ColorOfChange.org changing the color of democracy

Are voter ID laws racist? This question takes center stage in this video segment produced by True the Vote 2012, a Tea Party affiliated group focused on "...examining the registry, recruiting, training and mobilizing election workers and poll watchers." True the Vote is an outgrowth of the Tea Party Patriots, a Houston-based group whose goals are akin to those of Jim Crow-era pollwatchers. The group uses voter intimidation tactics, driven by its unfounded belief that voter fraud runs rampant and threatens democracy.

As you'll see in the clip, a staffer from the conservative Media Research Center asks a series of Black respondents, "Do you think you should have to show ID when you go to vote?" Unsurprisingly, the majority of the respondents say yes. What's wrong with having to prove you are who you say you are?

This weekend, The New York Times ran an article about the Obama campaign's efforts to educate people nationwide about the voter ID laws that threaten to suppress the vote in the upcoming election.

The report came days after news broke that Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker -- a major proponent of the ALEC-manufactured bills -- will not benefit from his state's in his upcoming recall election because of two recent appeals court rulings.

More than two dozen states, including Wisconsin, have passed restrictive voter ID bills since the last presidential election. Check out the NYT article to learn more about what these laws entail...

It's been more than two years since more than 50,000 ColorOfChange members challenged the Jim Crow politics that led to the conviction of former Waterproof mayor Bobby Higginbotham. And last week, a Second Circuit Court of Appeals vacated the sentence of Higginbotham, a black man who was forced to represent himself against 44 outlandish charges and then sentenced without bail after he challenged the white power structure in his small Louisiana town.

In the town of 800, African Americans make up nearly 60% of the population, but it's the white minority that holds the political and economic power. Unfortunately, Higginbotham's case was a typical example of antiquated Southern politics at work.

The for-profit education giant Kaplan has become the latest in a string of major corporations to publicly distance themselves from the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), the group that has worked to suppress the Black vote.

Kaplan made the decision to leave ALEC in August 2011, but yesterday the Washington Post-owned company acknowledged that it has left ALEC in an email to the Republic Report. It's further proof that corporations have come to see that the right-wing group's agenda is toxic...

Late last week, the Fortune 500 corporation, Procter & Gamble, announced that it has ended its membership in the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC). P&G is now the thirteenth company to conclude that membership in ALEC is bad for business since ColorOfChange members began their campaign late last year.

We applaud Procter & Gamble's decision to leave ALEC, and our members hope that its competitor, Johnson & Johnson, follows suit.

Last week, ALEC acknowledged that it was reeling after its corporate sponsors -- some of which pay hundreds of thousands of dollars for membership in the right-wing group -- started dropping like flies. In a statement that sidestepped any admission of wrongdoing for pushing voter suppression and Shoot First bills nationwide, ALEC announced, "We are eliminating the ALEC Public Safety and Elections task force that dealt with non-economic issues, and reinvesting these resources in the task forces that focus on the economy."

We already knew this was a PR stunt. But in an article published today, the Republican state legislator who chaired the disbanded committee confirms it: "ALEC's decision won't impact the important issues we've worked on," Texas State Rep. Jerry Madden told The Christian Post...

According to Caitlyn Korb, Director of External Affairs at the American Legislative Exchange Council, her employer has been "getting absolutely killed in social media venues" ever since ColorOfChange members began calling on corporations to stop funding ALEC. Check out this video, which is excerpted from the Heritage Foundation's weekly bloggers briefing.

In it, Korb works hard to mislead her audience about our efforts. Around 1:45, she alleges that ColorOfChange and our partners have said that ALEC "killed Trayvon Martin." The cynical and dishonest allegations abound. But nowhere does she mention ALEC's involvement in discriminatory voter ID laws or so-called "stand your ground" legislation, even though the group just backed away from the task force that created the model bills...

Yesterday, ColorOfChange got word that Yum! Brands — owners of KFC, Taco Bell, and Pizza Hut — has left the American Legislative Exchange Council. Earlier this week, ColorOfChange members started calling Yum and urging the corporation leave the conservative policy group that's pushed discriminatory Stand Your Ground and voter ID laws. Turns out, the company has decided to do just that.

Yum! Brands joins 11 other companies that have announced in recent weeks that they're no longer members of ALEC. This after ColorOfChange launched our effort to shed light on the group's work and its impact on our communities. Stay tuned for more updates as our campaign picks up steam.

Today The New York Times editorial board highlighted the work of ColorOfChange and our partners to convince ALEC's corporate sponsors to abandon the right-wing policy group. In an editorial titled "Embarrassed by Bad Laws," the NYT calls out the organization's hollow efforts to defend itself.

Despite clear evidence that ALEC has pushed voter ID bills and Kill at Will laws, the organization has said, "it is only interested in job creation, government accountability and pro-business policies." Check out the full NYT piece here, and take a look at our response to ALEC's latest statement.

This week, ColorOfChange announced a partnership with our friends at The Root to educate, register, and mobilize African-American voters.  As part of the lead up to the 2012 election, ColorOfChange will feature our new online voter registration tool at TheRoot.com -- an online hub for Black news and perspective that reaches an average of 1.4 million viewers monthly.

Be sure to check out the new voter registration tool at The Root. Just scroll down to the bottom of the homepage to register with a quick click. And keep visiting TheRoot.com and ColorOfChange.org for more news as we near the 2012 election.

ColorOfChange applauds Mars Inc.'s decision to end it's membership with the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC).

Today, Mars -- makers of Snickers, M&M's and MilkyWay amoung other products -- becomes the seventh company to sever ties with the right-wing group. ColorOfChange began communicating with Mars in January. Today's announcement confirms that when corporations become educated about ALEC's role in pushing voter suppression and Kill at Will bills, they realize that association with ALEC is bad for business.

ColorOfChange applauds fast-food giant Wendy's decision to end its membership with the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC).

Wendy's joins McDonald's, Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, Kraft Foods and Intuit on the list of companies that has parted ways with ALEC since ColorOfChange launched its effort late last year.

UPDATE: (04/28/12) On Wednesday (4/26), after hundreds of Connecticut ColorOfChange members called on their state legislators to eliminate capital punishment, Governor Malloy signed the bill banning the death penalty in the state. The ColorOfChange community commends Connecticut on this momentous occasion. Connecticut is now the 17th state in the nation and the fifth in five years to eliminate capital punishment. Time and again, state legislatures are realizing that this form of punishment is cruel and racially discriminatory and it's clear that there is a growing national momentum. We'll continue to honor the pledge we made after Troy Davis' death to keep up the fight to end the death penalty nationwide.

UPDATE: (04/12/12) Last night, the Connecticut General Assembly voted 86-62 to repeal the death penalty in the state...

UPDATE: (04/10/2012) ColorOfChange applauds McDonald's decision to end its membership in ALEC.

UPDATE: ColorOfChange responds to reports that McDonald's has ended its membership in ALEC. 

Today, State Farm, Johnson & Johnson and McDonald's have all been receiving phone calls from ColorOfChange members and allies. Hundreds of people are making calls to the three new corporations to demand that the companies stop funding ALEC, the conservative policy group behind voter suppression and "Shoot First" bills. In Florida, the so-called "Stand your Ground" law -- the prototype for ALEC's model legislation -- has been used to defend the actoins of Trayvon Martin's killer.

On Monday, Executive Director Rashad Robinson spoke with Jennifer Granholm of Current TV's The War Room about the escalating campaign to sever the American Legislative Exchange Council's (ALEC) corporate ties.

Recent pressure from ColorOfChange members has forced Coca-Cola, PepsiCo and Kraft to cut ties with the conservative group behind the voter ID laws and the "Kill at Will" bills now being used to defend Trayvon Martin's killer. Today, the news broke that McDonald's has ended its membership with ALEC as well. Watch the full segment here.

ColorOfChange Executive Director Rashad Robinson joined MSNBC's Ed Schultz on Friday to talk about our campaign targeting ALEC's corporate sponsors. So far, PepsiCo, Coca-Cola and Kraft have parted ways with ALEC. It's not too late to join our efforts to encourage major corporations to stop funding the right-wing policy group. Check out the clip, and join ColorOfChange members who are today calling on AT&T to stop funding voter suppression.

Today, ColorOfChange members are making calls to AT&T to demand that the company stop funding the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC). ALEC, which has pushed voter ID laws that disenfranchise large numbers of Black voters, also pushed a bill based on Florida's "Shoot First" law – which has shielded Trayvon Martin's killer from justice.

Even after we wrote AT&T to let them know that more than 85,000 ColorOfChange members have asked that they disassociate themselves from ALEC, the company has remained silent. It's clear that they think we will just go away. As a result of recent pressure by ColorOfChange members, Coca-Cola, Pepsi and Kraft Foods all decided to end their relationship with ALEC. We know we can win here too.

Will you help us hold AT&T accountable for supporting voter suppression? Please take a moment to call AT&T and demand that they stop supporting ALEC.

Click here to make the phone call: http://act.colorofchange.org/call/attalec/

During last night's episode of "The Young Turks" on Current TV, host Cenk Uygur discussed ALEC's efforts to take away the voting rights of millions of Americans. Uygur also urged his audience to join ColorOfChange's campaign targeting ALEC's corporate sponsors. Check out the clip, and let us know what you think. So far, PepsiCo, Coca-Cola and Kraft have parted ways with ALEC. 

Today, NPR broke the news that PepsiCo has also dropped its membership in the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC). The shadowy group has pushed discriminatory voter ID laws in statehouses across the country. ALEC is also behind Kill at Will bills like the Florida legislation being used to defend George Zimmerman, the man who killed Trayvon Martin. From the NPR piece:

PepsiCo, another soft drink giant, belonged to ALEC for 10 years. In January, a company vice president told ColorOfChange that it wouldn't renew for 2012.

Tomorrow, ColorOfChange.org joins activist and writer Kevin Powell, Ebony.com, Akila Worksongs, INC. and others for "After Trayvon: A Message to Black Males."

The event takes place at the House of the Lord Church- 415 Atlantic Avenue (between Bond and Nevins) in Brooklyn. Doors open at 6:30 and admission is free.

And if you're not in NYC or can't make it, Ebony.com will livestream the event here.

Last Thursday, dozens of ColorOfChange members and our allies gathered at the Washington DC headquarters of the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC). They were there to honor Trayvon Martin and to demand that ALEC pledge to stop writing and promoting bills that target and destroy lives in the Black community.

ColorOfChange Executive Director Rashad Robinson was there and had this to share with the crowd...

We learned today that Coca-Cola has ended its membership in the American Legislative Exchange Council, or ALEC. Coke dropping ALEC is a major victory for all who are concerned about efforts to suppress the Black vote. It's also a victory for the many who are critical of the Kill at Will law that Trayvon Martin's killer is using as his defense. Here's our statement in response to the news:

UPDATE: (04/04/12) Coke tells the Washington Examiner it's chosen to end its membership in ALEC. We respond.

Today, ColorOfChange members are making calls to Coca-Cola to demand that the company stop funding the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC). ALEC has pushed voter ID laws that disenfranchise large numbers of Black voters. Along with the NRA, ALEC also pushed a bill based on Florida's "Shoot First" law — which has shielded Trayvon Martin's killer from justice — into two dozen states across the country.