Cheryl A. Leanza serves as policy advisor to the United Church of Christ’s historic media advocacy ministry, UCC OC Inc., www.uccmediajustice.org, and on the UCC’s behalf serves as the Co-Chair of the Leadership Conference of Civil Rights Media & Telecommunications Task Force. Ms. Leanza plays a key role at the intersection of civil rights and media justice, with a focus on advocacy on behalf of those who are least served by the media and communications ecosystems. She is the co-creator of the UCC’s Faithful Internet net neutrality campaign and has lead successful public policy campaigns on low power community radio and ending predatory prison phone rates.
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Affordable Communication Is Under Attack
Ajit Pai speaks at the Federal Communications Commission in Washington, U.S., December 14, 2017. REUTERS/Aaron P. Bernstein.
Last month, social justice advocates gathered outside of the Federal Communications Commission to speak out. Aja Taylor with Bread for the City — a direct service organization in Washington, D.C. — stopped us in our tracks with this question: “Can you imagine being on the wait list for subsidized housing for eight years, but miss your opportunity because when your name finally comes up, no one can reach you?”
It is stories like these that reinforce my belief in the fundamental connection between communications justice and social justice. Communication is a human right —a tool that connects us to our communities, helps to disclose injustice, and facilitate innumerable aspects of modern life.