The Truth About Color of Change

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  Color of Change was co-founded by liberal activist Van Jones, a (former) avowed Communist and supporter of the 9/11 “Truth” movement.
  
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  Van Jones was inspired to create Color of Change by Kanye West’s comment that “George Bush doesn’t care about black people.”
  
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  Color of Change has modeled itself after Move On. Color of Change co-founder James Rucker was a political operative for Move On.
  
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  Color of Change (or its parent) has received hundreds of thousands of dollars in funding from organizations controlled by George Soros.
  
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  Color of Change has received support from other liberal organizations, including the Tides Foundation.
  
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  Color of Change has received funding and other support from the Service Employees International Union (SEIU).
  
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  Color of Change partnered with ACORN on advocacy campaigns.
  
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  Color of Change has collaborated with Media Matters in campaigns targeting Fox News.
  
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  Color of Change has expressed support for the Occupy movement.
  
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  Color of Change has a history of aligning with anti-ALEC organizations, including People for the American Way and Common Cause.
  
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  Color of Change has attacked Democrats that have diverged from its extreme ideological agenda, including the Congressional Black Caucus, Rep. Steny Hoyer, Rep. Bobby Rush and supporters of Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign.
  
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  Color of Change purports to have 800,000 members, but this merely appears to be the (alleged) size of its e-mail list.
  
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  Color of Change appears to have no interest in negotiating or seeking accommodation. It is simply bent on damaging the reputation of its targets, typically corporations, until the target capitulates to make the problem “go away.” Color of Change’s campaign against Glenn Beck appears to have served as a model for future efforts.
  

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  Avowed communism.
  
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  Support for the 9/11 “Truth” movement.
  
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  Ties to the “radical” Bay Area group “Standing Together to Organize a Revolutionary Movement” (STORM).
  
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  Advocacy on behalf of death row inmate and convicted cop killer Mumia Abu-Jamal.
  

At the time of Jones’s resignation, Color of Change co-founder James Rucker attempted to downplay Jones’s links to the 9/11 “Truth” movement: “There’s the question of whether even Van knew. In fact, there are several other folks, including Michael Lerner, Howard Zinn, who claimed that 9/11 petition changed after they signed it.”³

Color of Change collaborated with People for the American Way and Common Cause to launch “Video the Vote,” which “enlist[ed] volunteer videographers ‘citizen journalists’ to work cooperatively with ‘Election Protection’ lawyers to document problems at the polls as they occur,” and “upload the results to YouTube … in nearly real time[.]”³⁰

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  In 2007, as the Congressional Black Caucus and Fox News considered co-sponsoring a Democratic presidential debate, Color of Change co-founder James Rucker wondered if Congressional Black Caucus members had “lost their minds,” and accused the organization of “going down a dangerous path.”³¹ Keiana Barrett, Congressional Black Caucus staffer: “It is fine for groups to disagree, but ‘they’re not being fair[.]’”³²
  

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  During the 2008 Democratic presidential nomination contest, Color of Change launched a campaign targeting “CBC members … threatening to vote against their constituents, and perhaps against the will of the American people, by casting their superdelegate vote for Senator [Hillary] Clinton.”³³ Color of Change “circulated a letter and a petition … promising that the Democrats will pay a ‘political price’ if they overturn the will of black and young voters and choose Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (N.Y) as the party’s nominee over Sen. Barack Obama (Ill.).”³⁴
  

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  In 2008, Color of Change sponsored an advertisement in The Washington Post attacking Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) for supporting immunity for telecommunications companies in the Foreign Surveillance Intelligence Act.
  

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  In early 2010, Color of Change circulated “a survey asking its … members for their views on the [Congressional Black] caucus.” Members were asked if they agreed with statements that included: “The Congressional Black Caucus can’t have it both ways, and we should call on members of the CBC to either vastly scale back their relationship to corporate donors or stop claiming that they’re upholding the legacy of the Civil Rights Movement.”³⁵
  

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  In late 2010, Color of Change opposed Rep. Bobby Rush’s (D-Ill.) candidacy to become Ranking Democrat on the House Communications Subcommittee. Color of Change described Rush’s candidacy as “dangerous,” stating that he “has repeatedly supported the interests of the telecommunications industry over the interests of regular people, and has been a fierce opponent of network neutrality.”³⁶ In a letter to Nancy Pelosi, Color of Change co-founder James Rucker asserted, “I have grave doubts that Congressman Rush is capable of being an honest broker on important telecommunications matters.” Congressman Rush responded: “I will not allow the Silicon Valley funded Color of Change.Org group, which purports to ‘strengthen Black America’s political voice’ through the Internet, to call into question my integrity and honesty to lead the Subcommittee …as its Ranking Member. The notion that this Silicon Valley controlled group should have the only word on what is in the best interests of people of color is foolish.”³⁷ But in a vote of committee Democrats, Rep. Anna Eshoo (D-Calif.) prevailed over Rep. Rush.³⁸
  

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  David Honig, Co-Founder of the Minority Media and Telecommunications Council (MMTC): “I am going to call out ColorofChange’s James Rucker for denouncing Congressman Bobby Rush’s candidacy for Ranking Member of the House Communications, Technology and the Internet (CTI) Subcommittee. … Congressman Rush’s well thought out concerns surely do not fit Rucker's fabricated charges against him. … Bobby Rush has more than earned the ranking membership. And James Rucker should consider the difference between hubris and humility.”³⁹
  

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  In March 2007, Color of Change “launched a national letter writing campaign … calling on the Congressional Black Caucus Institute to reject Fox as a partner for their presidential debates.” Color of Change “asked Outfoxed director Robert Greenwald to compile an online video detailing Fox’s record of attacking Blacks,” which was posted to Brave New Films’ website, www.FoxAttacks.com.⁴⁴
  

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  In July 2008, Color of Change, MoveOn.org and the rap artist Nas protested Fox News’s coverage of Barack Obama by delivering “more than 600,000 petitions” to the network’s headquarters.⁴⁵
  

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  In July 2011, Color of Change planned a protest at Rupert Murdoch’s home over News Corp.’s role in the British phone-hacking scandal.⁴⁶
  

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  Color of Change has launched a boycott, “Turn Off Fox,” seeking to “organiz[e] businesses and other public places to stop playing Fox News” in response to the network’s “race-baiting and fear-mongering[.]”⁴⁷
  

Color of Change’s oft-repeated claim that it has “800,000 members” appears to be a reference to the size of its e-mail list. According to The Washington Post: “‘We try to create opportunities for everyday people who are not going to be your in-the-street activists,’ said James Rucker, co-founder of ColorofChange.org, an online civil rights group that he said has an e-mail list of 800,000.”⁴⁸