Press
Joint Center President Explains How to Increase Top Staff of Color on MSNBC’s PoliticsNation with Rev. Al Sharpton
Joint Center President Spencer Overton appeared on Rev. Al Sharpton’s MSNBC talk show, PoliticsNation, to discuss the lack of congressional staff diversity in Washington, DC personal offices and explain what can be done to fix it. People of color account for 40% of the U.S. population, but less than 14% of top staff in Congress.…
Joint Center Op-Ed: After Georgia, Senators Must Prioritize Staff Diversity
Sources: CNN, NYT, Cook & Joint Center.* After Black voters in Georgia enabled Democrats to control the Senate, Morning Consult published this commentary by Joint Center Senior Fellow of Diversity and Inclusion Dr. LaShonda Brenson and Joint Center President Spencer Overton calling for the Senate to take key steps to prioritize hiring, developing, and promoting…
Dr. Dominique Harrison Joins Joint Center as Director of Technology Policy
The Joint Center is excited to announce Dr. Dominique Harrison has joined the team as Director of our Technology Policy program. Dr. Harrison will lead the Joint Center’s work on key tech policy issues affecting Black communities, including those related to data privacy, access to and adoption of broadband, ad targeting, and artificial intelligence. “We…
Joint Center President: Senate Tech CEO Hearing is a Play to Discourage Removal of Election Disinformation
Slate just published this commentary on today’s Senate hearing featuring the CEOs of Facebook, Google, and Twitter co-written by Joint Center President Spencer Overton and Professor Danielle Keats Citron. Their bottom line: “The Senate hearing six days before Election Day is an obvious play to chill social-media companies’ efforts to remove election disinformation. The goal is to ensure…
The Joint Center Releases Joint Statement with Several Civil Rights Organizations on Facebook’s Civil Rights Audit
On July 8, the Joint Center released a joint statement with The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights and several other civil rights groups on Facebook’s civil rights audit: “This audit has laid bare what we already know — Facebook is a platform plagued by civil rights shortcomings. Facebook has an enormous impact on our…
The Joint Center Releases Joint Statement with Several Civil Rights Organizations on Facebook’s Latest Policy Announcement on Hate Speech and Voter Disinformation
On June 29, the Joint Center released a joint statement with The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights and several other civil rights groups on Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s latest policy announcement on hate speech and voter disinformation: “While we welcome any progress in Facebook’s policies, today’s announcement continues the company’s practice of taking incremental steps…
Joint Center Vice President Discusses COVID-19’s Impact on Black Communities on the ‘Sustaining Capitalism’ Podcast
Joint Center Vice President Jessica Fulton joined The Committee for Economic Development and The Conference Board’s podcast, Sustaining Capitalism, to discuss COVID-19’s impact on Black communities. On the podcast, Jessica talked about the concern for an increase in Black unemployment and the pre-existing conditions that caused COVID-19 to disproportionately impact Black communities in a negative…
Joint Center Vice President Quoted in The Center for Public Integrity’s Analysis on George Floyd, COVID-19, and ‘Inequality Stealing Black Lives’
Joint Center Vice President Jessica Fulton was quoted in The Center for Public Integrity’s analysis on the murder of George Floyd, the coronavirus, and “inequality stealing Black lives.” “What’s happened with Floyd, and in the history of the U.S., is about whether Black folks can execute power over what their lives are going to look…
Joint Center Vice President Speaks to TIME Magazine About The Significant Barriers Black Businesses Are Facing During The COVID-19 Pandemic
Joint Center Vice President Jessica Fulton spoke to TIME Magazine about how Black businesses are facing significant barriers amid the COVID-19 pandemic.e Several Black businesses weren’t able to take advantage of the Paycheck Protection Program—an issue the Joint Center focused on in our online briefing on Black businesses, access to capital, and future stimulus proposals.…
Marketplace Interviews Joint Center President on Congressional Staff Diversity
Joint Center President Spencer Overton joined Marketplace to discuss our efforts to increase congressional staff diversity. During the interview, Spencer emphasized the importance of feeder positions and why the Joint Center is focused on top staffers in the wake of infrastructure and data privacy issues. Listen to Spencer’s interview below. The full episode can be…