Creating a more inclusive media landscape for Black people
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color of change
We collaborate with like-minded insiders and influencers to change representations of Black people—and issues affecting Black people—across the media landscape.
Our work spans many strategies. Consulting regularly on shows, from ABC’s Grey’s Anatomy to Netflix’s Seven Seconds. Collaborating on content rollout with media outlets such as HBO, A&E and AMC Theatres. Producing content with celebrities to rally participation on issues like criminal justice and voting. Leading accountability campaigns, such as canceling COPS on FOX, and pressuring Saturday Night Live to hire Black women both in front of the camera and behind it. Conducting original research to expose critical problems in the industry and build momentum for industry change.
WHAT WE DO
We help drive culture and narrative change through a number of strategies, partnering with Hollywood insiders to offer services that improve representation of Black people in media.
WHAT WE DO
CHANGING THE RULES ACROSS THE INDUSTRY
CHANGING THE RULES ACROSS THE INDUSTRY
We are dedicated to building power for Black writers, producers and creators. We work to raise industry standards around hiring and representation, resulting in more authentic portrayals of Black people and issues onscreen, more nuanced Black stories, more diversity in writers’ rooms, and real accountability when media companies cross the line.
CONSULTING FOR TV & FILM
CONSULTING FOR TV & FILM
We collaborate with writers, producers and executives to ensure characters and storylines are multi-dimensional and authentic. We consult on projects at any point in the development process – briefing writers on issues like criminal justice, gentrification, and Black families, to name a few, collaborating on storylines, advising on rough cuts and scripts. We’ve worked with ABC, Netflix, HBO and A&E on series including series like Grey’s Anatomy, Seven Seconds, The Red Line, Surviving R. Kelly, and Blindspotting.
CREATING
ACCOUNTABILITY
CREATING ACCOUNTABILITY
Too often, what we see on screen reinforces dangerous stereotypes of Black people. Our Media, Democracy, and Economic Justice team holds companies accountable for racist content. We worked with A&E on the reality show Generation KKK to rework content that would’ve glorified white nationalism. We persuaded Disney not to whitewash the popular Black character Princess Tiana in the Wreck-it Ralph sequel when they tried to straighten her hair and lighten her skin. We went after Linda Fairstein, the prosecutor who wrongfully incarcerated five children in the Central Park Five case, and got Simon & Schuster to stop publishing her popular crime novels after When They See Us aired.
PARTNERING WITH INFLUENTIAL ARTISTS
PARTNERING WITH INFLUENTIAL ARTISTS
Major social change has never happened without artists and leaders in pop culture speaking out. We work with top talent in Hollywood and the entertainment industry to leverage their voices – collaborating on videos that educate and move people to action, making powerful statements in the media, and supporting campaigns for racial justice. We’ve worked with Chris Rock and Keegan Michael-Key on voting rights, John Legend and Common on winning justice, Kendrick Sampson on anti-Black violence, and Matt McGorry on leaning into difficult conversations about race.
COMMISSIONING GAME-CHANGING RESEARCH
COMMISSIONING GAME-CHANGING RESEARCH
We commission original, independent research on problems in Hollywood tied to race and gender. Our 2017 Writers' Room report revealed how few shows give voice to Black writers, and almost none have Black showrunners. It sparked a never-before conversation in the industry about how the lack of true diversity behind the camera affects what we see onscreen. Our forthcoming crime TV report will be the first full analysis of the genre, and expose how popular shows reinforce beliefs that perpetuate violent policing and mass incarceration. Research allows us to confront decision makers with real data, and build momentum for change among industry insiders.
#TELLBLACKSTORIES
#TELLBLACKSTORIES
We also produce original content that elevates issues important to Black communities, which we promote in the media and to our 1.5 million members. In 2018, we launched our #TellBlackStories podcast and video series to create a forum for Black storytellers to dive into the issues that matter most – opening up Hollywood to more people of color and women, winning justice reform, and fueling a social movement based on joy. We showcase Black writers, actors, directors and changemakers from Ava DuVernay and dream hampton to Common and the cast of Queen Sugar.
Featured Media
Media Inquiries: media@colorofchange.org
March 2020CNN
Your favorite crime shows hinder this life-and-death cause
Read MoreLast fall, 60% of prime-time dramas on the major networks were shows about crime, police, and the legal system. As momentum grows for overhauling our police and prison systems, it’s time we asked: are these shows moving us forward or taking us backward?
June 2020The Washington Post
TV Shows Shape How Law Enforcement Is Viewed. Where Will They Go From Here?
Read MoreColor Of Change’s Normalizing Injustice shows the problem with networks releasing statements that Black lives matter as they continue to profit off of shows like Blue Bloods and SVU. “If you look at these shows, Black people exist. But racism doesn’t.”
January 2020Variety
Netflix, NBC, ABC Lead in Depictions of Wrongful Actions by People of Color in Crime Dramas, Study Finds
Read MoreColor Of Change’s Normalizing Injustice reports exposes how crime TV shows glaze over the all-too-real harms our justice system inflicts on Black people. 81% of showrunners on these shows are white men, 78% of the writers are white, and only 9% are Black.
June 2020NPR
As Police Shows Leave TV, Activists Hope Inaccurate Portrayals Of Police Leave, Too
Read More NPR’s Michel Martin speaks with Rashad Robinson, president of Color of Change, about the organization’s campaign to call out cop shows and get inaccurate portrayals of policing taken off TV after they got Cops and Live PD canceled.
January 2020The Hill
TV Crime Shows Present a Warped View of Our Criminal Justice System
Read MoreColor Of Change’s Normalizing Injustice shows how crime series shape the way Americans see policing and prisons. TV creates a culture where people think the justice system is fair and is working, contrary to what legal experts and activists have found.
September 2018BuzzFeed
The Year The Networks Finally Embraced Diversity
Read MoreKristen Marson, director of our Hollywood work, talks about what it was like to grow up Black with only white characters to relate to – and how that’s changing in an era when more Black people are writing, producing, and starring in their own work.
November 2017 The Washington Post
How white TV writers decide the stories Hollywood tells America
Read MoreThis articles on our Race in the Writer’s Room report reveal the stark and startling lack of diversity among writers and showrunners in Hollywood today – and how this shapes the characters and storylines we consume.
April 2019The Hollywood Reporter
Central Park Five Vow to Fight for Justice in Powerful 'When They See Us' Trailer
Read MoreNetflix’s highly watched miniseries When They See Us, directed by Ava DuVernay, sets the record straight on the wrongful conviction of 5 Black and Latino boys falsely accused of a rape in Central Park in 1989. Color Of Change partnered on the release for this series which is opening audience’s eyes to how a racist system of policing and prosecution robs children of color of years of their lives.
January 2019Ebony
Color Of Change Demands RCA Immediately Drop R. Kelly
Read MoreEbony follows Color Of Change’s work with dream hampton on the Lifetime series Surviving R. Kelly and our successful campaign to persuade RCA Records to drop R. Kelly for his horrible abuse of women and girls in the music industry.
March 2019VICE
This Is What Discrimination in Hollywood Writers Rooms Actually Looks Like
Read MoreBehind the Scenes, a new report by Hollywood writers, signed by Lena Waithe and other industry heavyweights, shows how tough it still is for people of color to break into writer’s rooms. They experience serious pushback on their ideas and find it almost impossible to get promoted.
October 2018IndieWire
How Disney Changed Its Mind About Princess Tiana: Color of Change Is Normalizing Diversity in Hollywood
Read MoreFrom Disney animation to reality TV and network writers' rooms, Color Of Change is bringing racial justice principles to Hollywood, rewriting the rules to normalize diversity in films.
May 2019variety
New 2019-20 Broadcast Shows Hit Parity for Female Leads but See Fewer Roles for People of Color
Read MoreRashad Robinson is quoted in this article on how the 2019/20 TV season has fewer roles for people of color than last year. “This is about creating and delivering the stories that shape our culture… that shape who we can be and who we want to be… When people are left out, in systemic ways, it has deep impacts.”
June 2018The NY Times
To Diversify TV Staffs, Database of Minority Writers Is Unveiled
Read MoreAmid a push to diversify writer’s rooms – spurred on by our report showing 90% of showrunners are white, and 65% have no Black writers at all – Creative Artists Agency has created a database of writers of color.
August 2018The Wrap
Indie Distributors So White?: How Lack of Diversity Impacts What Films Get Released
Read MoreIn her four years in film distribution, Alece Oxendine has grown accustomed to being the lone person of color in the room.
December 2016The Washington Post
A&E abruptly cancels KKK docu-series before it airs
Read MoreFive days after A&E announced a documentary series about the Ku Klux Klan, the network has abruptly canceled the project.
March 2018Now This
Why Ava Duvernay's 'A Wrinkle In Time' Is So Important
Read MoreIn this video, Rashad Robinson discusses why A Wrinkle in Time is groundbreaking, and just how important representation of Black characters and heroes are to children of color.
November 2018USA Today
Why that Disney princess moment matters in 'Ralph Breaks the Internet'
Read MoreThis article chronicles how Color Of Change rose up to save Princess Tiana, a pioneering Black princess from the Wreck-It Ralph series, after animators tried to whitewash her features.
THE STAKES are real for BLACK PEOPLE
Television and film play a profound role in shaping American culture. They have an undeniable effect on public perception and social behaviors.
Yet, when it comes to the representation of Black people, Black culture and issues like criminal justice that affect Black communities, far too much of the content Hollywood produces promotes dangerous misunderstandings. This inaccurate and unfair content on-screen ultimately reinforces ideas that hold back progress on racial justice in the real world. It has been proven to affect how Black people are treated by employers, judges, police, politicians, doctors, teachers, neighbors and society at large.
Color Of Change is a racial justice organization powered by more than 1.5 million members, driving change on major issues that affect Black people’s lives. Color Of Change Hollywood is a multi-year initiative to change the rules of media: the written and unwritten rules that shape content development, production, distribution and impact.
BRINGING PEOPLE together
Color Of Change Hollywood hosts gatherings of Hollywood talent and decision makers, creating unique spaces for real talk about issues of race in the industry. We also speak on panels at industry conferences, host our own panels at industry events like Sundance, co-organize parties for movie and television premieres, and more.
2019 Sundance Film Festival
color of change Industry salons
