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Rashad Robinson

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Rashad Robinson
Born1979 (age 44–45)
EducationMarymount University (BA)
OccupationFormer President of Color of Change
OrganizationColor of Change
MovementCivil rights
Board member ofHazen Foundation

Rashad Robinson is an American civil rights leader. He was the president of Color of Change, an advocacy group.[1] until his resignation in 2024.[2] He has served as a board member of RaceForward,[3] Demos,[4] State Voices,[5] and currently sits on the board of the Hazen Foundation.[6]

Early career

[edit]

After graduating from Marymount College in the early 1990s,[7] Robinson held leadership roles at GLAAD,[8] as Senior Director of Media Programs leading the organization's advocacy and major media campaigns, the Right to Vote Campaign,[9][10] and FairVote.[11]

Color of Change (2011 - 2024)

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In 2011, Rashad Robinson became the president of Color of Change,[12] an advocacy organization founded after Hurricane Katrina with the purpose of assisting black communities in America.

During Robinson's tenure as president, Color Of Change has grown by one million members and expanded to four offices in New York, Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, and Oakland, California.[7]

Robinson organized many of the organization's initiatives, including a campaign to pull funding from the American Legislative Exchange Council.[13] American Legislative Exchange Council is responsible for the "Stand Your Ground" laws implicated in the 2012 death of Trayvon Martin.

Color Of Change helped protect the principle of net neutrality by pushing the FCC to reclassify broadband as a common carrier service.[14] The organization's Winning Justice campaign pushes prosecutors to reduce incarceration, end the use of money bail, and change sentencing schemes under which hundreds of thousands of Black people are imprisoned in the US.[15] The group has also persuaded businesses, including Mastercard and PayPal, to stop accepting payments from white nationalist groups,[16] and business leaders to refrain from sitting on President Trump's Business Council.

Color Of Change is credited with working with Silicon Valley companies including Airbnb, Google and Facebook to improve diversity inside their companies and address policies that harm Black users.[17] Their media and Hollywood teams also work to get content they deem racist and inaccurate taken off air; they have gotten several reality TV shows (All My Babies' Mamas, COPS) and conservative hosts (Bill O'Reilly, Glenn Beck) canceled.

In 2016, the Stanford Social Innovation Review wrote about Color Of Change's integrated online/offline strategies for “pursuing the fight for racial justice at Internet speed.” In 2015, Fast Company named Color Of Change the 6th Most Innovative Company in the World,[18] and named Color Of Change the 2nd Most Innovative Company in the nonprofit sector in 2018.

In September of 2024, Robinson resigned one week after the National Labor Relations Board "ruled that Color Of Change violated federal labor law by unlawfully laying off 54 employees without bargaining"[19] in 2023. Staff at Color of Change celebrated Robinson's resignation, stating that "[h] is destabilizing a place that is supposed to provide Black joy, not just internally, but for the world. We’re hoping that his exit will be a catalyst to change the current toxic work environment that employees are being subjected to."[20]

Media appearances and recognition

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From 2010 to 2014, Robinson was selected as one of "The Root 100," a list of emerging and influential African Americans under 45.[21][22][23]

Robinson regularly appears in the media, including NPR,[24] MSNBC,[25] CNN, PBS, and BET. He has a monthly column in the US edition of The Guardian.[26] His editorials have been published by The New York Times,[27] Huffington Post,[28] The Washington Post, and USA Today.

In March 2015, Ebony magazine called Robinson one of several "breakthrough leaders who have stepped up and are moving forward in the perpetual fight for justice."[29] In May 2015, Huffington Post included Robinson in a series highlighting "some of the people and issues that will shape the world in the next decade."[30] The same month, Robinson received an honorary doctoral degree from St. Mary's College of Maryland.[31]

In 2016, the Stanford Social Innovation Review wrote about Color Of Change's integrated online/offline strategies for “"pursuing the fight for racial justice at Internet speed". In 2015, Fast Company named Color Of Change the 6th Most Innovative Company in the World,[18] and named Color Of Change the 2nd Most Innovative Company in the nonprofit sector in 2018.

On September 25, 2020, Robinson was named as one of the 25 members of the "Real Facebook Oversight Board", an independent monitoring group over Facebook.[32]

Personal life

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Robinson grew up in Riverhead, Long Island, and graduated from Riverhead High School in 1997.[7][33] He began practicing activism as a high school student when he led a protest against a local convenience store that barred students from entering the store during their lunch break.[34][35] He also became involved with the NAACP while in high school.[33]

Robinson attended Marymount University where he obtained a bachelor's degree in political science.[7][36]

Robinson lives in New York City.[35]

References

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  1. ^ "ColorOfChange.org announces Rashad Robinson as new Executive Director". Color of Change. Retrieved September 30, 2024.
  2. ^ Martinez, Alexandra (October 16, 2024). "Color Of Change president resigns following NLRB ruling on layoffs". PRISM.
  3. ^ "Rashad Robinson: Board Member". RaceForward. Retrieved January 15, 2015.
  4. ^ "Board of Trustees".
  5. ^ "Leadership".
  6. ^ "BOARD OF TRUSTEES | THE EDWARD W. HAZEN FOUNDATION". Retrieved July 18, 2019.
  7. ^ a b c d Lewis-Kraus, Gideon (October 25, 2016). "Rashad Robinson Built a Civil Rights Movement for the Digital Age". Wired. ISSN 1059-1028. Retrieved December 10, 2021.
  8. ^ Goode, Morgan. "GLAAD'S Senior Director of Media Programs Appearing Tonight on the Derek and Romaine Show". GLAAD. Retrieved May 12, 2012.
  9. ^ Right to Vote Campaign
  10. ^ Robinson, Rashad. "Nebraska Ends its Permanent Voting Ban for People with Felony Convictions; Legislature Overrides Governor's Veto to Change the States' Felony Disfranchisement Law". Common Dreams. Retrieved May 12, 2012.
  11. ^ "Rashad Robinson". Fair Vote. Retrieved May 12, 2012.
  12. ^ Center, Foundation. "Rashad Robinson, President, Color Of Change". Philanthropy News Digest (PND). Retrieved June 21, 2018.
  13. ^ Lee, Trymaine (May 25, 2012). "Amazon Drops ALEC Under Pressure From Advocacy Group". HuffPost.
  14. ^ Voqal (June 19, 2018). "Color of Change Continues to Fight for Net Neutrality • Voqal". Voqal. Retrieved February 16, 2023.
  15. ^ "Winning Justice". Winning Justice • Powered by Color Of Change. Retrieved February 16, 2023.
  16. ^ Paynter, Ben (August 21, 2017). "Color of Change Is Attacking Hate Groups At The Source: Their Funding". Fast Company. Retrieved February 15, 2023.
  17. ^ Lapowsky, Issie. "Seven years of toil: Inside Color of Change's fight to fix Big Tech - Protocol". www.protocol.com. Retrieved February 16, 2023.
  18. ^ a b Corvey, JJ (February 9, 2015). ".6 Color of Change".
  19. ^ NewsGuild-CWA (September 24, 2024). "Color Of Change ordered to reinstate illegally laid off workers and pay back wages after NLRB Ruling". The NewsGuilt.
  20. ^ Martinez, Alexandra (October 16, 2024). "Color Of Change president resigns following NLRB ruling on layoffs". PRISM.
  21. ^ Piazza, Sean (September 14, 2011). "GLAAD's Senior Director of Media Programs, Rashad Robinson, has been named one of the top 100 emerging and established African American leaders by The Root". GLAAD. Retrieved May 12, 2012.
  22. ^ "2013 The Root 100: Rashad Robinson". The Root. Retrieved October 1, 2013.
  23. ^ "2014 The Root 100: Rashad Robinson". The Root. Retrieved January 15, 2015.
  24. ^ Alvarez, Sarah (June 2, 2015). "Companies Fight Back Against Protesters With Financial Pressure". NPR.org. NPR. Retrieved June 2, 2015.
  25. ^ Harris-Perry, Melissa (July 19, 2015). "More questions than answers in Sandra Bland case". MSNBC. Retrieved July 19, 2015.
  26. ^ "Robinson becomes monthly featured columnist at The Guardian". The Guardian. Retrieved June 3, 2015.
  27. ^ "Equal Internet Access for All". The New York Times. Retrieved May 14, 2014.
  28. ^ "Rashad Robinson". Huffington Post. Retrieved July 29, 2015.
  29. ^ "Leaders of the New School". Ebony. July 22, 2016.
  30. ^ Bendery, Jennifer (May 6, 2015). "Rashad Robinson Is Leading The Social Justice Movement Into The 21st Century". Huffington Post. Retrieved May 6, 2015.
  31. ^ "St. Mary's College Graduates 430 Seniors during 45th Commencement Ceremony". St. Mary's College of Maryland. May 18, 2015. Retrieved May 18, 2015.
  32. ^ Solon, Olivia (September 25, 2020). "While Facebook works to create an oversight board, industry experts formed their own". NBC News.
  33. ^ a b Smith, Nicole (February 27, 2018). "Riverhead grad speaks at Long Island NAACP luncheon | Riverhead News Review". riverheadnewsreview.timesreview.com. Retrieved August 14, 2018.
  34. ^ "Rashad Robinson - Meet Crain's New York Business Class of 2018 40 Under 40". www.crainsnewyork.com. June 26, 2018. Retrieved August 14, 2018.
  35. ^ a b Civiletti, Denise (February 26, 2018). "Riverhead native and civil rights leader Rashad Robinson to NAACP luncheon: 'Build power to change the rules' | RiverheadLOCAL". RiverheadLOCAL. Retrieved August 14, 2018.
  36. ^ Peters, Adele (October 25, 2017). "'Power Is The Ability To Change The Rules': How Rashad Robinson Holds Companies Accountable". Fast Company. Retrieved August 14, 2018.
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