Enter
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Q&A
HUFFINGTON
07.22.12
OST OF RASHAD ROBINSON’S life has been dedicated to
politics and activism. As a toddler he joined his parents on
picket lines. At 16 he had his own political talk show on public access television. By his mid-20s he was a leader at Gay
& Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD). Now, at 33,
he’s the executive director of ColorOfChange, the spunky civil
rights organization that has pressured major corporations,
including Pepsi and Wal-Mart, to pull out of the right-wing
American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC). In the wake
of the Trayvon Martin killing, the group has taken on the
ALEC-supported Stand Your Ground laws. Robinson is black
and gay and doesn’t divide his loyalties. —Trymaine Lee
Well before the Trayvon Martin killing,
ColorOfChange launched a campaign
against ALEC. But his killing brought attention to Stand Your Ground laws, many
of which ALEC had either engineered or
supported, which give wide discretion
in the use of deadly force. How did this
affect the original strategy? Many of
the folks that had a lot of passion
around Trayvon Martin were able
to see themselves as part of the
ALEC campaign. It was able to give
them something tangible to kind of
move from after they had been to
three or four rallies and they said,
“What do we want to do to make
a difference on the issues that impact our community?”
You and your organization have become
heroes to some liberals, who see you
as a David taking on these Goliaths.
Do you see it that way? There isn’t