MalkiaCyril

Online movements for justice feel like part of the Internet backbone. Most (all?) of these owe a spiritual debt to the work Malkia Cyril and the Center for Media Justice, which she leads. Her unapologetic voice and deeply learned positions have made her indispensable to the discourse around ownership, representation, privacy, and non-discrimination. Cyril’s writing and organizing teach us, with unmatched passion, about the legal, policy, and cultural landscapes that are shaping the future of technology experience for people of color.

Malkia’s Bio:

Malkia A. Cyril is founder and Executive Director of the Center for Media Justice (CMJ) and co-founder of the Media Action Grassroots Network. For more than 20 years, Malkia has built the capacity of racial and economic justice movements to win media rights, access and power in a digital age. A skilled facilitator, and passionate speaker and writer, Cyril’s articles and appearances have driven racial justice strategy on issues from the fight for an open and affordable Internet and new strategic communications approaches to the fight against mass surveillance and prison profiteers. Cyril is a Prime Movers fellow, recipient of the 2012 Donald H. McGannon Award, the 2015 Hugh Hefner 1st Amendment Award, and the 2016 EFF Pioneer Award. In addition to appearing in documentary films Outfoxed and MissRepresentation Cyril has most recently appeared Ava DuVernay’s exciting film: 13th, released by Netflix on October 7th 2016. Born of parents in the Black Panther Party, Cyril is a leader in the movement for digital rights and freedom, and a proud member of the Black Lives Matter Network.