Speechwriters of Color, a project fiscally sponsored by the Players Philanthropy Fund, is a critical race theory-aligned professional organization for speechwriters and ghostwriters belonging to racial minority communities. According to the group’s website, it has been a partner of the Biden administration’s White House Office of Presidential Personnel since 2020. ¹

Background

Speechwriters of Color was founded in 2020 by Mintaro Oba, a speechwriter at the International Monetary Fund. and Michael Franklin a communications associate at the Black Futures Lab. It is a fiscally sponsored independent project of the Players Philanthropy Fund, a tax-exempt 501(c)(3) nonprofit fiscal sponsorship organization based in Towson, Maryland. ^{2 3 4}

Speechwriters of Color offers members access to exclusive job listings, members-only networking events, mentorship programs, and other forms of professional development. ⁵

Views

The organization claims speechwriting jobs in the United States have historically only been available to the “most privileged,” which resulted in the “experiences” of large portions of the population being “overlooked.” In that vein, the organization makes critical race theory-aligned arguments. For instance, it argues that the prevalence of white males in speechwriting, which it describes as a “lack of diversity,” has negative implications for the health of the country’s democracy. ⁶

Activity

According to Speechwriters of Color’s website, the organization has been a partner of what it calls “the Biden-Harris Administration White House Office of Presidential Personnel” since 2020 and has a 64 percent placement rate of candidates across the administration. ⁷

In October 2023, the organization published a report, “Our Historic Pivot Point: A Report on Diversity in Executive Branch Speechwriting,” citing the results of a survey conducted in March 2021 of speechwriters in U.S. executive branch departments, arguing for the necessity of more mentorship, internship, and targeted outreach programs geared toward recruiting individuals from racial minority groups into speechwriting roles. ⁸

Leadership

Mintaro Oba is a co-founder of Speechwriters of Color as well as a speechwriter for the head of the International Monetary Fund, Kristalina Georgieva. Previously, he worked in the United States State Department as an expert on foreign policy in the Asia-Pacific region. ⁹

Michael Franklin is a co-founder and executive director of Speechwriters of Color as well as the owner of Words Normalize Behavior LLC and a communications associate at Black Futures Lab. Previously, Franklin worked with The Collective PAC, Fenway Strategies, and the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City. ^{10 11}

Ashley Mitchell is a member of the team at Speechwriters of Color as well as a speechwriter and counsel in the U.S. House of Representatives. ¹²

Shaan Heng-Devan is a member of the team at Speechwriters of Color as well as a speechwriter to U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg. Previously, he was a director at West Wing Writers and a high school teacher. ¹³

Mallika Machra is a member of the team at Speechwriters of Color as well as a fellow at Fenway Strategies. Previously, she worked on a number of left-of-center Democratic political campaigns in the southern United States, particularly the 2020 campaign of U.S. Senator Jon Ossoff (D-GA). ¹⁴

1. Homepage. Speechwriters of Color. Accessed August 19, 2024. https://speechwritersofcolor.com/
2. “Players Philanthropy Fund.” ProPublica. Accessed August 19, 2024. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/276601178
3. “The Team.” Speechwriters of Color. Accessed August 19, 2024. https://speechwritersofcolor.com/the-team/
4. “Our Historic Pivot Point: A Report on Diversity in Executive Branch Speechwriting.” Speechwriters of Color. October 2023. Accessed August 19, 2024. https://speechwritersofcolor.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/SoC-Exec-Summary.pdf
5. “Contact Us.” Speechwriters of Color. Accessed August 19, 2024. https://speechwritersofcolor.com/contact/
6. “Our Historic Pivot Point: A Report on Diversity in Executive Branch Speechwriting.” Speechwriters of Color. October 2023. Accessed August 19, 2024. https://speechwritersofcolor.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/SoC-Exec-Summary.pdf
7. Homepage. Speechwriters of Color. Accessed August 19, 2024. https://speechwritersofcolor.com/
8. “Our Historic Pivot Point: A Report on Diversity in Executive Branch Speechwriting.” Speechwriters of Color. October 2023. Accessed August 19, 2024. https://speechwritersofcolor.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/SoC-Exec-Summary.pdf
9. “The Team.” Speechwriters of Color. Accessed August 19, 2024. https://speechwritersofcolor.com/the-team/
10. “Our Historic Pivot Point: A Report on Diversity in Executive Branch Speechwriting.” Speechwriters of Color. October 2023. Accessed August 19, 2024. https://speechwritersofcolor.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/SoC-Exec-Summary.pdf
11. “The Team.” Speechwriters of Color. Accessed August 19, 2024. https://speechwritersofcolor.com/the-team/
12. “The Team.” Speechwriters of Color. Accessed August 19, 2024. https://speechwritersofcolor.com/the-team/
13.  “The Team.” Speechwriters of Color. Accessed August 19, 2024. https://speechwritersofcolor.com/the-team/
14. “The Team.” Speechwriters of Color. Accessed August 19, 2024. https://speechwritersofcolor.com/the-team/