Diversity

Events

Organizations CBS Partners with on Diversity Initiatives

The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), created in 1909 is a non-profit organization established with the objective of insuring the political, educational, social and economic equality of minority groups. The NAACP has as its mission the goal of eliminating race prejudice and removing all barriers of racial discrimination through democratic processes."

NAACP ACT-SO is a year long enrichment program designed to recruit, stimulate, improve and encourage high academic and cultural achievement among African-American high school students. ACT-SO is an acronym for "Afro-Academic, Cultural, Technological and Scientific Olympics." The NAACP ACT-SO program centers on the dedication and commitment of community volunteers and business leaders to serve as mentors and coaches in promoting academic and artistic excellence among African-American students. There are 25 categories of competition in the sciences, humanities, performing and visual arts.

The American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA) is a national labor union affiliated with the AFL-CIO. AFTRA represents its members in major areas, including news and broadcasting, entertainment programming, the recording business and commercials and non-broadcasts, industrial and educational media. AFTRA's goals and objectives include increasing employment as well as opportunities for the employment of women, minorities, seniors and people with disabilities, protecting and strengthening Non-Discrimination/Affirmative Action provisions in all AFTRA contracts, building and maintaining strategic relationships with civil rights, community-based and industry organizations, and monitoring and challenging systematic negative stereotypical portrayals.

The Director's Guild of America (DGA) seeks to protect directorial teams' legal and artistic rights, contend for their creative freedom and strengthen their ability to develop meaningful and credible careers. The DGA's African-American, Asian-American, Latino and Women's Steering Committees strive to establish a line of communication between its members and potential employers through networking opportunities, skill enhancement and career development in the industry with an emphasis on employment.

The Writers Guild of America (WGA) represents writers in the motion picture, broadcast cable and new technologies industries. "The opportunity for access for a broad range of voices has been cut dramatically… storytellers from all backgrounds should be once again allowed independent access to America's town square. These things are asked because we believe that diverse programming from distinct and varied sources is the very definition of the public interest." Excerpts from the statement given by WGAW President Victoria Riskin at the FCC En Banc Hearing in Richmond, Va. in February.

The Screen Actors Guild (SAG), a respected organization that fights for the rights of actors, has a long history of advocating equal access to employment for all its members, regardless of their gender, ethnicity, age or physical ability, as well as increasing access for performers with disabilities, seniors, women and African-American, Latino-American, Asian/Pacific-American, and Native-American performers to casting directors.

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The Coalition of Asian Pacifics in Entertainment (CAPE) was founded in 1991 as a non-profit organization that addresses the interests of Asian Pacifics in the industry. Founded in 1991 in Los Angeles, CAPE has become the leading forum for Asian Pacific Americans from feature film, television, video, publishing, music and other entertainment fields to share their common interests and concerns.

East West Players (EWP) is the first Asian Pacific American Theater in the country. For almost 40 years, EWP has created a theater that gives voice to the Asian Pacific Islander community by producing a variety of different plays including traditional classics, Broadway productions and works specific to the Asian American experience.

The Guy Hanks and Marvin Miller Writing Program (Cosby Fellowship Program) was established by Drs. Bill and Camille Cosby in 1993 at the USC School of Cinema-Television. The program was named in honor of Camille's father, Guy Alexander Hanks, and Bill's producer, Marvin Miller. The purpose of the writing program is to assist writers in the completion of a film or television script, and to deepen the participants' appreciation for and comprehension of African-American history and culture.

The National Hispanic Foundation for the Arts (NHFA) was created in 1997 to advance the presence of Latinos in the media, telecommunications and entertainment industries. The Foundation has concentrated on increasing access for Hispanic artists and professionals while fostering the emergence of new Hispanic talent. The Foundation's mission has two principal goals: to offer graduate scholarships at prominent colleges and universities, and to expand career opportunities for existing talent in all aspects of entertainment and the performing arts. The Foundation is the initiative of actors Jimmy Smits, Sonia Braga, Esai Morales and Washington, D.C. attorney Felix Sanchez.

NOSOTROS, the Spanish word for "we," was founded in 1970 by Ricardo Montalbán and was created to help carry out the desires of Spanish-speaking people in the motion picture and television industry. NOSOTROS' primary objectives include improving the image of people of Spanish-speaking origin as they are portrayed on the screen, seeking employment opportunities in the entertainment industry in all types of roles (both in front of and behind the camera) that are capable of performing, training their members to become better actors and actresses by offering theater workshops and theater productions and, ultimately seeking talent in the community in an attempt to train creative youngsters to enter our chosen profession.

The Robey Theater Company was founded in Dec. 1994 by Danny Glover and Bennet Guillory to fill a void of opportunity for black theatre artists in honor of acting and music legend Paul Robeson. Robey's mission is to explore and develop relevant provocative and innovative new plays written about the black experience, as well as to reinterpret established works.

The Imagen Foundation seeks to recognize and reward positive portrayals of Latinos in all forms of media, as well as to encourage and recognize the achievements of Latinos in the entertainment and communications industries. The Foundation works to create, promote, and enhance opportunities for all Latinos in front of and behind the camera and throughout the entertainment industry, and serves as a liaison between the industry and the Latino community by providing access, education and resources.