Citizens Project

Citizens Project in the news!

25th March, 2010

You’ve seen the billboards, the print ads, the bus sides and the websites. Church Equals State, Freedom From Expression, Create Isolation, Celebrate Conformity. And now you know that Citizens Project was the organization behind this provocative campaign.

Learn more about what the campaign is all about by checking out Citizens Project’s recent media coverage and stay tuned to learn how you can join the conversation!

• Check out the Gazette article by Mark Barna: Springs nonprofit hopes billboards spark diversity dialogue
• Read a story by Anthony Lane on the Colorado Springs Independent blog: Church equals state? Huh?
• Also, watch for Citizens Project on KRDO Channel 13 news this evening, when Executive Director Barb Van Hoy talks about the awareness campaign

If you haven’t already, please join our email list for opportunities to get involved!

Walmart store sells Black Barbie for $3, White Barbie for $5.93

24th March, 2010

(http://www.funnyjunk.com/funny_pictures/224187/Wal+Mart+Fail/)

Thanks to Diversity Consultant Jody Alyn and her student for this piece in her newsletter:

Is this a race-based business practice? A race-based buying practice? Or a sign of something else?

Check out the news story about Walmart and watch a video about one  news program’s effort to recreate Dr. Kenneth and Mamie Clark’s famous research on doll preference and racial identity.

Reprinted with permission.

The linked news story on ABC’s web site  is very thoughtful.

Vote for Art Creates Community Project Funding

24th February, 2010

We like anything that creates community in the Pikes Peak region, and here’s one:

And the Divine Award goes to…

8th January, 2010

Citizens Project is delighted to announce that the recipient of the 2010 Divine Award is John Weiss!

Photo by Cayton Photography

Please join us as we celebrate John’s contributions to the Colorado Springs community at our sixth annual Divine Award event!

Thursday, February 18, 2010 from 5:30 – 7:30 p.m.
The Warehouse, 25 W. Cimarron St.,
Colorado Springs, Colorado
Open to the public, $10 suggested donation

Please RSVP by February 12 to: kristy@citizensproject.org or (719) 520-9899

View the electronic invitation

About the Divine Award: Citizens Project’s Divine Award is given annually to an individual in the Pikes Peak region who has worked tirelessly to create a vibrant democracy in which equal rights are protected and differences are respected. The award simultaneously recognizes the accomplishments of its recipient and honors the legacy of Amy Divine, the founder of Citizens Project, who dedicated her energy to championing traditional American values of equal rights, individual freedoms, separation of church and state, civic engagement and respect for diversity. This year’s recipient is activist John Weiss, founder and publisher of the Colorado Springs Independent. Previous recipients are Mary Lou Makepeace, Dr. Jim White, Pam Jones and Juliet Draper (shared award), Lorne Kramer, and Richard Skorman.

Photo by Catyon Photography

About John Weiss: John Weiss is a visionary entrepreneur, collaborator, and community activist whose leadership has created a more diverse, progressive and green Colorado Springs over the last 27 years.

As founder and publisher of the Colorado Springs Independent, John oversees the region’s only free weekly alternative newspaper, which reaches more than 100,000 readers in the region with local news, diverse thought and untold stories. Through this platform, Mr. Weiss has brought nationally renowned creative thinkers to Colorado Springs to build alliances and elevate discourse, co-sponsored more than 50 civic events annually to promote a vibrant democracy, and organized coalitions to bring positive change to the region.

John is an advocate for environmental sustainability who led successful initiatives to increase funding for open space and establish recycling programs. He has organized and supported campaigns to increase City Council pay, extend health benefits to domestic partners of municipal employees, and reform local tax policy. John recently launched the Independent’s Give! initiative which raised more than $150,000 for local nonprofits, and he produces the annual Fort Carson Town Hall meetings. In his spare time, John can be found volunteering at his sons’ schools, hiking with his dog, and vanquishing reptilian invaders when innocents are threatened.

A Celebration of History

28th December, 2009

A Celebration of History: Celebrate Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day & Barack Obama’s Inauguration

January 18, 2010

Colorado Technical University, 4435 N. Chestnut St., Colorado Springs, CO

Meet & Greet: 11:00 – 11:30am

African American Resources: 11:30am – 12:30pm

Lunch: 12:30pm – 1:30pm

Cost: $25 per person

Please RSVP by January 15, 2010 to Dr. James Tucker @ 719-528-1954

The People Speak – Sunday Dec. 13

11th December, 2009

Teaching Tolerance invites you to watch The People Speak, a documentary film based on the works of social activist and educator Howard Zinn, A People’s History of the United States and Voices of a People’s History of the United States, co-authored with Anthony Arnove and reviewed by Teaching Tolerance magazine.

The People Speak features dramatic and musical performances of the letters, diaries and speeches of everyday Americans who spoke up for social change, equality and justice throughout U.S. history and helped form and protect the democracy we enjoy today.

The words of suffragists, civil rights leaders, anti-war proponents and labor leaders are brought to life by actors and singers like Matt Damon, Bob Dylan, Danny Glover, Bruce Springsteen, Morgan Freeman, Marisa Tomei and many others.

The film reminds all of us that we must remain active in our communities to promote and preserve social justice and equality. Clips of The People Speak and a classroom study guide for your students are available at History.com.

We welcome your feedback.
You can reach us online

or by mail:
Teaching Tolerance
c/o Southern Poverty Law Center
400 Washington Ave.
Montgomery, AL 36104

Citizens Project's Kristy Milligan Tells All (about CP on the Better Business Bureau's radio program)

30th September, 2009

Kristy joined Katie Carrol, host of the Better Business Bureau’s INSIGHTS, a weekly public affairs radio show, to talk about Citizens Project.

Listen here!

Kristy Milligan

Katie Carrol

Equal Opportunity Admissions Policy Upheld

29th September, 2009

Last year Colorado turned the tide on opponents of equal opportunity by rejecting a ballot measure that would have banned Affirmative Action. Here’s another bit of good news for equality, from the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights:

Federal District Court Upholds University of Texas Equal Opportunity Admissions Policy

September 25, 2009 – Posted by Whitney Gusby

In a major victory for equal opportunity, a federal district court ruled in favor of the University of Texas at Austin’s current admissions policy, in which race is only part of the consideration process for students’ admission to the university.

Read more here.

First openly gay city council candidate!

28th September, 2009

Ryan Acker

Citizens Project never endorses candidates, but we can’t contain our excitement that Colorado Springs has it’s first openly gay city council candidate!  Ryan Acker, executive director of the Pikes Peak Gay and Lesbian Community Center has applied for the District 3 seat being vacated by Councilman Jerry Heimlicher. It’s another sign of the changing climate of inclusiveness in Colorado Springs.

Read about all the other candidates here.