ColorOfChange

ColorOfChange
Name	ColorOfChange
Formation	2005
Founder	Van Jones, James Rucker
Type	Nonprofit advocacy organization
Headquarters	Oakland, California
Region served	United States
Focus	Civil rights, racial justice, criminal justice reform, political advocacy

ColorOfChange ColorOfChange is an American civil rights advocacy organization founded in 2005 that uses digital organizing, public campaigns, and policy advocacy to advance racial justice and reform. It engages in online petitions, corporate accountability actions, and electoral work while collaborating with national and local groups across the United States. The organization has influenced media, policy, and corporate behavior through targeted campaigns and coalition building.

History

ColorOfChange was founded in 2005 by Van Jones and James Rucker following the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, with early influence from activists and organizations such as Al Sharpton, NAACP, A. Philip Randolph Institute, Black Lives Matter, Southern Christian Leadership Conference, National Urban League, United We Dream, Dream Defenders, Campaign for Black Male Achievement, Brennan Center for Justice, Advance Peace, MomsRising, Everytown for Gun Safety, Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Service Employees International Union, Amnesty International USA, Human Rights Campaign, ACLU, NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Fair Fight Action, Rock the Vote, Color of Change PAC, Democratic National Committee, National Action Network, Right to the City Alliance, Centrist Project as broader movement references. Early campaigns responded to police violence, mass incarceration, voter suppression, and media representations involving figures like Trayvon Martin, Michael Brown, Eric Garner, Tamir Rice, Breonna Taylor, Philando Castile, Sandra Bland, Freddie Gray, and incidents such as Ferguson unrest, Baltimore protests, and St. Louis protests. Over time it expanded into policy advocacy on issues intersecting with criminal justice, media, technology, and electoral politics, forming partnerships with organizations such as Coalition for Juvenile Justice and Drug Policy Alliance.

Mission and Activities

ColorOfChange's stated mission centers on strengthening political voice, reducing racial disparities, and promoting accountability among institutions implicated in racial injustice, connecting its work to movements involving Civil Rights Movement, Black Power movement, Poor People's Campaign, Freedom Summer, and leaders like Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X, Ella Baker, Bayard Rustin. Activities include digital mobilization, rapid-response campaigns, legislative advocacy, and electoral engagement. The organization lobbies on criminal justice reform measures that intersect with legal actors such as American Bar Association, Sentencing Project, Innocence Project, Brennan Center for Justice, and legal frameworks such as Voting Rights Act of 1965, First Step Act, Civil Rights Act of 1964, and court decisions involving the Supreme Court of the United States. It also focuses on media accountability relating to outlets and figures like CNN, Fox News, The New York Times, The Washington Post, MSNBC, BuzzFeed, HuffPost, The Guardian, Los Angeles Times, NPR, New Yorker, Vox Media, Politico, and broadcasters involved in racial narratives.

Campaigns and Advocacy

ColorOfChange has mounted campaigns targeting corporations, public institutions, and public figures through actions involving platforms and entities such as Facebook, Twitter, Google, Amazon, Microsoft, Apple Inc., Uber, Lyft, Wells Fargo, Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase, ExxonMobil, Shell plc, Walmart, Target Corporation, McDonald's, Starbucks, NFL, NBA, NCAA, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, Sony Pictures Entertainment, Warner Bros., Comcast, Disney, Meta Platforms, Inc., Verizon Communications, AT&T, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson, UnitedHealth Group, Koch Industries, GOP, Democratic Party (United States), Black Lives Matter Global Network, and coalitions including Million Hoodies Movement for Justice. Notable actions included campaigns around media firings, advertiser boycotts, police reform measures after high-profile incidents, and targeted pressure on technology platforms for content moderation and data practices. Advocacy work has intersected with electoral reforms, voter registration drives, and campaign support coordinated with entities like Brennan Center for Justice, Rock the Vote, Fair Fight Action, Voter Participation Center, National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, and labor partners such as SEIU and AFL–CIO.

Organizational Structure and Leadership

ColorOfChange operates with a leadership team and board that have included activists and executives with experience in nonprofit organizing, policy advocacy, digital strategy, and philanthropy. Leadership has engaged with funders and advisors connected to institutions like Ford Foundation, Open Society Foundations, MacArthur Foundation, W.K. Kellogg Foundation, Kresge Foundation, Echoing Green, Rockefeller Foundation, Knight Foundation, Carnegie Corporation of New York, Annie E. Casey Foundation, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, United Philanthropy Forum, and networks including Arabella Advisors and Tides Foundation. The organization coordinates staff in campaigns, research, digital, legal, and development teams and collaborates with allied local organizations such as Black Voters Matter, Color Of Change PAC, Local Progress, Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, and academic partners including Harvard Kennedy School, Yale Law School, University of California, Berkeley School of Law, Columbia University, Howard University School of Law, Spelman College, and Morehouse College.

Funding and Partnerships

Funding has come from a mix of individual donors, major foundations, and philanthropic intermediaries linked to entities like New Venture Fund, Arabella Advisors, Open Society Foundations, Ford Foundation, MacArthur Foundation, Kresge Foundation, Knight Foundation, Rockefeller Brothers Fund, Ford Foundation, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Bloomberg Philanthropies, and corporate contributions subject to scrutiny. ColorOfChange has partnered with civil rights organizations, grassroots groups, faith-based organizations such as National Baptist Convention, United Methodist Church, and policy institutes like Center for American Progress, Brookings Institution, Urban Institute, Economic Policy Institute, and Center for Responsible Lending to advance shared campaigns on voting rights, criminal justice reform, and corporate accountability.

Criticism and Controversies

The organization has faced criticism and controversy over campaign tactics, transparency, funding sources, and decisions to target specific media figures or corporations, drawing responses from entities including Republican National Committee, Heritage Foundation, American Enterprise Institute, Cato Institute, Fox News, The Wall Street Journal, and commentators across The Washington Post and New York Post. Debates have involved questions about donor influence, coordination with larger progressive infrastructure, and the impacts of advertiser boycotts and online pressure on free speech and employment. Legal and ethical critiques have been raised in public discourse by scholars and commentators associated with Hoover Institution, Manhattan Institute, Brennan Center for Justice, and legal commentators linked to SCOTUSblog and academic publications.

Category:Civil rights organizations in the United States