclusively digital publication featuring investigative reporting and news analysis from the perspective of communities of color. [4] For over a decade, Colorlines published award-winning journalism and articles that ranged from essays, investigative reports, think pieces, opinion columns, and cultural criticism. The publication's shift to digital publishing resulted in national recognition and an annual readership of over 20 million.

Under the leadership of Dr. Charlene Sinclair, Chief of Staff at Race Forward, Colorlines restructured in the fall of 2022 to meet the demands of the political landscape and grew into a digital multimedia platform. Today, Colorlines creates accessible media to power its vision of a just democracy where all thrive. Its full launch is pending for January 2023. [5]

Notable Impact and Awards

In 2011, Race Forward and Colorlines launched a pledge campaign to drop the usage of the word “illegal” in reference to undocumented immigrants. On November 15, 2011, Drop the I-Word called on the Associated Press to remove “Illegal Immigrant” from Stylebook. In April 2013, the Associated Press announced the change via a Blog post. The New York Times and USA Today also announced the consideration of discontinuing its use. The L.A. Times followed suit on May 1, 2013.

In November 2011, Race Forward and Colorlines published the “Shattered Families” report after a yearlong investigative reporting by Colorlines. [6] The investigation discovered that more than 5,000 children were stuck in foster care because their parents were detained by ICE. One in four deportees have U.S.-born kids and face a total loss of parental rights.

The report, along with a series of investigative articles, received an exclusive on ABC's Nightline, revealing the truth that parents were being separated from their US citizen children due to deportation.

In May 2012, Colorlines journalist, Seth Freed, received the 2012 Hillman Prize for Web Journalism. [7] The journalism prize is awarded annually to journalists, writers, and public figures who pursue social justice and public policy for the common good. This award was for the Shattered Families yearlong investigation on kids lost in the U.S. Deportation system.

In 2015, Colorlines and Race Forward published Race Reporting Guide, providing critical language and story framing to reflect ethical and rigorous journalistic standards that affirm the dignity and human rights of people of all races.

About the Publisher

Race Forward publishes Colorlines. Race Forward (formerly known as ARC - Applied Research Center) was founded in 1981 to bring systemic analysis and an innovative approach to complex race issues to help people take effective action toward racial equity. Gary Delgado founded the Applied Research Center (ARC) as "the racial justice movement’s national home for media, research and activism" [8] and an analytic resource for community organizations of color in the Center for Third World Organizing (CTWO) network. ARC published Colorlines, a quarterly print magazine, starting in 1998. [9]

ARC was rebranded as Race Forward in November 2013. Race Forward merged with the Center for Social Inclusion (CSI) in 2017. Race Forward then became and is now the home to the Government Alliance on Race and Equity (GARE), a national network of local governments working to achieve racial equity and advance opportunities for all, publishes Colorlines, and presents Facing Race, the country's largest multiracial conference on racial justice.

The Center for Social Inclusion (CSI) was founded in 2002 by Maya Wiley and Jocelyn Sargent to catalyze community, government, and other institutions to dismantle structural racial inequity and create equitable outcomes for all. CSI worked to link research and advocacy to build capacity in communities of color and to forge links with others to increase our understanding of structural racism, and how it operates, and to develop long-term strategies to dismantle it.

Related Research Articles

Race and ethnicity in the United States census, defined by the federal Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and the United States Census Bureau, are the self-identified categories of race or races and ethnicity chosen by residents, with which they most closely identify. Residents can indicate their origins alongside their race, and are asked specifically whether they are of Hispanic or Latino origin in a separate question.

Institutional racism, also known as systemic racism, is defined as policies and practices that exist throughout a whole society or organization that result in and support a continued unfair advantage to some people and unfair or harmful treatment of others based on race. It manifests as discrimination in areas such as criminal justice, employment, housing, healthcare, education and political representation.

The term "person of color" is primarily used to describe any person who is not considered "white". In its current meaning, the term originated in, and is primarily associated with, the United States; however, since the 2010s, it has been adopted elsewhere in the Anglosphere, including relatively limited usage in the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, Ireland, South Africa, and Singapore.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Race and ethnicity in the United States</span>

The United States has a racially and ethnically diverse population. At the federal level, race and ethnicity have been categorized separately. The most recent United States census recognized seven racial categories, as well as people who belong to two or more of the racial categories. The United States also recognizes the broader notion of ethnicity. The 2000 census and 2010 American Community Survey inquired about the "ancestry" of residents, whilst the 2020 census allowed people to enter their “origins”. The Census Bureau also classified respondents as "Hispanic or Latino" or "Not Hispanic or Latino", identifying as an ethnicity, which comprises the largest minority group in the nation.

Pamela Cytrynbaum is an American journalist who teaches and specializes in investigative reporting and restorative justice. She is the executive director of the Chicago Innocence Center and a restorative justice practitioner.

Black Hispanic and Latino Americans, also called Afro-Hispanics, Afro-Latinos or Black Hispanics, or Black Latinos are classified by the United States Census Bureau, Office of Management and Budget, and other U.S. government agencies as Black people living in the United States with ancestry in Spain, Portugal or Latin America and/or who speak Spanish, and/or Portuguese as their first language.

Multiracial Americans or mixed-race Americans are Americans who have mixed ancestry of two or more races. The term may also include Americans of mixed race ancestry who self-identify with just one group culturally and socially. In the 2010 United States census, approximately 9 million individuals or 3.2% of the population, self-identified as multiracial. There is evidence that an accounting by genetic ancestry would produce a higher number. The impact of historical racial caste systems, such as that created by admixture between white European colonists and Native Americans, has often led people to identify or be classified by only one ethnicity, generally that of the culture in which they were raised. Prior to the mid-20th century, many people hid their multiracial heritage because of racial discrimination against minorities. While many Americans may be considered multiracial, they often do not know it or do not identify so culturally, any more than they maintain all the differing traditions of a variety of national ancestries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rinku Sen</span>

Rinku Sen is an Indian-American author, activist, political strategist and the executive director of Narrative Initiative. She is also the co-president of the Women’s March Board of Directors. Sen is the former president and executive director of the racial justice organization Race Forward and publisher of ColorLines.com and Mother Jones magazine.

Educational equity, also known as equity in education, is a measure of achievement, fairness, and opportunity in education. The study of education equity is often linked with the study of excellence and equity.

MediaJustice is an American national non-profit organization based in Oakland, California, established in 2008. Until 2019, MediaJustice was known as the Center for Media Justice. It was founded by Malkia Cyril and its current executive director is Steven Renderos. The organization's mission is "to build a powerful movement for a more just and participatory media and digital world—with racial equity and human rights for all".

Autostraddle is an independently owned online magazine and social network for lesbian, bisexual, and queer women, as well as non-binary people and trans people of all genders. The website is a "politically progressive queer feminist media source" that features content covering LGBT and feminist news, politics, opinion, culture, arts and entertainment as well as lifestyle content such as DIY crafting, sex, relationships, fashion, food and technology.

The Center on Race and Social Problems (CRSP) at the University of Pittsburgh School of Social Work was designed to address societal problems through research, intervention, and education. It is the first center of its kind to be housed in a school of social work and it is unique in both its multidisciplinary approach and its multiracial focus. The mission of CRSP is to conduct solution-oriented social science research on race, ethnicity, and color and their influence on the quality of life for Americans in the 21st century. CRSP has identified seven major areas of race-related social problems: economic disparities; educational disparities; interracial group relations; mental health practices and outcomes; youth, families, and the elderly; criminal justice; and health.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Prerna Lal</span>

Prerna Lal is a United States citizen, born and raised in Fiji Islands with roots in the San Francisco Bay Area. Lal is a founder of DreamActivist, an online advocacy network led by undocumented youth. Through the use of social media, they have been credited for organising an online network to stop the deportations of undocumented youth and they are well known as one of the pivotal figures and leaders of the DREAM Act movement. A clinical law professor, Lal is a frequent writer on immigration, racial justice, sexual orientation, and how these forces intersect. Lal is a graduate of The George Washington University Law School, and works as an immigration attorney.

Racial biases are a form of implicit bias, which refers to the attitudes or stereotypes that affect an individual's understanding, actions, and decisions in an unconscious manner. These biases, which encompass unfavorable assessments, are often activated involuntarily and without the awareness or intentional control of the individual. Residing deep in the subconscious, these biases are different from known biases that individuals may choose to conceal for the purposes of social and/or political correctness. Police officers have implicit bias, regardless of their ethnicity. Racial bias in criminal news reporting in the United States is a manifestation of this bias.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Race Forward</span>

Race Forward is a nonprofit racial justice organization with offices in Oakland, California, and New York City. Race Forward focuses on catalyzing movement-building for racial justice. In partnership with communities, organizations, and sectors, the organization build strategies to advance racial justice in policies, institutions, and culture.

Biracial and multiracial identity development is described as a process across the life span that is based on internal and external forces such as individual family structure, cultural knowledge, physical appearance, geographic location, peer culture, opportunities for exploration, socio-historical context, etc.

Multiracial feminist theory is promoted by women of color, including Black, Latina, Asian, Native American, and anti-racist white women. In 1996, Maxine Baca Zinn and Bonnie Thornton Dill wrote “Theorizing Difference from Multiracial Feminism," a piece emphasizing intersectionality and the application of intersectional analysis in feminist discourse.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ralina Joseph</span>

Ralina Joseph is an American academic. She is a professor in the Department of Communication at the University of Washington, examining representations of race, gender, and sexuality in popular media.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rachel Hardeman</span> American public health academic

Rachel Renee Hardeman is an American public health academic who is associate professor of Division of Health Policy and Management at the University of Minnesota School of Public Health. She holds the inaugural Blue Cross Endowed Professorship in Health and Racial Equity. Her research considers how racism impacts health outcomes, particularly for the maternal health of African-Americans.

Racism in Jewish communities is a source of concern for people of color, particularly for Jews of color. Black Jews, Indigenous Jews, and other Jews of color report that they experience racism from white Jews in many countries, including the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, France, Kenya, South Africa, and New Zealand. Sephardi and Mizrahi Jews also report experiences with racism by Ashkenazi Jews. The centering of Ashkenazi Jews is sometimes known as Ashkenormativity. In historically white-dominated countries with a legacy of anti-Black racism, such as the United States and South Africa, racism within the Jewish community often manifests itself as anti-Blackness. In Israel, racism among Israeli Jews often manifests itself as discrimination and prejudice against Sephardi and Mizrahi Jews, Ethiopian Jews, African immigrants, and Palestinians.

References

  1. "About Colorlines". Colorlines. Colorlines. Retrieved 22 November 2022.
  2. ""Help Us Celebrate as the Applied Research Center Turns 30" Colorlines.com". Archived from the original on 2013-08-15. Retrieved 2022-11-22.
  3. "Speak Out : Biography and Booking information". www.speakoutnow.org. Archived from the original on June 29, 2013. Retrieved 2022-11-22.
  4. Riese (10 November 2013). "Colorlines' Applied Research Center Races Forward By Becoming "Race Forward"". Autostraddle. Retrieved June 26, 2017.
  5. "About Colorlines". Colorlines. Colorlines. Retrieved 22 November 2022.
  6. ""Thousands of Kids Lost From Parents In U.S. Deportation System" Colorlines.com" . Retrieved 2020-11-18.
  7. ""2012 HILLMAN PRIZE FOR WEB JOURNALISM" www.hillmanfoundation.org" . Retrieved 2022-11-18.
  8. Riese. "Colorlines' Applied Research Center Races Forward By Becoming "Race Forward"". Autostraddle. Autostraddle. Retrieved 22 November 2022.
  9. Riese. "Colorlines' Applied Research Center Races Forward By Becoming "Race Forward"". Autostraddle. Autostraddle. Retrieved 22 November 2022.