Charles Fulwood
Encyclopedia
Charles Cinque Fulwood is a media and communications strategist
who pioneered global media campaigns and the use of commercial marketing techniques for non-profit organizations. Over a 15-year period beginning in the mid-1980s, he served as communications director for Amnesty International USA
, Natural Resources Defense Council
, and the Children's Defense Fund
. Fulwood was chief media strategist
for Human Rights Now! Tour
, the 1988 world music tour underwritten by Reebok International to promote the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights on 5 continents. Fulwood is also credited (Haines, 1996) with designing the campaign strategy that led 18 states to pass legislation that exempts juveniles from the death penalty.
As Director of Communications at NRDC, Fulwood built a strategic communications operation that included media relations, web site, publications, and a quarterly journal with a circulation of more than 700,000. One of his many innovations was creation of the International ECO-Awards, which issued more than 100 honors to advertising agencies, design shops, businesses and environmental groups for creativity in promoting appreciation of the environment.
Fulwood's writing has been published in the St. Petersburg Times
, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, PR Quarterly, the Boston Phoenix, and Ramparts
magazine. He has also ghost-written op-ed
pieces published in The New York Times
, The Boston Globe
, The Christian Science Monitor
, The San Francisco Chronicle, and The Los Angeles Times. He has given invited lectures at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
, DePaul University College of Law
, and Morehouse School of Medicine
and has spoken at a variety of national and international conferences.
Fulwood was born in 1950 in Clarendon County, South Carolina and moved to St. Petersburg, Florida
with his family in the early 1960s. After earning a bachelor's degree in mass communication
, he worked for Pinellas County, Florida
government, then held a series of communications positions with African-American Civil Rights organizations in Atlanta before moving to New York City
to work for Amnesty International USA
.
In 1990, the Invisible Empire, Knights of the Ku Klux Klan
, the most violent of the various Klan factions, sued Fulwood and his client, the Center for Democratic Renewal, for defamation of character after they exposed Klan activity within the Blakely, Georgia
Fire Department. The suit was settled in 1991 and resulted in four Klansmen being forced to resign from the Fire Department.
Fulwood is a founding partner in MediaVision USA, a strategic communications firm, and specializes in litigation communications, crisis communications
, and media campaigns. He is a member of the teaching faculty at the Johns Hopkins University
program in Communications and Contemporary Society, where he and Margo Edmunds
are co-instructors for a graduate course in Emergency and Risk Communications. Fulwood also consulted on the online course in risk communication strategies for the Johns Hopkins Center for Public Health Preparedness. Fulwood currently resides in Washington, DC.
Strategist
A design strategist has the ability to combine the innovative, perceptive and holistic insights of a designer with the pragmatic and systemic skills of a planner to guide strategic direction in context of business needs, brand intent, design quality and customer values...
who pioneered global media campaigns and the use of commercial marketing techniques for non-profit organizations. Over a 15-year period beginning in the mid-1980s, he served as communications director for Amnesty International USA
Amnesty International USA
Amnesty International USA is one of many country sections that make up Amnesty International worldwide.Amnesty International is an organization of more than 2.2 million supporters, activists and volunteers in over 150 countries, with complete independence from government, corporate or national...
, Natural Resources Defense Council
Natural Resources Defense Council
The Natural Resources Defense Council is a New York City-based, non-profit, non-partisan international environmental advocacy group, with offices in Washington DC, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago, and Beijing...
, and the Children's Defense Fund
Children's Defense Fund
The Children's Defense Fund is an American child advocacy and research group, founded in 1973 by Marian Wright Edelman. Its motto Leave No Child Behind reflects its mission to advocate on behalf of children...
. Fulwood was chief media strategist
Strategist
A design strategist has the ability to combine the innovative, perceptive and holistic insights of a designer with the pragmatic and systemic skills of a planner to guide strategic direction in context of business needs, brand intent, design quality and customer values...
for Human Rights Now! Tour
Human Rights Now! Tour
Human Rights Now! was a worldwide tour of twenty benefit concerts on behalf of Amnesty International that took place over six weeks in 1988. Held not to raise funds but to increase awareness of both the Universal Declaration of Human Rights on its 40th anniversary and the work of Amnesty...
, the 1988 world music tour underwritten by Reebok International to promote the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights on 5 continents. Fulwood is also credited (Haines, 1996) with designing the campaign strategy that led 18 states to pass legislation that exempts juveniles from the death penalty.
As Director of Communications at NRDC, Fulwood built a strategic communications operation that included media relations, web site, publications, and a quarterly journal with a circulation of more than 700,000. One of his many innovations was creation of the International ECO-Awards, which issued more than 100 honors to advertising agencies, design shops, businesses and environmental groups for creativity in promoting appreciation of the environment.
Fulwood's writing has been published in the St. Petersburg Times
St. Petersburg Times
The St. Petersburg Times is a United States newspaper. It is one of two major publications serving the Tampa Bay Area, the other being The Tampa Tribune, which the Times tops in both circulation and readership. Based in St...
, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, PR Quarterly, the Boston Phoenix, and Ramparts
Ramparts (magazine)
Ramparts was an American political and literary magazine, published from 1962 through 1975.-History:Founded by Edward M. Keating as a Catholic literary quarterly, the magazine became closely associated with the New Left after executive editor Warren Hinckle hired Robert Scheer as managing editor...
magazine. He has also ghost-written op-ed
Op-ed
An op-ed, abbreviated from opposite the editorial page , is a newspaper article that expresses the opinions of a named writer who is usually unaffiliated with the newspaper's editorial board...
pieces published in The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
, The Boston Globe
The Boston Globe
The Boston Globe is an American daily newspaper based in Boston, Massachusetts. The Boston Globe has been owned by The New York Times Company since 1993...
, The Christian Science Monitor
The Christian Science Monitor
The Christian Science Monitor is an international newspaper published daily online, Monday to Friday, and weekly in print. It was started in 1908 by Mary Baker Eddy, the founder of the Church of Christ, Scientist. As of 2009, the print circulation was 67,703.The CSM is a newspaper that covers...
, The San Francisco Chronicle, and The Los Angeles Times. He has given invited lectures at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health is part of Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland, United States...
, DePaul University College of Law
DePaul University College of Law
DePaul University College of Law is a law school located in Chicago, Illinois, USA. Founded in 1897 as the Illinois College of Law, the school became part of DePaul University in 1912 and is one of the academic colleges of DePaul, a Big East Conference university. The College is known for its...
, and Morehouse School of Medicine
Morehouse School of Medicine
Morehouse School of Medicine is a medical school in Atlanta, Georgia, USA.-Establishment:Founded originally as a part of Morehouse College in 1975 during the tenure of college president Hugh M. Gloster, with Louis W. Sullivan, M.D. as dean, The School of Medicine at Morehouse College began as a two...
and has spoken at a variety of national and international conferences.
Fulwood was born in 1950 in Clarendon County, South Carolina and moved to St. Petersburg, Florida
St. Petersburg, Florida
St. Petersburg is a city in Pinellas County, Florida, United States. It is known as a vacation destination for both American and foreign tourists. As of 2008, the population estimate by the U.S. Census Bureau is 245,314, making St...
with his family in the early 1960s. After earning a bachelor's degree in mass communication
Mass communication
Mass communication is the term used to describe the academic study of the various means by which individuals and entities relay information through mass media to large segments of the population at the same time...
, he worked for Pinellas County, Florida
Pinellas County, Florida
Pinellas County is a county located in the state of Florida. Its county seat is Clearwater, Florida, and its largest city is St. Petersburg. This county is contained entirely within the telephone area code 727, except for some sections of Oldsmar, which have the area code 813...
government, then held a series of communications positions with African-American Civil Rights organizations in Atlanta before moving to New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
to work for Amnesty International USA
Amnesty International USA
Amnesty International USA is one of many country sections that make up Amnesty International worldwide.Amnesty International is an organization of more than 2.2 million supporters, activists and volunteers in over 150 countries, with complete independence from government, corporate or national...
.
In 1990, the Invisible Empire, Knights of the Ku Klux Klan
Ku Klux Klan
Ku Klux Klan, often abbreviated KKK and informally known as the Klan, is the name of three distinct past and present far-right organizations in the United States, which have advocated extremist reactionary currents such as white supremacy, white nationalism, and anti-immigration, historically...
, the most violent of the various Klan factions, sued Fulwood and his client, the Center for Democratic Renewal, for defamation of character after they exposed Klan activity within the Blakely, Georgia
Blakely, Georgia
Blakely is a town in Early County, Georgia. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 5,068. This town is the county seat of Early County.-Geography:Blakely is located at ....
Fire Department. The suit was settled in 1991 and resulted in four Klansmen being forced to resign from the Fire Department.
Fulwood is a founding partner in MediaVision USA, a strategic communications firm, and specializes in litigation communications, crisis communications
Crisis communications
Crisis communication is sometimes considered a sub-specialty of the public relations profession that is designed to protect and defend an individual, company, or organization facing a public challenge to its reputation...
, and media campaigns. He is a member of the teaching faculty at the Johns Hopkins University
Johns Hopkins University
The Johns Hopkins University, commonly referred to as Johns Hopkins, JHU, or simply Hopkins, is a private research university based in Baltimore, Maryland, United States...
program in Communications and Contemporary Society, where he and Margo Edmunds
Margo Edmunds
Margo Edmunds is an American health policy researcher, strategy consultant, educator, and writer who began her clinical career in disease management at Johns Hopkins Hospital...
are co-instructors for a graduate course in Emergency and Risk Communications. Fulwood also consulted on the online course in risk communication strategies for the Johns Hopkins Center for Public Health Preparedness. Fulwood currently resides in Washington, DC.