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.

Today’s Love: Cute Kids Dropping the I-Word

by Jorge Rivas on October 14 2011, 5:49PM

9-year-old Sam from Tucson, Arizona tells us why he’s not calling anyone the i-word.

Topics: Celebrate Love

Dozens of Beatings and Coverups by Officers in L.A. County Jails

by Jorge Rivas on October 14 2011, 3:58PM

The Los Angeles County Sheriff Department is under even more scrutiny, just as the state begins moving thousands of inmates from state prisons to county jails.

Topics: Criminal Justice

Calif. Prison Hunger Strike Ends at Pelican Bay, Continues Elsewhere

by Jorge Rivas on October 14 2011, 3:44PM

Prisoner advocates say a three-week hunger strike protesting long-term solitary confinement has ended at the “supermax” Pelican Bay. But reports say it’s ongoing in at least two other state prisons.

Topics: Criminal Justice

Obama Sends Justice Dept. to Alabama to Probe Impact of H.B. 56

by Jorge Rivas on October 14 2011, 1:25PM

Justice Department officials are in Alabama this week to look at the impact the state’s harsh new immigration enforcement law is having on school children.

Topics: Alabama Immigration, Immigration

Support for Death Penalty Falls to a 39-Year-Low After Troy Davis

by Jorge Rivas on October 14 2011, 11:46AM

Support for the penalty is down, according to a Gallup Poll. Republicans, men, whites and those living in the South and Midwest more like to support it, while people under 30 are more likely to oppose.

Topics: Criminal Justice

Occupy San Francisco Takes on Wells Fargo Headquarters

by Jorge Rivas on October 13 2011, 5:00PM

Protesters vow to “foreclose the banks.”

Topics: Economy

Poll: Herman Cain Leads the Way Among GOP Contenders

by Jorge Rivas on October 13 2011, 2:34PM

The black conservative businessman continues his surprising run in the GOP primary.

Topics: Politics

Target Partners with Asian-American Fashion Designer Jason Wu

by Jorge Rivas on October 13 2011, 2:18PM

But the mass retailer is still rabidly anti-union.

Topics: Arts & Culture

Feds: ESL and Black Students Get Inferior Educations in LAUSD

by Jorge Rivas on October 13 2011, 2:07PM

But will new reforms spread to schools across the country?

Topics: Schools & Youth

Tavis Smiley and Cornel West Stand Up to Bill O’Reilly

by Jorge Rivas on October 12 2011, 3:16PM

The two were on the show to discuss their poverty tour and presumably put O’Reilly in check.

Topics: Arts & Culture

Tracy Morgan Offers Non-Apology on Letterman for Homophobic Remarks

by Jorge Rivas on October 12 2011, 11:00AM

The comedian says his homophobic comments were just jokes.

Topics: Arts & Culture

$Study: Black Students Suspended More For Small Infractions$

Study: Black Students Suspended More For Small Infractions

by Jorge Rivas on October 12 2011, 10:50AM

Black students are more likely be suspended for using cell phones and offering public displays of affection, according to a new report from the National Education Policy Center.

Topics: Schools & Youth

Sherri Shepherd to Herman Cain on The View: ‘People Fall on Hard Times’

by Jorge Rivas on October 12 2011, 10:47AM

The View’s Sherri Shepherd says Herman Cain needs to show some compassion.

Topics: Economy

Supreme Court: Mumia Abu-Jamal Can Get New Sentencing

by Jorge Rivas on October 11 2011, 2:20PM

Supreme Court clears the way for one of the country’s most widely known inmates to get new sentencing.

Topics: Criminal Justice

Troy Davis’s Last Words: ‘Continue To Fight This Fight’

by Jorge Rivas on October 11 2011, 1:32PM

Troy Davis’s last words moments before his execution: “All that I can ask is that each of you look deeper into this case, so that you really will finally see the truth.”

Topics: Criminal Justice

Senate Apologizes for Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882

by Jorge Rivas on October 11 2011, 1:09PM

The U.S. Senate issues an apology for banning Chinese immigrants from the country during the Gold Rush.

Topics: Politics

5 of the Dumbest Things Said About the Occupy Wall Street Movement

by Jorge Rivas on October 11 2011, 11:28AM

It was a given that conservative pundits would fear-monger around the Occupy Wall Street Movement. But we’ve rounded up their most outlandish insults.

Topics: #Occupy, Economy