COLORLINES - Jorge Rivas

Jorge Rivas

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.

Denzel and Quvenzhané Are The Only Actors of Color Nominated for Oscars

by Jorge Rivas on January 10 2013, 9:40AM

Only two actors of color made the cut for Oscar nominations.

Topics: Arts & Culture, /NOW Blog

Quvenzhané Wallis Is Youngest to Get Oscar Nod for ‘Best Actress’

by Jorge Rivas on January 10 2013, 9:12AM

Wallis is the youngest best actress nominee in the history of the Academy Awards.

Topics: Arts & Culture, /NOW Blog

Labor Secretary Hilda Solis Tells Colleagues She is Resigning

by Jorge Rivas on January 9 2013, 4:40PM

Labor Secretary Hilda Solis is leaving her position in President Barack Obama’s cabinet.

Topics: /NOW Blog, Politics

Megdar Evers’ Widow to Deliver Convocation at Inauguration

by Jorge Rivas on January 9 2013, 3:01PM

Myrlie Evers-Williams will become the first woman, and someone other than clergy, to say the prayer that precedes the ceremonial oath of office.

Topics: Arts & Culture, /NOW Blog

‘Cotton Club Parade’ Moves to Broadway

by Jorge Rivas on January 9 2013, 1:55PM

Cotton Club Parade is a celebration of Duke Ellington’s years at the famed Harlem nightclub in the 1920s.

Topics: Arts & Culture, /NOW Blog

ACLU Wins Full Severance Pay for Troops Discharged Under ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’

by Jorge Rivas on January 9 2013, 1:28PM

Before the repeal of “don’t ask, don’t tell” in 2011, gay and lesbian service members who were forced to leave the military because of their sexual orientation were often honorably discharged. Yet they were given only half of their discharge pay.

Topics: Gender & Sexuality, /NOW Blog

Tyler Perry Tops Razzie Nominations For Worst Achievement in Film

by Jorge Rivas on January 9 2013, 12:33PM

The Razzies committee announced this years nominations for worst achievements in film for the past year.

Topics: Arts & Culture, /NOW Blog

Huell Howser Redefined Who Could Become a Californian

by Jorge Rivas on January 9 2013, 11:45AM

Howser took his camera where no other broadcast television show dared to go and allowed many Californians to see fair representations of themselves on television for the first time.

Topics: Arts & Culture, /NOW Blog

Gay Cuban-American Poet Richard Blanco to Read at Obama’s Inauguration

by Jorge Rivas on January 9 2013, 8:10AM

Blanco will become the fifth poet in history to read an official inauguration poem and the first Latino and openly-gay poet to have the honor.

Topics: Arts & Culture, /NOW Blog

N.Y. Judge Rules Part of ‘Stop-and-Frisk’ is Unconstitutional

by Jorge Rivas on January 8 2013, 2:40PM

Manhattan Judge Shira Scheindlin said the practice of stopping people suspected of trespassing outside private buildings in the Bronx was unconstitutional.

Topics: Criminal Justice, /NOW Blog

Low Wage Group Facing Eviction As University of Maryland Expands

by Jorge Rivas on January 8 2013, 12:34PM

The group United Workers says their landlord has given them a 30-day eviction notice to vacate the property.

Topics: Economy, /NOW Blog

Oscar Website Glitch Reveals Nominee Page One Week Early

by Jorge Rivas on January 8 2013, 10:44AM

A test page at Oscars.com revealed that ‘Django Unchained’ costume designer Sharen Davis seems to have gotten a nomination for an Academy Award.

Topics: Arts & Culture, /NOW Blog

Bill Cosby and ‘Cosby Show’ Daughter Tempestt Bledsoe Reunite After 20 Years

by Jorge Rivas on January 7 2013, 5:23PM

Jimmy Fallon orchestrated a mini “Cosby Show” reunion on Friday’s episode of ” Late Show with Jimmy Fallon.”

Topics: Arts & Culture, /NOW Blog

Inmate Dies in Arpaio’s Tent City

by Jorge Rivas on January 7 2013, 3:58PM

Authorities believe the inmate died of natural causes but an investigation has been launched into his death.

Topics: Criminal Justice, /NOW Blog

U.S. Spends More On Immigration Enforcement Than FBI, DEA, Secret Service Combined

by Jorge Rivas on January 7 2013, 2:53PM

Nearly $187 Billion Spent on Federal Immigration Enforcement over Past 26 Years

Topics: Immigration, /NOW Blog

‘Girls’ Spoiler: Donald Glover is Lena Dunham’s Republican Boyfriend

by Jorge Rivas on January 7 2013, 2:04PM

Early reviews of the second season describe Glover’s role as a big unexplained jump.

Topics: Arts & Culture, /NOW Blog

California Teens Respond to Newtown Tragedy in New Video

by Jorge Rivas on January 7 2013, 11:28AM

Inspired by the “Demand a Plan” video that features more than a dozen of Hollywood luminaries, California youth have come together to demand a “real plan” to keep schools and communities safe. In the 60-second video, 33 California young people…

Topics: /NOW Blog, Schools & Youth