Strategic Communications for Black Lives
Session Type(s): Panel
Starts: Friday, Jul. 15 5:00 PM (Eastern)
Ends: Friday, Jul. 15 6:15 PM (Eastern)
Behind the scenes of the Movement for Black Lives, strategic communicators work to amplify the movement’s visibility and maintain a national dialogue about police brutality and the criminalization of people of color. This panel discussion will offer a unique opportunity to hear directly from these strategists about the most effective tools and strategies they employ in their work. The panel will emphasize the movement’s focus on amplifying the voices of organized communities of color from the local to the national level and explore the innovative, next-generation tactics they’ve used to affirm the lives of people of color.
Moderator
Danielle Belton
Danielle C. Belton is best known as the editor/writer of the award-winning pop culture-meets-politics blog The Black Snob. She currently works as managing editor for black news interest site The Root. She is formerly Editor-At-Large for Clutch Magazine Online, and was Head Writer for BET Networks’ NAACP Image Award nominated late night talk show, Don’t Sleep, featuring ex-CNN news anchor T.J. Holmes.
As a freelance journalist, Belton has written for: The Daily Beast, Essence Magazine, The Guardian, The American Prospect, BP Magazine, The Root, The Grio, Jezebel, The Bakersfield Californian, NPR, The Huffington Post and many others. Earlier in her career, Belton is a former blogger and online campaign manager for non-profits New Security Action/Win Without War, former social media strategist for Advancement Project and was an entertainment reporter and columnist for The Bakersfield Californian.
Panelists
Malaya Davis
Malaya Davis was born and raised in Cleveland, OH. She attended Wright State University where she studied Anthropology and Black studies; she also got her start organizing on the campus of WSU. She began organizing and advocating for students of color, specifically African American students on campus. She has been a member of the Ohio Student Association since 2013.
She served on staff with OSA as the Lead Racial Justice organizer and as the statewide communications coordinator. While with OSA, she has helped build a national cohort of young organizers of color called the Freedom Side, fought for justice for the families of John Crawford and Tamir Rice, and young Black folks across Ohio.
She is dedicated and passionate about not only serving her community, but working with community members to build power for fundamental and sustainable change.
Chelsea Fuller
Chelsea Fuller joined Advancement Project as the senior communications associate for Youth Criminalization in 2015. In this role, Chelsea works to monitor and deconstruct harmful narratives pertaining to youth of color, while providing strategic media and communications support to grassroots organizations engaged in the fight to end the criminalization of Black and Brown youth. Chelsea provides media strategy, rapid response and crisis communications support to Movement for Black Lives organizations including the Dream Defenders, Organization for Black Struggle, Ohio Students Association and Black Youth Project 100.
Chelsea holds a Bachelors degree in Editorial Journalism and Africana Studies from West Virginia University, and a Masters degree in Strategic Communications from American University.
Previously, Chelsea was a multiplatform reporter and copy editor at The Dominion Post in Morgantown, WV, and was the editor of The Urban Outlook. Chelsea is also co-chair of the National Association of Black Journalists’ Young Journalist Task Force.