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.

Youth Unemployment 11.5 Percent, 22.1 percent for Young Blacks

by Jorge Rivas on January 4 2013, 10:42AM

This is the 49th consecutive month with national unemployment above 7%.

Topics: Economy, /NOW

Philadelphia New Year’s Parade Mocks Indians, Native Americans, Blackface

by Jorge Rivas on January 3 2013, 6:20PM

New Year’s cheer for Philadelphia’s annual Mummers parade included a whole bunch of racial mockery.

Topics: Arts & Culture, /NOW

Junot Díaz: ‘You Need to Cultivate the Martí Mind’ [Video]

by Jorge Rivas on January 3 2013, 5:16PM

Pulitzer Prize-Winning author Junot Díaz was Bill Moyer’s last guest of 2012 and sat down for an hour-long conversation to discuss the current state of affairs in the U.S.

Topics: Arts & Culture, /NOW

FCC Proposal: Limit Burden on Families From $1.2B Prison Phone Biz

by Jorge Rivas on January 3 2013, 3:19PM

FCC Commissioner Mignon Clyburn noted that in some states one 15-minute interstate phone call from a prison can cost $17.

Topics: Criminal Justice, /NOW

Al Jazeera Acquires Current TV; Time Warner Cable Drops Network

by Jorge Rivas on January 3 2013, 11:34AM

Al Jazeera said it will shutter Current and create a New York-based network.

Topics: Arts & Culture, /NOW

Meet The Funeral Director Who Says He Can Make Your Worst Moments ‘Extremely Happy’

by Jorge Rivas on January 2 2013, 5:44PM

TLC is unveiling a new unscripted show this coming Sunday that follows a Dallas funeral home director that takes “home-goings” to a different level.

Topics: Arts & Culture, /NOW

Meet One of The First Same Sex Couples to Get Married in Baltimore

by Jorge Rivas on January 2 2013, 2:57PM

Just minutes in to the new year seven couples got married at City Hall in Baltimore—which is in the first state south of the Mason-Dixon Line to legalize same-sex marriage.

Topics: Gender & Sexuality, /NOW

Native American Flash Mob Round Dance Takes Over Mall of America

by Jorge Rivas on January 2 2013, 1:44PM

The flash mob was part of a series of actions to call attention to a recent bill (C45) passed by the Canadian Parliament.

Topics: Arts & Culture, /NOW

Rose Parade Trip for Salvadoran Marching Band Reunites Families

by Jorge Rivas on January 2 2013, 12:15PM

The trip to Rose Parade allowed some band members to meet loved ones they had not seen for decades.

Topics: Arts & Culture, /NOW

Watch Samuel L. Jackson Try to Get a Reporter to Say the N-Word

by Jorge Rivas on January 2 2013, 10:36AM

“Have you ever said it? Try it!”

Topics: Arts & Culture, /NOW

The Year in Race, 2012 [VIDEO]

by Jorge Rivas on December 27 2012, 9:14AM

From Jeremy Lin to Gabby Douglas, the DREAMers to Trayvon, Todd “Legitimate Rape” Akin to the re-elected President Obama, 2012 was a long, full year at Colorlines.com.

Topics: 2013, Arts & Culture, Year in Review

‘Jet’ Magazine’s First Gay Male Couple Appear on MSNBC

by Jorge Rivas on December 18 2012, 11:47AM

For the first time in its 61-year history, JET magazine has featured a male LGBT couple in its popular wedding announcements section.

Topics: Arts & Culture, /NOW

Internet to Obama: ‘Take that N***er Off the TV,’ We Wanna Watch Football!

by Jorge Rivas on December 17 2012, 11:51AM

Fans watching the San Francisco 49ers vs. New England Patriots game at home were upset the game was interrupted to show Obama speaking at a Sandy Hook memorial.

Topics: Arts & Culture, /NOW

Robert Griffin III’s Dad Comes to Son’s Defense Against Comments That the Rookie Quarterback Isn’t Black Enough

by Jorge Rivas on December 14 2012, 3:05PM

On Thursday sports commentator Rob Parker went on ESPN to ask if Washington Redskins rookie quarterback Robert Griffin III was “brother, or is he a cornball brother?”

Topics: Arts & Culture, /NOW

Women of Color Activists Take On 2 Chainz’s ‘Birthday Song’

by Jorge Rivas on December 14 2012, 2:33PM

Women of color deconstruct the radio hit “Birthday Song” by 2 Chainz and Kanye West. And they’re doing something about it.

Topics: Arts & Culture, /NOW

Owner of Jenni Rivera Plane Being Investigated by DEA

by Jorge Rivas on December 14 2012, 11:27AM

The Associated Press is reporting the man widely believed to be behind the aviation company that owned the plane carrying Jenni Rivera was traveling in is an “ex-convict.”

Topics: Arts & Culture, /NOW

DREAMer On Washington Post Cover Tells Editors to Not Call Her ‘Illegal’

by Jorge Rivas on December 14 2012, 11:21AM

She wants the editor to know how the the i-word affected her growing up.

Topics: Immigration, /NOW

NFL Sports Drama ‘The Last Fall’ to Premiere on BET

by Jorge Rivas on December 13 2012, 11:00AM

“The Last Fall” is a coming of age sports drama that illustrates the difficulties many young NFL players face when their professional football careers are over at 25.

Topics: Arts & Culture, /NOW

Watch Anita Sarkeesian Deconstruct Sexism in Gaming

by Jorge Rivas on December 13 2012, 10:40AM

42% of video game players are female but the gaming world is still terribly sexist.

Topics: Arts & Culture, /NOW

L.A. May Send Hundreds of Foreign Teachers Back to Their Home Countries

by Jorge Rivas on December 12 2012, 12:26PM

Foreign teachers who have been teaching in L.A. schools for more than six years are being forced home.

Topics: Immigration, /NOW

Jorge Rivas

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