A Message from Color of Change

It's working.

Last week, after we told you about Glenn Beck calling the president a racist(1), more than 40,000 ColorOfChange members called on advertisers to drop their support for the show, and the advertisers are listening.

Lawyers.com was the first to drop their support for the show. Procter & Gamble and Progressive Insurance said their ads ran during Beck's show without their authorization and that they'll ensure that the same mistake does not happen again. And we're in conversations with others.

But we still need your voice. Some advertisers are refusing to budge. If we can show that more than 50,000 are standing strong, we believe more advertisers will see the writing on the wall. Can you lend your voice now?

http://www.colorofchange.org/beck/?id=1870-530374

We can stop Beck. If we can take away Beck's ad income, we can take away his platform to promote racial fear and division. The leadership that Lawyers.com, Procter and Gamble and Progressive Insurance displayed makes it easier to pressure other advertisers to follow suit.

Not everyone has been so willing to do the right thing, but we believe that 10,000 more of you speaking out would send corporations an even stronger message that Black Americans and our allies mean business. Please take a moment to sign on, and then ask your friends and family to do the same:

http://www.colorofchange.org/beck/?=1870-530374

Folks like Glenn Beck, Lou Dobbs,(2) and Rush Limbaugh(3) are increasingly exploiting racism and race-based fear to achieve their cynical political goals, but the dangers of these tactics are real. The Department of Homeland Security recently reported that right-wing extremists are becoming more likely to resort to violence to achieve their aims.(4) At the same time, President Obama receives an unprecedented 30 death threats a day, there's been a drastic rise in the number of hate groups, and Black folks and immigrants are increasingly the victims of violent crimes and threats.(5,6,7)

FOX has had a long history of race-baiting and racism on its shows, and we've run campaigns calling them out.(8,9) But Glenn Beck appears to be taking the network to an even lower standard. He's trying to divide and distract America when we should be coming together and talking about issues that really matter--like health care and the economy.

The good news is that we have the power to stop this. All major media is funded by advertising. And advertisers, more than anything, care what consumers think. If we want to put an end to folks like Glenn Beck having a platform, we can.

It's up to us, and it can start now. Please join us:

http://www.colorofchange.org/beck/?=1870-530374

Thanks and Peace,

-- James, Gabriel, William, Dani and the rest of the ColorOfChange.org team
August 6th, 2009

Help support our work. ColorOfChange.org is powered by YOU -- your energy and dollars. We take no money from lobbyists or large corporations that don't share our values, and our tiny staff ensures your contributions go a long way. You can contribute here:

https://secure.colorofchange.org/contribute/?=1870-530374

References:

1. "Beck: Obama has 'exposed himself as a guy' with 'a deep seated hatred for white people'" Media Matters, 7-28-09
http://mediamatters.org/mmtv/200907280008

2. "On Television and Radio, Talk of Obama's Citizenship," The New York Times, 7-24-09
http://tinyurl.com/mb467j

3. "Rush and reparations," The Nation, 5-12-2009
http://www.thenation.com/blogs/notion/435392/rush_and_reparations

4. "Homeland Security report warns of rising right-wing extremism, Huffington Post, 4-14-2009
http://tinyurl.com/cpgx6q

5. "Barack Obama faces 30 death threats a day, stretching US Secret Service," The Telegraph, 8-3-2009
http://tinyurl.com/nzt95p

6. "Growing hate groups blame Obama, economy," CNN, 2-26-2009
http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/02/26/hate.groups.report/

7. "Election of Obama provokes rise in U.S. hate crimes," Reuters, 11-24-2008
http://tinyurl.com/nxfdpy

8. ColorOfChange.org email on Fox's attacks on the Obamas
http://www.colorofchange.org/foxobama/message.html

9. "An overview: Fox News and its problem with African-Americans," ColorOfChange.org
http://colorofchange.org/fox/summary.html


-- Posted From My iPod Touch

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A Message from Color of Change

Remember the Angola 3

In 1972 and 1973 prison officials in the biggest prison in the US, an 18,000-acre former slave plantation called Angola, charged Herman Wallace, Albert Woodfox, and Robert King with murders they did not commit and threw them into 6x9 foot cells in solitary confinement, for nearly 36 years. Robert was freed in 2001, but Herman and Albert remain behind bars.

In July 2008 a Federal Judge overturned Albert Woodfox's conviction after a State Judicial Magistrate found his trial was unfair due to inadequate representation, prosecutorial misconduct, suppression of exculpatory evidence, and racial discrimination in the grand jury selection process. Despite this powerful recommendation, Louisiana prosecutors maintain that Albert should remain in Angola for the rest of his life.

As you go through your day, we ask that you take action to help free Herman and Albert from their unfair imprisonment in 6'x9' cells. You can learn more about the case at www.angola3.org. You can take action at colorofchange.org.

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Remember the Angola 3

When Flesh Tone Doesn't Match Your Flesh

Skin Coloured is intended to be a collaborative, visual exploration of what it is to be non-white in a white culture. Make-up, plasters and tights — even when they’re marked “flesh-coloured” — are not the colour of skin that isn’t white. And whilst white women may have trouble matching these items to their skin, for women who don’t class themselves as white, this inconvenience is symptomatic of a wider problem.

To help illustrate this problem, therefore, Skin Coloured is looking for submissions. Send them photographs that illustrate the inadequacy of provisions for non-white people, and they'll post them on the blog, and hopefully both those submitting, and those who’re here to learn, will gain something from it.

Further information can be found here. Please help them by reposting this.

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When Flesh Tone Doesn't Match Your Flesh

Calling Fox News Out on Its Racism

Dear Friends,

Right now, Fox News is trying to paint Barack Obama as foreign, un-American, suspicious, and scary. They're trying to send Americans the message that our country's first viable Black candidate for President is not "one of us."

I've joined on to ColorOfChange.org's campaign to push back on Fox, publicly demanding they stop their race-baiting and fear mongering. If that doesn't work, then we'll go to their advertisers and the FCC. I wanted to invite you to sign on as well. It takes only a moment:

www.colorofchange.com

Here's what happened recently:

After Senator Obama won the nomination, he and his wife gave each other a "pound" in front of the cameras. Fox anchor E.D. Hill called the act of celebration a "terrorist fist jab." Then last week, a Fox News on-screen graphic referred to Michelle Obama as "Obama's baby mama" — slang used to describe the unmarried mother of a man's child. It was a clear attempt to associate the Obamas with negative cultural stereotypes about Black people, an insult not only to Michelle Obama but to women and Black people everywhere.

After each of the incidents mentioned, Fox issued some form of weak apology. But what does it mean when you slap someone in the face, apologize the next day, then slap them again on the third? It means the apology is meaningless.

These aren't one-time incidents — they're part of a pattern that continues no matter how often Fox is forced to apologize. Fox has a clear record of attacking and undermining Black institutions, Black leaders, and Black people in general.

If we don't push back now, we will see more of the same from now until November. Please join me in helping to bring an end to Fox's behavior.

www.colorofchange.org

Thanks, Pia

Stumble It!

Calling Fox News Out on Its Racism

America Runs Over Dunkin Donuts

Apparently racists have gotten a hold of one of America's favorite chefs (Rachael Ray) and peddler of fried confections (Dunkin Donuts). Right-wing hack, Michelle Malkin, declared that Ray was wearing a kaffiyeh (in the picture above), a scarf which is a staple of clothing traditionally worn by Palestinian men. And, in Malkin's mind, Palestinian automatically equals terrorist for some reason.

I'm tired of these kooks with airtime spouting off their racist views without any opposition. Not that it matters, but the scarf Ray wears in the ad is not even a kaffiyeh. At least get that right, nuts. If you're going to be a bigot, please be moderately accurate when you sound the alarm. And so what if it had been a kaffiyeh? All things Arab are not bad. I mean, are we going to do away with algebra? And hey, the terrorists also wear belts, are we going to get rid of them too?

So, Malkin's screeched, and Dunkin Donuts caved, pulling the ad. And that's what makes me angry. How dare this corporation kowtow to bigots! Thankfully, I'm not alone. The ANSWER Coalition is hopping mad too.

The fact that a giant corporation like Dunkin’ Donuts quickly pulled the advertisement is a sign that the pervasive racism, chauvinism and xenophobia peddled by right-wing bigots is a real danger. This is a classic tactic of fascist intimidation and demonization of an entire population.

We demand that Dunkin’ Donuts immediately apologize to the Arab-American community for this disgraceful surrender to racism. Until that apology is issued we will refuse to shop or buy any products marketed by the Dunkin' Donuts Corporation.

The coalition and others are organizing a boycott against DD. Learn how you can join in after the jump.

More -->

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America Runs Over Dunkin Donuts