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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VideoOnline Town Hall Meeting on Health Care Reform with President Obama and You
by Jorge Rivas on July 1 2009, 9:35AM
President Obama made a call for youtube users to submit questions on health care reform and take part in an ongoing online discussion. In less than an hour President Obama will answer some of the most popular questions submitted…
Topics: Health
Sixty-two Percent say Sotomayor Should be Confirmed to Supreme Court
by Jorge Rivas on June 29 2009, 7:53AM
via Think Progress A new Washington Post/ABC News poll out today asked respondents if the Senate “should or should not confirm” Judge Sonia Sotomayor’s nomination to the Supreme Court. Sixty-two percent said that the Senate “should” confirm her — the…
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“Without Blacks’ Sacrifice, Latinos Would be 30 Years Behind in the Fight for Civil Rights”
by Jorge Rivas on June 22 2009, 9:55AM
Hector Tobar, one of the few columnists of color left at the Los Angeles Times, says “Without Blacks’ sacrifice, Latinos would be 30 years behind in the fight for civil rights.” What do you think? In “”For Latinos and…
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Immigration, Race, and the Restaurant Industry: Fekkak Mamdouh
by Jorge Rivas on June 17 2009, 7:45AM
via Progressive Book Club Fekkak Mamdouh is the co-author, with Rinku Sen, of The Accidental American: Immigration and Citizenship in the Age of Globalization. He’s also the cofounder of the Restaurant Opportunities Center of New York and codirector of…
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Republicans Misstep on Sotomayor Attacks: When did Newt and the Gang Become Experts on Race?
by Jorge Rivas on June 9 2009, 9:56AM
via AlterNet by C. Nicole Mason If I attend a Black Church and tithe once a week, does that make me a racist? How about if I donate my time to an organization committed to ensuring young black men avoid…
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Should Young People Care About the Employee Free Choice Act?
by Jorge Rivas on June 9 2009, 6:52AM
via Wiretap by Adam Waxman A central theme of the now-complete America’s Future Now! conference was the importance of a piece of legislation that is working it’s way through Congress right now, a bill called the Employee Free Choice…
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New York: Meet RaceWire Editors, Have a Drink and Help a Good Cause
by Jorge Rivas on June 4 2009, 4:28AM
Families are being torn apart by this country’s cruel criminal justice and immigration policies, separated by detention and deportation. RaceWire co-editors Julianne Hing and Jorge Rivas along with ARC researcher Seth Wessler will report on the intersection of criminal justice…
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Public Health Insurance is Not a Bargaining Chip
by Jorge Rivas on June 3 2009, 12:04PM
via Center for Community Change by Deepak Bhargava The emerging health care reform debate shows every sign of becoming a typical Washington D.C. exercise. Everyone is saying the right things while simultaneously allowing the lobbyists to gut any hope for…
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Race and Recession: Radio Interview with Seth Wessler
by Jorge Rivas on June 2 2009, 6:36AM
Our very own Seth Wessler, researcher and author of “Race and Recession: How Inequity Rigged the Economy and How to Change the Rules”, was recently a guest on ‘Voices from the edge.’ The current economic downturn has affected people of…
Topics: Colorlines Press, Race and Recession
Chu’s win over Cedillo in Los Angeles a Symbol of Latino Confidence
by Jorge Rivas on June 2 2009, 6:18AM
via LA Times’s La Plaza blog, by Hector Tobar Blanca Figueroa is the mayor of South El Monte and a proud Mexican American who sometimes signs off her e-mails with the Spanish translation of her official title: “alcaldesa.” One…
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ColorLines Magazine Wins National Ethnic Media Award
by Jorge Rivas on June 1 2009, 11:03AM
“The Rise of Street Literature,” published in the May/June 2008 issue of “ColorLines Magazine” won a 2009 National Ethnic Media Award in the Arts, Sports and Entertainment Category. The National Ethnic Media Awards are presented by New America Media,…
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Rebuilding Neighborhoods, Restoring Health
by Jorge Rivas on May 29 2009, 10:41AM
via Speak Fierce, Women of Color Resource Center Just Cause Oakland (JCO) and the Alameda County Public Health Department are partnering to work on an important project focusing on the connections between health, discrimination, and the current economic crisis. They…
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by Jorge Rivas on May 29 2009, 9:59AM
via El Tiempo Latino and New America Media One in two Latina teenagers in the United States gets pregnant before the age of 20, according to a study published May 19 by the National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy. Maryland…
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by Jorge Rivas on May 28 2009, 10:02AM
Families are being torn apart by this country’s cruel criminal justice and immigration policies, separated by detention and deportation. RaceWire co-editors Julianne Hing and Jorge Rivas along with ARC researcher Seth Wessler will report on the intersection of criminal…
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Another One for the History Books: First Black Woman to be CEO of Fortune 500 Company
by Jorge Rivas on May 27 2009, 6:59AM
I know very little about the Xerox Corporation’s record on worker rights and the environment and even less about the woman I’m writing about below, but I’m including this story because it is an important milestone. The NY Times…
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by Jorge Rivas on May 26 2009, 3:32PM
Comments and analysis on the way. Sit tight. (Official White House photo by Pete Souza)…
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Sonia Sotomayor: Never Too Old to Make Mamá Proud
by Jorge Rivas on May 26 2009, 11:51AM
(You have to click on the image for a larger view!) Celina Sotomayor, the mother of Appeals Court Judge Sonia Sotomayor, cries during the announcement by President Barack Obama that her daughter is the nominee to replace retiring Supreme…
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Breaking News: LAUSD Students Being Arrested for Protesting Layoffs
by Jorge Rivas on May 22 2009, 12:03PM
Close to 400 Los Angeles Unified School District students are marching to the district’s headquarters to protest teacher layoffs. CutsHurtKids twitter feed is reporting four Black students have been arrested and removed from the premises. Earlier in the week…
Topics: Schools & Youth
California Plans to Deport 19,000 Undocumented Detainees
by Jorge Rivas on May 22 2009, 11:22AM
via New America Media California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger plans to commute the sentence of 19,000 undocumented prisoners, 13,000 of them Mexicans, in exchange for deportation, in order to save $182.3 billion amid an unprecedented fiscal crisis. La Opinión reports…
Topics: Immigration
Latino Youth Disproportionately Sent to Adult Prisons
by Jorge Rivas on May 22 2009, 9:31AM
via New America Media and Notimex - Diario La Estrella One in four Latino youths convicted of a crime is sent to an adult prison, according to a study by the National Council of La Raza (NCLR) and the…
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