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.

And Now There’s a ‘Sh*t Sri Lankan Mothers Say’ Video

by Jorge Rivas on January 5 2012, 3:25PM

Yesterday we had “Shit White Girls Say to Black Girls” and today we have “Shit Sri Lankan Mothers Say.” I’m going to have to come up with a tag for these videos, leave you suggestions in the comments. PS: And…

Topics: Arts & Culture, /NOW Blog

Viola Davis is This Year’s Frontrunner for Best Actress (The Help)

by Jorge Rivas on January 5 2012, 3:03PM

Regardless of how you feel about ‘The Help,’ you gotta give it to Viola Davis for not being afraid to talk about race.

Topics: Arts & Culture, /NOW Blog

Obama Recess Appointments: Enough for AFL-CIO Endorsement?

by Jorge Rivas on January 5 2012, 2:43PM

Insiders say Obama’s recent appointments may give the country’s largest labor union the necessary cover to endorse President Obama.

Topics: /NOW Blog, Politics

Melissa Harris-Perry Finally Gets Her Own Program on MSNBC

by Jorge Rivas on January 5 2012, 2:10PM

The political science professor will get her own weekend show.

Topics: Media, /NOW Blog

Immigrant Left Disabled In Work Accident Dies After Deportation

by Jorge Rivas on January 5 2012, 1:50PM

A quadriplegic immigrant who became disabled while working on a roof died Sunday.

Topics: Health, Immigration, /NOW Blog

A Campaign to Get Kim Kardashian to Endorse the CA Millionaires Tax

by Jorge Rivas on January 5 2012, 1:04PM

Kim Kardashian made more than $12 million in 2010, but she only paid 1% more in taxes than a middle-class Californian.

Topics: Economy, /NOW Blog

Herman Cain is Back: He’s kicking off his “Solutions” Bus Tour

by Jorge Rivas on January 5 2012, 12:28PM

And he’s not letting go of the 9-9-9 plan.

Topics: GOP Primary, /NOW Blog, Politics

‘Pariah’ Director Dee Rees and Kim Wayans Talk With Colorlines.com

by Jorge Rivas on January 5 2012, 9:24AM

“We’d go to pitch meetings and the moment we said ‘black, lesbian, coming of age,’ they would turn around, validate our parking and hand us a bottle of water,” Rees tells Colorlines.com in reflecting on her feature-film directorial debut. Watch the interview.

Topics: 'Pariah', Arts & Culture, Gender & Sexuality

Beyoncé ‘Countdown’ Parody: Student Loan Countdown

by Jorge Rivas on January 4 2012, 7:12PM

The star of “Shit White Girls Say…to Black Girls” has a few more videos to share.

Topics: Celebrate Love, /NOW Blog

ICE Mistakenly Deports Dallas Teen Who Speaks No Spanish to Colombia

by Jorge Rivas on January 4 2012, 5:07PM

An African-American girl, who was 14 at the time, was mistakenly deported to Colombia by ICE.

Topics: Immigration, /NOW Blog

Racist Tabloid Wednesday: Beyoncé Gets a Special Weave for the Delivery Room

by Jorge Rivas on January 4 2012, 4:32PM

Because some of the most racist stories are available at your local grocery check stand.

Topics: Arts & Culture, /NOW Blog

98 Percent Pass Indiana’s Job Training Drug Tests

by Jorge Rivas on January 4 2012, 4:26PM

The state has spent thousands of dollars to prevent 23 applicants that tested positive for drug use from joining the program.

Topics: Economy, /NOW Blog, Politics

Nick Cannon Joins 29 Percent of Black Kidney Failure Patients in the U.S.

by Jorge Rivas on January 4 2012, 1:58PM

The host of “America’s Got Talent” is in the hospital.

Topics: Health, /NOW Blog

For-Profit Colleges’ Mostly Black and Latino Students Face Higher Debt and Unemployment

by Jorge Rivas on January 4 2012, 1:54PM

Private for-profit institutions have been the fastest growing part of the U.S. higher education sector for decades now, but a new Harvard study finds students attending for-profit colleges end up with much higher student-loan debts, are less likely to be…

Topics: /NOW Blog, Schools & Youth