April Reign
aboutAPRIL
April Reign is a creator, founder, DEI advocate, mother, and consultant.
A prominent voice calling for a more inclusive, diverse, equitable, and just society, April wants more than buzzwords and box checking on “diversity.” She is demanding a seat at a new table.
As the creator of #OscarsSoWhite, she galvanized a movement for ongoing change and inclusivity. But April is indeed more than the hashtag she created.
She is an in-demand leading consultant for brands like Sephora and films like the award-winning Soul to help clients understand how to appropriately and authentically engage with diverse audiences. She is also a talented speaker, moderator and writer.
Instead of dreaming about one day, April asks, "Why not today?" With years of expertise, she works every day to move from rhetoric to representation for communities whose voices and experiences have far too often been left out.
Honors & Awards
STRATEGIC BRAND
COLLABORATIONS
April practiced law for over 15 years, but her life took an unexpected turn when the lack of people of color in the 2015 Oscars nominations compelled her to tweet a now-famous hashtag: #OscarsSoWhite.
Continuing her work as a change agent, Reign was one of the four co-founders of SistaSCOTUS, a grassroots organization focused on the nomination and confirmation of Ketanji Brown Jackson, the first Black Woman to the U.S. Supreme Court. The #SheWillRise campaign was credited by legacy civil rights organizations and the Biden Administration with pivotal work to make this dream of many a reality.
Solidifying her role in the tech space, April is now a Senior Advisor in Media and Entertainment for Gauge, a software + service platform that conducts mobile focus groups and market research with tastemakers and experts in key communities. She is also an Advisor to the burgeoning social media app Spill, a real-time conversational platform that puts culture first and is widely seen as the Twitter alternative.
April is a sought-after advocate, consultant, writer, speaker and interviewer on the representation of all marginalized communities in the arts, tech and entertainment, under the #OscarsSoWhite helm.
More than a hashtag
How it
all began
When the 2015 Academy Awards nominees were announced, the lack of people of color nominated inspired April - a movie fanatic herself - to create the hashtag, which became a movement, and many say a revolution. Today, April leverages the name recognition of the hashtag to advocate for ALL marginalized communities, including race, gender identity, LGBTQ+, disability, age and more, in the arts and beyond.
Significantly, April’s efforts compelled the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to make a permanent change in the composition and diversity of its voting body:
In a unanimous vote Thursday night (1/21) the Board of Governors of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences approved a sweeping series of substantive changes designed to make the Academy's membership, its governing bodies, and its voting members significantly more diverse. The Board's goal is to commit to doubling the number of women and diverse members of the Academy by 2020.
-The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, January 2016