HUMAN RIGHTS START WITH YOU

We produce and uplift media—and media makers—rooted in dignity, equality, and respect.

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Breakthrough is a global human rights organization driving the culture change we need to build a world in which all people live with dignity, equality, and respect. We do this using a potent mix of media, arts, and tech with an intersectional feminist approach.

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Breakthrough News and Updates

A Warm Farewell from Breakthrough U.S.

March 17, 2023

Dear Friends, Recently the Breakthrough U.S. Board of Directors announced that the organization will be sunsetting its U.S. office and all operations effective on March 31, 2023. As President and CEO, it has been my honor and pleasure to shepherd Breakthrough U.S. for the past few years and its efforts to use media advocacy and…

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Sunsetting Breakthrough U.S.

March 14, 2023

Dear Community, In 2000, Breakthrough U.S. and India were launched out of a critical need to meet people where they are, and inform, educate and mobilize them to take a stand for human rights globally. Under the visionary leadership of founder Mallika Dutt, Breakthrough has effectively harnessed the power of pop culture, the arts, media,…

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A Moment to Rejoice – And a Reminder of What’s Possible

December 9, 2022

The entire team at Breakthrough is ecstatic at the news that seven-time WNBA All-Star Brittney Griner has finally been released from her unjust imprisonment in Russia. After nearly a year of being detained under unimaginably harsh conditions thousands of miles away from her wife, family, friends, teammates and community, Brittney is at last being reunited…

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Black Women Are Tired Of Being The Mule Of America

August 4, 2022

As Black women, we often find ourselves in situations where we are forced to hold our identities and lived experiences at the intersections of oppression and marginalization. We tend to live — depending on where we as individuals plot on the axis of privilege — from the perspective of our places of dis-privilege. Recently, I…

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Beyonce, Lizzo Set New Standard for Fixing Ableist Lyrics

August 2, 2022

“When you know what it feels like to be harmed, and you have a platform and you take responsibility and you immediately get to work on righting the wrong, you not only are doing your work, but hopefully continuing to set an example,” said Nakisha Lewis, the President and Chief Executive Officer of Breakthrough, a…

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Defend Black Women March to Honor Lives Taken by Gender-Based Violence

July 27, 2022

The self-proclaimed Black feminists in charge of assembling the second annual gathering come from various backgrounds. Trinice McNally, Creator & Creative Director of The Defend Black Women March and the I Support Black Women Campaign hails from London, England by way of Jamaica as a grandchild of the Windrush generation. Jaimee Swift, the Executive Director…

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The Woman Behind The Magic: Free Black Women’s Library Founder OlaRonke Akinmowo

July 24, 2022

In 2015, with only 100 books in tow and a brownstone stoop, Brooklyn, New York-based artist, set decorator, cultural worker and single mom OlaRonke Akinmowo launched The Free Black Women’s Library. Since then it has grown into a social art project that celebrates the brilliance, creativity, and diversity of Black women writers from all over…

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Brittney Griner’s Detention Shines Light On Pay Inequity In Professional Sports

July 15, 2022

Since February 2022, seven-time WNBA All-Star Brittney Griner, a current player with the Phoenix Mercury, has been detained in Russia due to the alleged presence of vape cartridges containing hashish oil in her luggage. After more than 148 days in Russian detention, Brittney’s trial finally began on July 7, 2022, and while we wait for…

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