A View from the Field: Fighting for Reparations
A View from the Field is an ongoing feature that highlights the efforts of Free Press’ team of organizers and advocates.
Once a month, we provide updates from the field as staffers work alongside our amazing allies and activists to create a more just and equitable media system.
- At the multilingual Media Summit of the Americas, Senior Counsel and Director of Digital Justice and Civil Rights Nora Benavidez led a workshop on how social-media platforms can combat non-English disinformation. The summit also featured remarks from Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen.
- Nora participated in a panel discussion about the impact of misinformation on our democracy at the Hispanics in Philanthropy summit in Miami.
- Nora also took part in a panel discussion about election disinformation hosted by Protect Democracy. The group recently released a report about the impact of electoral disinformation on communities of color. Nora discussed Free Press’ work with the Disinfo Defense League and the Change the Terms coalition.
- News Voices: Philadelphia Project Manager Tauhid Chappell took part in “Watching the Watchdog: How a Newsroom Can Respond to Calls for Accountability" at SRCCON. This session explored what can happen when a local news outlet prints, publishes or broadcasts harmful coverage, and a community organizes to respond.
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Senior Director of Journalism Policy Mike Rispoli and Legal Fellow Sanjay Jolly were also at SRCCON, where they took part in “Past Is Present: How Historic Struggles for Media Justice Mirror Today’s Local News Crisis.” This session examined how the conditions that drove historical struggles for an equitable media system closely resemble what’s happening today.
Program Manager Diamond Hardiman and Media 2070 Campaign Manager Venneikia Williams took part in a range of powerful convenings, both together and solo:
- Venneikia gave the keynote speech at “Black Well-Being: Moving Toward Solutions Together.” This Seattle event was hosted by the Black Future Co-op Fund, a Washington-based collective creating a new model for philanthropy.
- Diamond discussed the fight for media reparations during a panel discussion held as part of “Juneteenth: Fighting for Liberation.” Venneikia helped facilitate breakout groups during the second day of this Blackroots Alliance event.
- Venneikia and MediaJustice Narrative Director Eteng Ettah hosted a virtual screening of Free Speech TV’s digital series That’s So Black and talked about Black storytelling in the digital age.
- Diamond and Venneikia presented a session on “Black Future Newsstands” at the Allied Media Conference. During the conversation, they invited participants to imagine what kinds of news, information and storytelling might exist in the future if they centered the vastness of Black experience. Check out this beautiful reel.
