OUR MISSION
Color Of Change is the nation’s largest online racial justice organization.
We help people respond effectively to injustice in the world around us. As a national online force driven by 7 million members, we move decision-makers in corporations and government to create a more human and less hostile world for Black people in America.
Our campaigns and initiatives win changes that matter. By designing strategies powerful enough to fight racism and injustice—in politics and culture, in the work place and the economy, in criminal justice and community life, and wherever they exist—we are changing both the written and unwritten rules of society. We mobilize our members to end practices and systems that unfairly hold Black people back, and champion solutions that move us all forward.
Until justice is real.
Our Work
Color of Change leads campaigns that build real power for Black communities. We challenge injustice, hold corporate and political leaders accountable, commission game-changing research on systems of inequality, and advance solutions for racial justice that can transform our world.
- Criminal Justice
- Culture Change & Media Justice
- Voting Freedom & Democracy
- Tech Justice
- Right Wing Politics & White Nationalism
- Economic Justice
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Holding Prosecutors Accountable and Accelerating Prosecutor Reform
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Ending Money Bail
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Ending Profit Incentives Fueling Mass incarceration
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Decriminalizing poverty and stopping unnecessary prosecutions
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Implementing fair sentencing laws and sentence reductions
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Stopping prison expansion and prison labor exploitation
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Stopping anti-Black violence and vigilantes
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Ensuring accurate and diverse representations of Black people in media
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Ending inaccurate and racially-biased local news reporting
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Achieving meaningful diversity and inclusion behind the scenes in Hollywood
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Ending inaccurate representations of the criminal justice system on TV
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Expanding voter access and ensuring the votes of all Black people count
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Ending voter intimidation and voter suppression policies, including voter ID laws
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Boosting civic engagement before and after elections
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Ensuring full and fair representation in the 2020 census
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Protecting net neutrality
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Stopping government surveillance of Black activists
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Achieving meaningful diversity and inclusion behind the scenes in Silicon Valley
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Ending unjust practices, racially-biased policies and inaccurate content on social media platforms
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Challenging racist and anti-progressive Trump Administration and state policies
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Dismantling right-wing and white nationalist infrastructure/support
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Targeting corporate enablers of anti-Black policies and culture
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Ensuring equitable treatment for Black employees in the marketplace
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Stopping predatory lending and other predatory corporate practices
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Building momentum for progressive tax, labor and education policies
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The forces that shape our lives are interrelated. We cannot end racism in one area without tackling it in all areas. Racist policing is propped up by racist media narratives on crime and justice. Political inequality is reinforced by economic inequality. Unlivable wages and unfair hiring practices make it easier for corporations to continue to exploit Black workers and consumers.
We design winning strategies to change the written and unwritten rules in the industries that affect Black people’s lives the most and have the greatest potential to advance racial justice.
Strategic Initiatives
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Democracy & Census
Black people have the power to shape our democracy and set the agenda when they speak up and turn out in elections.
Through our Black Brunches we have brought together more than 20,000 people across 20 cities—including many new to politics. Going into 2020, we have tremendous opportunities to register new voters, protect voting rights, and make sure our communities are counted and represented in the 2020 Census.
We are engaging local leaders and our 7M members to help set a progressive agenda and boost civic participation in Black communities. We continue to focus on prosecutor elections—when popularized, they can motivate Black voter participation more than most others, and though they often run under the radar, prosecutor elections have an outsized impact on the life and wellbeing of Black communities.
We are already working to raise the level of Black community involvement in the next election cycle and motivate tens of thousands more to participate in the electoral process.
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COC Hollywood
TV and film play a profound role in shaping American culture. Yet, when it comes to representation of Black people, culture, and issues, far too much of the content Hollywood produces promotes dangerous misunderstandings that holds back racial justice in the real world.
Color Of Change Hollywood is our initiative to change the rules in Hollywood by ensuring accurate, diverse, empathetic and human portrayals of Black people onscreen. We consult on film and TV projects, partner with changemakers inside the industry, work to raise standards around hiring and diversity, and elevate Black stories. And we commission game-changing research, like our Race in the Writer’s Room or upcoming procedural report, to unearth problems and advance solutions on how to make the stories we as a society see more honest, diverse, and equitable.
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Winning Justice
No one holds more power in our justice system than prosecutors. They decide who to prosecute, what the charges will be, and routinely make decisions that destroy Black people’s lives.
We are ushering in a new era of prosecutor accountability by mobilizing Black communities across the country. Already, we’ve pushed prosecutors and candidates in a dozen cities make pledges to put an end to mass incarceration.
We continue to build momentum to end the most unjust, destructive and racist practices underpinning our criminal justice system from money bail to over-sentencing, over-policing, and sending our children to adult prisons.
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Not To Be Trusted
Reliability in the news is more important than ever. Who can we trust? Not surprisingly, when it comes to information about Black people, most news outlets that influence the thinking of decision makers and the public are not to be trusted. They inaccurately represent Black people as drivers of crime, mischaracterize and demonize Black protestors, under-play Black contributions to society, single out and attack Black mothers, and the list goes on.
These inaccuracies and mis-representations are dangerous. They increase demand for disproven public policies that harm us. They also create warped perceptions of Black people that lead to real-world harms: when applying for jobs, seeking health care, interacting with police and prosecutors, trying to pass better laws, or just being a kid in a classroom. Through our News Accuracy Ratings & Report Card, we are exposing this deeply unfair pattern of inaccuracy, and creating a roadmap for improving standards and practices in the news.
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OrganizeFor
Justice for Black communities has never been automatic: we speak up to demand it, and organize to attain it. It often starts with a small group of people who see injustice locally—police violence, racist media, discrimination by a business, de-funding of our schools—and feel they can no longer remain silent. And in every era, Black people have pioneered new ways to build the power we need to get the justice we deserve. Today, more people than ever are ready to step up, but they don’t always have the tools and experience to leverage technology effectively and win.
OrganizeFor is a petition platform and training resource launched by Color Of Change to help people in our communities effectively challenge the injustices affecting the people they care about—family, neighbors, friends and allies. We have also launched the Movement-Building Partnership Program to provide expert training, and a dedicated channel on our platform, for staff at ally organizations.
