Multimedia Editor / Pop Culture Blogger
Los Angeles, CA
Jorge Rivas is multimedia editor and pop culture blogger for Colorlines.com. A firm believer in the power of visual communications to inform and move people into action, Jorge uses multimedia presentations to help readers build stronger connections to stories. Jorge has covered the public housing crisis in a post-Katrina New Orleans, the effects of deportation on families, and brought live images of the President Obama's inauguration to Colorlines.com readers.
Born and raised in Los Angeles, Jorge started in broadcast as an intern at the age of 16 and since worked in the entertainment industry and on international advertising campaigns. Jorge received his B.A. in Raza Studies from San Francisco State University where he studied immigration, healthcare perspectives and the interrelationship of culture, community, and the internet. Prior to joining Applied Research Center (ARC) and Colorlines.com in 2005, Rivas worked on a living wage campaign in Brooklyn, NY through the Minority Activist Apprenticeship Program (MAAP).
Jorge uses his media and ethnic studies background to deconstruct representation of people of color in pop culture, illustrating how pop culture can shape opinions, perceptions and even public policy. Jorge's work has appeared on Elle.com, Essence.com, Racialicious, The Root, Alternet, and Feministing.
Check out Jorge's media appearances here.
Follow Jorge on Twitter at @thisisjorge.
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VideoKatrina Anniversary Approaching, Not Much has Changed
by Jorge Rivas on August 18 2009, 1:51PM
This coming Sunday, August 23rd, will mark the fourth year anniversary that Hurricane Katrina formed over the Bahamas. We’re likely to hear uplifting stories about how far New Orleans has come in the coming weeks, but the reality is that…
Topics: Katrina
Open Books: Progressive Book Club Interview with Rinku Sen [VIDEO]
by Jorge Rivas on August 18 2009, 12:20PM
The Progressive Book Club has started a video series, Open Books, in which they ask “PBC authors to tell us about the books they love.” This week, Rinku Sen, ARC’s Executive Director and co-author of The Accidental American, recommends…
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Caption Contest: President Obama, Professor Gates and Sgt. Crowley
by Jorge Rivas on August 18 2009, 11:27AM
Almost two months later, the White House officially released the picture above with President Barack Obama walking to the Rose Garden followed by Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates and Cambridge, Mass. police sergeant James Crowley. (Official White House Photo…
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Now It’s Official: Latinos and Asians Have Clout in the Voting Booth
by Jorge Rivas on August 17 2009, 4:52AM
Now it’s official: Roughly one out of every ten voters was Latino or Asian in the 2008 election. Last Thursday the Immigration Policy Center released “Latino and Asian Clout in the Voting Booth,” a fact check report that “shows how…
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Why You Should Boycott Whole Foods
by Jorge Rivas on August 14 2009, 10:01AM
On Wedneday I was having a conversation with a total stranger about how much I love Whole Foods. But now I’m promoting a boycott. Whole Foods CEO John Mackey thinks many of the country’s health care problems are "self-inflicted"…
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Damon Weaver got the Interview! President Obama now his Homeboy too
by Jorge Rivas on August 14 2009, 9:15AM
After MONTHS of campaigning for an interview with President Obama, 11-year old Damon Weaver got his interview. Congratulations Damon!…
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Green For All: Building the Green Economy Rhythm [VIDEO]
by Jorge Rivas on August 14 2009, 5:36AM
via Green For All A New Sound communicates both the pain of the old economy, and the promise of the new. It illustrates why the Senate must pass bold climate legislation this fall, and why we need a vibrant…
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Join Rinku Sen at Netroots Nation — Live or on Twitter
by Jorge Rivas on August 13 2009, 10:25AM
ARC’s Executive Director Rinku Sen has one more panel tomorrow. Make sure you don’t miss it. Stepping it up: Creating Powerful Multiracial Alliances with Progressive Bloggers Friday, August 14th 3:00 PM - 4:15 PM Panel/Room, 301/302 If you aren’t…
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Katrina Anniversary Visit by President Barack Obama Appears Unlikely
by Jorge Rivas on August 11 2009, 10:48AM
The Times-Picayune is reporting President Obama making an appearance in New Orleans on the fourth anniversary of Hurricane Katrina “appears unlikely.” The White House has declined to comment whether President Obama will visit New Orleans. But the paper says…
Topics: Katrina
Rinku Sen, Executive Director of ARC and Publisher of ColorLines Magazine at Netroots Nation
by Jorge Rivas on August 11 2009, 9:30AM
Netroots Nation, the national progressive blogger conference is less than two days away. ARC’s Executive Director Rinku Sen, will be speaking on several panels and hold a book signing for The Accidental American. Here are the details for the…
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Thursday: National Conversation about Race, Sexuality and Gender
by Jorge Rivas on August 11 2009, 8:46AM
Human Rights Campaign is hosting a “national conversation about race, sexuality and gender with some of today’s most distinct voices in the LGBT movement.” Our very own Rinku Sen will be part of the conversation along with Bishop Rainey…
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by Jorge Rivas on August 10 2009, 11:05AM
LA Times is reporting “President Obama has named four new federal judge nominees for California, three of them Asian Americans, who have long been underrepresented on the federal bench.” According to the LA TImes, the nominees include: Dolly Gee,…
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Making Time for Adult English Language Programs in California
by Jorge Rivas on August 7 2009, 11:08AM
RaceWire’s good friend Will Coley over at Aquifer Media recently produced a video that follows students in an adult English as a Second Language program in Los Angeles. The video includes interviews from both students and teacher in room…
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Happy Birthday President Barack Obama
by Jorge Rivas on August 4 2009, 12:00PM
Dear Mr. President, Happy Birthday. We wish you the courage to speak openly about race. To not take back bold statements that you make about the daily racial profiling that Black and brown men face at the hands of…
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Skating, No Longer a “White Sport” ?
by Jorge Rivas on August 4 2009, 11:15AM
Remember stand-up comedian Paul Rodriguez? Well, he has a son, Paul Rodriguez Jr. and he’s a pro skater. Which is so interesting to me because when I was growing up, skating was seen as a white thing. In East…
Topics: Sports
Pioneering Black Cover Girl Naomi Sims Dies
by Jorge Rivas on August 4 2009, 10:22AM
Naomi Sims died of breast cancer on August 1, 2009, aged 61, in Newark, New Jersey. She was born in Oxford, Mississippi, the youngest of three daughters. She was ostracized by her community because of her color and height. But…
Topics: History
Inside the White House: Letters to the President
by Jorge Rivas on August 3 2009, 9:06AM
Have you ever sent any correspondace to the White House and wondered if anyone will read it? Chances are, yes, but is anyone taking them in to consideration? Next time you’re organizing a letter writing campaign targeting the president,…
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Gov. Schwarzenegger Cut 100% of Domestic Violence Funding and What Californians Can Do About It
by Jorge Rivas on July 31 2009, 8:37AM
Earlier this week, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, signed a budget plan sent to him by legislators to close the state’s deficit, but only after he used his line-item veto power to slash an additional $500 million in cuts. According…
Obama, Gates and Crowley: The Clink Heard Around The World
by Jorge Rivas on July 31 2009, 4:15AM
President Barack Obama, Professor Henry Louis Gates Jr. and Sergeant James Crowley toast at the start of their meeting in the Rose Garden of the White House, July 30, 2009. Official White House Photo by Pete Souza Thank Goodness…
Topics: History
Conservative Activist Forwards Racist Pic Showing Obama As Witch Doctor Apologizes
by Jorge Rivas on July 28 2009, 1:32PM
David McKalip, the St. Petersburg, Florida neurosurgeon and healthcare reform opponent who sent a racist email showing President Obama dressed as a witch doctor has apologized directly to the president. Talking Point Memos’s Muckracker has been following this story with…
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