02.16.2010 – Media Contact: Debayani Kar 510.338.4917 or [email protected]

February 16, 2010: Kai Wright, writer, editor and author of Drifting Toward Love joins Applied Research Center and ColorLines as the new Editorial Director. Kai has written extensively for ColorLines, and his pieces include The Colorblind Attack on your Health and A Fragile Union , which recently won Best Feature at the Ippies . He also guest edited My High School Sex Life .

Wright is The Nation Institute’s 2010 Knobler Fellow, and writes prolifically about the politics of race, sex, health and communities of color. His investigative reporting, blogs and commentary have been published regularly in The Nation, The Root and The American Prospect.

"I'm so excited to join the ColorLines team and get the chance to do ambitious, investigative journalism that makes sense of a fast-changing world," says Wright. "As corporate news media retracts, journalism is charting a new course. At ColorLines, we think that's a good thing and we plan to lead the way forward."

Wright brings his award-winning journalism to ARC and ColorLines to lead the editorial team. His arrival coincides with the upcoming ColorLines site re-design and ARC's shift toward expanded online and multimedia content.
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FOUNDED IN 1981, Applied Research Center is America's leading think tank on racial justice. ARC investigates the racial consequences of public policy initiatives and develops new frameworks and solutions to address racial inequality. With offices in New York, Chicago and Oakland, ARC engages in media and journalism, strategic research and policy analysis, and leadership development. ARC is the publisher of ColorLines magazine.