Learning Lab: Narrative Change for Racial Equity

The stories we tell, the perceptions that take root in our minds, and the clichés we repeat all play a significant role in shaping our worldviews and, ultimately, the policies, practices and systems we support. Together, we can have the narrative power to imagine and bring forth a just, multiracial democracy where we all have what we need to ensure our families and neighbors thrive.

Over the past 60 years, there has been a coordinated, well-resourced effort by people and organizations, who desire to maintain power and wealth for a few, to popularize a set of harmful narratives that foster fear and division, limit democracy, and institutionalize racial inequities. In recent years, we have witnessed attacks on our bodies, attacks on diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts in schools and workplaces, and attacks on our human, civil, and political rights. But, these attacks do not have to determine our fate; we can live in a society where we, along with our neighbors and government institutions, make collective policy decisions, co-create programs to meet community needs, and ensure public policies and programs are implemented effectively and fairly.

To make our vision of a just, multiracial democracy a reality, we must seed and spread new narratives that show what is possible when we join together to end systemic racism and create a better future for all. We do this, together, by reaching millions of different people, over time, across many voices, and across a variety of mediums.

This is what we call “narrative change”.