Scandal(ous) Realities: Black and Brown Images in TV and Hollywood Today

Salomon 101

In today's expansive and powerful media, the extremely limited array of images representing Black and Latina/o people perpetuate stereotypes that lead to racism and discrimination throughout society. Exceptions exist, but why are problematic images so prevalent and pleasurable? What harm do they cause, and what can we do to change them?

Join us for a lively discussion among scholars and activists featuring new data, analysis, and strategies for changing how Black and brown folks are represented in the media today.

Arisha Hatch
Managing Director of Campaigns, ColorOfChange

Arisha Hatch is Managing Director of Campaigns at ColorOfChange. Prior to joining ColorOfChange, Arisha left behind a legal career to organize for the Obama Campaign and later worked to mobilize the LGBT community as National Organizing Director at the Courage Campaign. Arisha studied Economics and Creative Writing at Stanford.

Frances Negrón-Muntaner
Director, Center for the Study of Ethnicity and Race, Columbia; Author of The Latino Media Gap: a Report on the State of Latinos in U.S. Media

Frances Negrón-Muntaner is an award-winning filmmaker, writer, curator, and scholar. Her films include the indie classic Brincando el charco: Portrait of a Puerto Rican (Whitney Biennial, 1995) as well as the recentSmall City, Big Change (2014), and War in Guam, forthcoming on PBS in 2015. Among her books and publications are Boricua Pop: Puerto Ricans and the Latinization of American Culture (CHOICE Award, 2004) and the recently published report The Latino Media Gap (2014). For her work as a scholar and filmmaker, Negrón-Muntaner has received Ford, Truman, Scripps Howard, Rockefeller, Pew, and Chang-Chavkin fellowships. Major funders such as Social Science Research Council, Andy Warhol Foundation, and Independent Television Service have also supported her work. In 2008, the United Nations' Rapid Response Media Mechanism recognized her as a global expert in the areas of mass media and Latin/o American studies; in 2012, she received the Lenfest Award, one of Columbia University's most prestigious recognitions. At present, Negrón-Muntaner is the director of the Center for the Study of Ethnicity and Race, and the Media and Idea Lab, and curator of the Latino Arts and Activism archive at Columbia University.

Jennifer L. Pozner
Founder and Executive Director, Women in Media & News; Author of Reality Bites Back: the Troubling Truth about Guilty Pleasure TV

Journalist Jennifer L. Pozner is founding director of Women In Media & News, a media analysis, education, and advocacy group. Her book, Reality Bites Back: The Troubling Truth About Guilty Pleasure TV, was called "required reading for every American girl and women" by MSNBC host Melissa Harris-Perry. An adviser and commentator in the award-winning documentary "Miss Representation," Jennifer's media criticism work has appeared in the New York Times, Chicago Tribune, Newsweek, Ms., and Salon, among others. She has offered media commentary on ABC, CBS, NBC, MSNBC, CNN, FOX, NPR, CBC, and Pacifica. Forbes named @jennpozner one of "Twenty Inspiring Women to Follow on Twitter." 


In collaboration with represent.ColorOfChange.org