Racial Justice Think Tank: ARC

The nondescriptly titled Applied Research Center (ARC) describes itself as a "30 year old racial justice think tank." Devoted to raising awareness about racism and promoting social justice since 1981, ARC leverages its three-pronged approach through the Media and Journalism, Strategic Research and Policy Analysis, and the Racial Justice Leadership Action Network. This from their website further explains:

We use Media and Journalism to deliver stories that are not reported elsewhere, move people to action in support of racial equity, and push a society silenced by guilt and confusion toward concrete discussions of racial justice in the 21st century. Through Strategic Research and Policy Analysis, we expose structural inequities by conducting both quantitative and qualitative research; produce reliable, relevant and accessible reports and interactive tools that help researchers, activists and policymakers take next steps; and build the analytical foundation for racial justice campaigns across the nation. Finally, ARC’s Racial Justice Leadership Action Network trains a new cadre of journalists, community organizers and elected officials, through popular education, convenings, and mobilized action, to make these solutions real. ARC’s bi-annual Facing Race Conference has become the national convening of organizers, activists, and intellectuals on race and politics.

There are many free research reports available at the site.  Most recent reports include work on food justice, LGBT racial justice issues, and how the millennials fair on activism and race. 

Race and Reality TV

If you're looking for more reading in preparation for the upcoming Scholars Symposium, Reality Television, Real Worlds: Global Perspectives on the Politics of Reality Television, December 5, 2008 here at the Annenberg School, the latest issue of Critical Studies in Media Communication (Volume 25, Number 4, October 2008) is devoted to Race and Reality TV, edited by Mark P. Orbe.

Articles include an opening piece by Orbe, Representations of Race in Reality TV: Watch and Discuss, followed by Black. White. and a Survivor of the Real World: Constructions of Race on Reality TV, by Katrina E. Bell-Jordan; Performing Race in Flavor of Love and The Bachelor, by Rachel E. Dubrofsky and Antoine Hardy; As Seen on TV: An Autoethnographic Reflection on Race and Reality Television, by Robin M. Boylorn. Catherine Squires and Mark C. Hopson supply critical responses to the issue with Race and Reality TV: Tryin' to Make It Real - But Real Compared to What? and "Now Watch Me Dance": Responding to Critical Observations, Constructions, and Performances of Race and Reality on Television, respectively.

The issue is available from the Library web page.