Dec 10, 2020 11:00 am

DEC 10  | THURS
11-12 PM EST

The Changing Landscape of Social Media

MSM Town Hall with Values Partnerships
featuring #OscarsSoWhite creator April Reign

Social media has made the ability to amplify previously unheard and marginalized voices, react to topics swiftly, and organize at scale more accessible. In recent years, savvy users have built community and turned hashtags in response to social issues into movements for unprecedented awareness and change. This discussion will explore the nuances associated with the ways we communicate online, how we learn and listen, and think about accountability in the world. Join April Reign, creator of #OscarsSoWhite and members of the MSM community in a robust discussion about social media and its ever changing landscape.

About April Reign

April Reign practiced law for nearly twenty years, honing her talent for public speaking, persuasive writing and affecting policy change, but it wasn’t until she walked away from her legal practice that she found her true passion.

As the creator of the viral hashtag-turned-movement, #OscarsSoWhite, April has been challenging the lack of representation of marginalized communities in Hollywood and beyond since 2015. Reign sustains a movement that has resulted in the most permanent systemic change ever seen in the over 80-year history of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Her name continues to be synonymous with this historic change, the results of which are reverberating throughout the entertainment industry and will do so for decades to come.

She has now partnered with Overture Global, a New York-based media company, to launch Ensemble, a digital content studio to accelerate opportunities around content and development in front of and behind the camera for people of color. Reign is also part of the founding cohort for She Will Rise, a grassroots campaign to support the nomination and confirmation of the first Black Woman to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Reign is an influential and sought-after media presence, having built an impressive global organic social media following over several platforms, as well as a network of recognized celebrities, creators, activists, and decision makers at the corporate level. Reign capitalizes on this network and her experience, using her voice to spark conversations and explore issues of race, politics and culture, helping structure ways to turn dialogue into action.

April is a sought-after advocate, consultant, writer, speaker and interviewer regarding issues of diversity and inclusion, and on the representation of all marginalized communities in the arts, tech and entertainment. Her work includes constant dialogue with media as well as collaborations with Procter & Gamble, Twitter, Google NextGen, AARP, HBO and more.