CBH Talk | How Change Happens: Rashad Robinson with Heather McGhee

For decades, Rashad Robinson has helped shape some of the most influential social justice campaigns in the United States, taking on corporations, politicians, media institutions, and technology companies to win lasting structural change. In his new book, From Presence to Power: How to Take On the Fights That Matter—and Win, Robinson draws on more than twenty years of organizing and advocacy to argue that visibility alone is never enough. Real progress, he contends, comes from building the power to change the rules themselves.

In conversation with acclaimed author and public policy expert Heather McGhee, Robinson explores why some movements succeed while others stall, what today's organizers can learn from victories and setbacks alike, and how ordinary people can build the leverage needed to confront entrenched systems of power. Together, they examine the relationship between narrative, institutions, democracy, and collective action, offering a timely conversation about what it takes not just to demand change, but to win it.

Participants

Rashad Robinson is a social justice leader, strategist and organization builder. He has designed campaigns to change public policies, corporate practices, electoral outcomes, and media representations. He speaks widely on corporate accountability, narrative change, infrastructure for organizing, and strategies for creating a more equitable world. Through Rashad Robinson Advisors (RRA), he advises and collaborates on developing high-impact strategies to bring about progress with foundations, nonprofits and leaders across media, politics, government and business. He previously led Color Of Change for nearly fourteen years, transforming it from a start-up into a national force for racial justice, and also led programs at GLAAD, reshaping media representations of LGBTQ people during the fights to win marriage equality and end discrimination. More information about Rashad, including his weekly How We Win newsletter, can be found at www.rashadrobinson.com.

Heather McGhee is an expert in economic and social policy. The former president of the inequality-focused think tank Demos, McGhee has drafted legislation, testified before Congress, and contributed regularly to news shows, including NBC’s Meet the Press. She now chairs the board of Color of Change, the nation’s largest online racial justice organization. Her first book, The Sum of Us: What Racism Costs Everyone and How We Can Prosper Together spent 10 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list and was long-listed for the National Book Award and Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Nonfiction, among numerous other awards. McGhee holds a BA in American studies from Yale University and a JD from the University of California, Berkeley, School of Law.