Facing Race: A National Conference in St. Louis, MO — November 20-22, 2024

Brian Walker

Culture and Entertainment Advocacy Director | Color of Change
Brian Walker is the Culture and Entertainment Advocacy Director at Color Of Change. In his role, he is responsible for the organization’s media engagements within entertainment content, to foster relationships with celebrities and influencers, and to influence the narrative of African-Americans in the media. Prior to Color of Change, Brian worked at a number of industry leading organizations including the Creative Artists Agency (CAA), Participant Media, Fox, and New Line Cinema. Brian is a graduate of Howard University’s School of Business and School of Law.

Presentations from Facing Race 2016

The Revolution Will Be Televised: How Social Justice Advocates Can Leverage The Promise of Pop Culture to Create Real Change

Have you ever watched a show that relies on tired tropes about people of color and wondered, “How can I change that?” Have you ever followed a wildly successful and entertaining advocacy or video campaign featuring influential spokespeople and creative storylines and wondered, “How can I do that?” This panel/workshop will help you learn how to do both. You’ll hear from and engage with the creative teams from ColorOfChange.org – whose work is focused on shifting and reshaping harmful media narratives about people of color and advancing policies for a more equitable society – and Weird Enough Productions – whose work is dedicated to creating positive media content of people of color and providing essential education about media literacy (how to identify and combat negative stereotypes) to local communities. We’ll share actionable recommendations from a newly released #PopJustice report, which makes the case that leveraging and influencing pop culture are keystones to social change, particularly in relation to countering stereotypes and fears, and improving attitudes, toward people of color and immigrants. We’ll close with an activity, allowing you to share your experiences and begin the process of developing your own toolbox for #PopJustice. You’ll better understand how to participate in or even launch similar campaigns and projects.

Speakers: Julia Yang-Winkenbach, Brian Walker, Tony Weaver, Jr.