Angela Rye(born October 26, 1979) is an American commentator, entrepreneur, and recurring guest onThe Breakfast Clubradio show. She is also the CEO of IMPACT Strategies, a political advocacy firm, and a special correspondent forESPN.[1]She was, until November 2020, aliberalpolitical commentator onCNN.
Angela Rye | |
|---|---|
 Rye in 2017 | |
| Born | October 26, 1979 Seattle, Washington,U.S. |
| Education | Holy Names Academy,Seattle |
| Alma mater | University of Washington(BA) Seattle Law School(JD) |
| Occupation | Former CNN commentator |
| Employer | N/A |
| Political party | Democratic |
Rye served as the executive director and general counsel to theCongressional Black Caucusfor the entirety of the112th Congress.[2][3]She formerly served on the boards of theCongressional Black Caucus Institute,Congressional Black Caucus Political Action Committee,Seattle University School of LawAlumni, and Women in Entertainment Empowerment Network.
Early life
editRye was born and raised inSeattle, Washington.[4][5][6]She graduated from Seattle's all-girlsHoly Names Academy,theUniversity of Washington,andSeattle University School of Law.[7][8]
Career
editRye began her career in legislative advocacy at the National Association for Equal Opportunity in Higher Education, an umbrella association of 120historically black colleges and universitiesin the United States.[9]
Upon moving toWashington, D.C.,Rye joined IMPACT Strategies, an organization founded prior to her arrival by attorneys Joe Briggs and Kendra Davis Briggs[10]as well as public policy advisor David Johns,[11]who served as director from 2007 to 2013. IMPACT was focused on the economic empowerment, civic engagement, and political involvement of young professionals. The group later invited Rye to help form partnerships with theNational Bar Association,Congressional Black Caucus Foundation,National Urban League,Rainbow/PUSH,Congressional Black Caucus Political Education and Leadership Institute, Black Leadership Forum, and other organizations.[7]She also serves as a senior advisor to the Government Technology and Services Coalition and is a member ofThe Links, Incorporated.[12]
Rye is one of few recurring guests onThe Breakfast Clubradio show. On December 6, 2016, She was invited byCharlamagne The God(real name Lenard McKelvey) after he received backlash from tweeting that he wished women of color had a platform "like Tomi Lahren did".[13]In January 2017, she made her first appearance onThe Breakfast Cluband frequented the show regularly, often discussing theTrump administrationand other pop culture topics. As of October 2024, Rye continues to serve as a guest host ofThe Breakfast Club.[14]
She also served as a senior advisor to theHouse Committee on Homeland security,where she helped develop the general political strategy, focusing on modernizing government contracting practices and assisting small businesses. She then served as the executive director and general counsel to the Congressional Black Caucus for the 112th Congress. During her time as director, she was "tasked with developing the overall legislative and political strategy for the Caucus".[15]Rye left her role at CBC after just over a year.[16]
Rye was a political commentator forCNN,but was released by the network shortly before the 2020 presidential election.[17]In 2022,ESPNannounced that Rye was hired as a special correspondent to provide perspective on sports-related matters of race, culture, and social justice issues.[18]
Criticism
editRye received widespread backlash[19][20]after she defended podcast co-hostCharlamagne Tha God(Lenard McKelvey) against resurfaced rape allegations. She referred to his alleged victim, who was 15 at the time of the assault, as "broke" and "looking for a come-up." Rye insisted publicly on McKelvey's innocence (while citing his personal account of the assault in his 2017 published memoir as the "evidence" exonerating him).[20]Many#MeTooadvocates have been critical of her repeated attempts to silence and discredit sexual assault victims while claiming that "no physical evidence" connects McKelvey to the incident.[21][22]
Rye has also argued that statues ofGeorge WashingtonandThomas Jefferson,like those ofRobert E. Lee,should be taken down because they were slave owners.[23]
References
edit- ^Cross-Plummer, Cecile (February 1, 2022)."Award-Winning Host Angela Rye Will Join ESPN as a Special Correspondent".ESPN Press Room.
- ^"Angela Rye".Congressional Black Caucus Institute.Archived fromthe originalon October 2, 2016.RetrievedOctober 1,2016.
- ^Heil, Emily (August 3, 2016)."Meet Angela Rye, who shut down a former Trump staffer with Beyoncé-grade shade".The Washington Post.ISSN0190-8286.RetrievedOctober 1,2016.
- ^"A Conversation with Political Commentator Angela Rye | Law, Societies & Justice | University of Washington".lsj.washington.edu.RetrievedOctober 10,2024.
- ^"Angela Rye: Renowned Political Commentator Featured as 44 Days Keynote Speaker | Saint Mary's College".www.stmarys-ca.edu.RetrievedOctober 10,2024.
- ^Allen, Aaron (January 19, 2017)."Angela Rye - Advocacy At Its Finest".The Seattle Medium.RetrievedOctober 10,2024.
- ^ab"About Angela".angelarye.com.Archived fromthe originalon January 21, 2018.RetrievedJanuary 22,2018.
- ^"Q&A With Angela Rye | C-SPAN.org".www.c-span.org.May 24, 2012.RetrievedJuly 4,2022.
- ^Vaughn, Demi (March 4, 2019)."Here's activist Angela Rye's advice on how to make political discussions more civil".Indianapolis Star.RetrievedOctober 15,2019.
- ^"Kendra D. Briggs | JNC".DC.gov.
- ^Shulman, Randy (June 19, 2020)."NBJC's David J. Johns on race, justice, and the importance of replacing Trump".Metro Weekly.
- ^Williams, Janice (August 3, 2016)."Who Is Angela Rye, CNN's Political Commentator? 6 Things To Know About Sassy Analyst".International Business Times.RetrievedOctober 1,2016.
- ^Scott, Sydney (December 7, 2016)."Charlamagne Says Black Women Should Be Like Tomi Lahren".Essence.RetrievedJanuary 28,2019.
- ^Halon, Yael (October 1, 2024)."Byron Donalds spars with 'Breakfast Club' hosts over Harris' economic record: 'You sure you want to go there?'".Fox News.RetrievedOctober 10,2024.
- ^"Angela T. Rye Esq. Bio"(PDF).Archived fromthe original(PDF)on October 28, 2016.
- ^"Angela Rye".
- ^Baragona, Justin (January 12, 2024)."Ex-CNN Pundit Claims Chris Cuomo Called Her 'Tinsel Crotch' in Text".The Daily Beast.RetrievedOctober 10,2024.
- ^Weprin, Alex (February 1, 2022)."Angela Rye Joins ESPN as Special Correspondent".Hollywood Reporter.
- ^Telusma, Blue (July 17, 2018)."Defending Misogynoir: Why Angela Rye's tone deaf defense of Charlamagne was a BAD look".The Grio.
- ^abWillis, Kiersten (July 16, 2018)."Angela Rye's Inspirational Message Goes Left After a Fan Grills Her About Charlamagne Tha God's Rape Accusations".Atlanta Black Star.
- ^MaGee, Ny (July 17, 2018)."Angela Rye Defends 'Brother' Charlamagne Tha God Amid Rape Accusations".Eurweb.
- ^"Angela Rye Defends 'Brother' Charlamagne Against Rape Accusations".Ebony.July 17, 2018.
- ^"Rye: White supremacist statues need to be removed".CNN.August 18, 2017.
