Publisher
New York, NY
Rinku Sen is the President and Executive Director of the Applied Research Center (ARC) and Publisher of Colorlines.com.
A leading figure in the racial justice movement for the last twenty years, Rinku has positioned ARC as the movement's national home for media, research and activism. She has extensive practical experience on the ground, with expertise in race, feminism, immigration, economic justice, philanthropy and community organizing. Over the course of her career, Rinku has woven together journalism and organizing to further social change.
Rinku is the Vice Chair of the Schott Foundation for Public Education, and is a Boardmember of the Philanthropic Initiative for Racial Equity. She is the Chair of the Media Consortium and sits on the boards for Restaurant Opportunities Center-United and Working America. Additionally, she is a Prime Movers fellow through the Hunt Alternatives Fund.
Rinku is a highly sought-after speaker on a broad range of racial justice topics. She is the author of The Accidental American: Immigration and Citizenship in the Age of Globalization and Stir It Up: Lessons in Community Organizing. Rinku has regular columns at Colorlines, the Huffington Post, and Jack and Jill Politics. Additionally, her commentary and work has been featured in Forbes, The San Francisco Chronicle, Market Watch, International Business Times, TomPaine.com, AlterNet, Racialicious, The Root, the Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder, and the Windy City Times, among other media outlets.
Read Rinku's full bio.
Rinku tweets at @ARC_RinkuSen.
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If You Care About Immigrant Rights, Learn Black America’s History Too
by Rinku Sen on February 3 2012, 9:43AM
This month, our Drop the I-Word campaign is urging immigrants and their advocates to join a virtual book club discussing Isabel Wilkerson’s “The Warmth of Other Suns.”
Topics: Drop the I-Word, Rinku Sen
Film Reveals “The Invisible War” on Women in Our Military
by Rinku Sen on January 26 2012, 9:49AM
A documentary premiered at Sundance that shines light on the ugly secret of rape inside the U.S. military. It’s time we all pay attention, writes Rinku Sen.
Topics: Gender & Sexuality, Rinku Sen, Sundance
The Real Goal of Ariz.’s Book Banning Thought Police: Harass Latinos
by Rinku Sen on January 20 2012, 9:20AM
To ban ethnic studies in Tucson, officials have had to warehouse Shakespeare’s “The Tempest,” along with six other books. But the messy details don’t matter. The real goal is to put Mexican Americans on the defensive about their place in the state.
Topics: Immigration, Rinku Sen, Schools & Youth
The Arc Is Bending Toward Justice. But That Doesn’t Make Our Work Easier
by Rinku Sen on December 19 2011, 9:43AM
Quiet as it’s kept, we’re making real progress toward a just society. So next year, writes Rinku Sen, I’m keeping three imperatives: avoid triumphalism, put an explicit racial analysis front and center in national debates, and fight like hell.
Topics: 2012: What's Ahead?, Politics, Rinku Sen
Tired of Backing Biased Restaurants? Finally, a Zagat’s for Racial Justice
by Rinku Sen on December 1 2011, 9:59AM
Noticing that all the bussers in your favorite restaurant are Latino and all the waiters white? And that black people are nowhere to be found—unless you’re grabbing fast food? It’s not a coincidence. And now there’s a guide for
Topics: Economy, How We Eat, Rinku Sen
Join the Colorlines.com Family at Facing Race 2012 in Baltimore
by Rinku Sen on November 16 2011, 10:29AM
Exactly one year from now, 1,000 racial justice activists will gather in Baltimore for the fourth Facing Race.
Topics: Facing Race 2012, Rinku Sen
Two Votes, One Voice Against Hate in Tulsa, Oklahoma
by Rinku Sen on November 7 2011, 9:30AM
While the state of Oklahoma certainly has its fair share of conservative policies, supporters of immigrant and LGBT rights have taken a bold stand in support of justice.
Topics: Rinku Sen
Why It’s Crucial to Keep Immigrant Families Together
by Rinku Sen on November 2 2011, 8:00AM
Each year, thousands of immigrant parents are ripped away from their kids. Now, it’s time for us to make a difference.
Topics: Deportation Dragnet, Rinku Sen, Shattered Families
Forget Diversity, It’s About “Occupying” Racial Inequity
by Rinku Sen on November 1 2011, 9:47AM
The Occupy movement is clearly unifying, and centralizing racial equity will help to sustain that unity. This won’t happen accidentally or automatically. It’ll take more of the difficult work that’s already underway in several local movements.
Occupying, Organizing and the Movements That Demand Both
by Rinku Sen on October 19 2011, 10:23AM
It’s unlikely that anyone knows how to predict when “movement moments” will strike. But the question is how we make the most of them when they come, because you never know how close you are to freedom.
Making Room for Racial Justice in the People Power Exploding Around Us
by Rinku Sen on October 5 2011, 12:00PM
Bringing our movements together is key to re-conceiving the American Dream.
Wanna Make Troy Davis the Last Death Penalty Victim? Here’s How to Start
by Rinku Sen on September 22 2011, 11:58AM
As people across the globe mourn the death of Troy Davis, it’s time to recognize and support groups that are working to abolish capital punishment.
Topics: Criminal Justice, Rinku Sen
View from Arizona: A Look at Operation Streamline
by Rinku Sen on September 15 2011, 9:24AM
It’s a program that speeds immigrants through deportation proceedings. And this week, a group of artists and activists got a firsthand look.
Topics: Rinku Sen
The 9/11 Story I Choose to Tell: We All Belong to Each Other
by Rinku Sen on September 7 2011, 9:18AM
I can’t call myself a person who values inclusion and compassion and then pick and choose those whom I accept. I can disagree, but I can’t disown. Not if I want to help build a nation that constructs rather than destroys, that frees rather than enslaves.
Topics: 9/11 Anniv., Immigration, National Security, Rinku Sen
‘The Help’ Today Still Don’t Have Rights, Actually
by Rinku Sen on August 11 2011, 11:23AM
Fifty years after the Jim Crow era in which this much-discussed film is set, the largely immigrant women taking care of rich people’s families remain ignored by most labor protections.
Real Diversity Looks Like Inclusion
by Rinku Sen on August 9 2011, 9:45AM
Here are three ways to tell that your organization has done more than just count off some colored and gendered faces to meet a diversity requirement.
Topics: Rinku Sen
Wal-Mart Gets a Free Pass For Bias From the Supreme Court
by Rinku Sen on June 21 2011, 9:57AM
The court doesn’t challenge the fact that bias exists, it just refuses to hold the company accountable, as long as the rules for bigotry are unwritten.
Topics: Gender & Sexuality, Rinku Sen
An Open Address to 2011 Graduates: It’s OK to Follow, Say No and Get Hurt
by Rinku Sen on June 20 2011, 9:43AM
Go forth as joiners, says Rinku Sen, with the clarity that lets you say no on the way to yes, and with an open heart.
Topics: Graduates, Rinku Sen, Schools & Youth
What the President Left Out of His Immigration Reform Speech
by Rinku Sen on May 11 2011, 4:00PM
He made the economic argument, and rightly called Republicans out. But he mentioned neither the power he’s abdicating nor the racial anxieties that define the fight.
Topics: Immigration, Rinku Sen
The Purpose of Political Capital: Three Agenda Items for Obama
by Rinku Sen on May 5 2011, 9:19AM
We can no longer argue Obama is trapped by Bush’s mistakes, says Rinku Sen. He’s slain the enemy and now it’s time to clean up the mess at home.
Topics: Osama Bin Laden, Politics, Rinku Sen
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