Announcing our Narrative Fellows
It’s a lot easier to pass policies when culture supports them. For example, if most Oregonians didn’t already love nature and believe in protecting the environment for future generations, it would be near impossible to pass local and statewide clean energy policies that fight climate change. That’s why narrative work is so important–by popularizing certain narratives we can shift culture and move public opinion to pass progressive policies.
Northwest Health Foundation has partnered with ReFrame, a nationally recognized organization focused on growing narrative infrastructure to shift common sense towards liberation. Together, we’ve designed a six-month program to build the capacity of community-led organizations to engage in narrative work. Trainings will include skills in digital communications and narrative research and action.
ReFrame has a unique approach in that their teachings and investments are as much for the individual as for the organization. For that reason, we asked individuals representing organizations to submit applications. We chose individuals from eleven groups who already have a strong foundation in communications and a desire to build on that foundation to change hearts and minds across the region.
Narrative work is about understanding, responding to and shifting the environment groups work within. For example, they may ask, “How is the national conversation about immigrant rights playing out? How does an Oregon immigrant rights nonprofit fit into this conversation? What can we do to shift the conversation to meet our goals?” Narrative work lives beyond the walls of a single nonprofit, and we believe these 11 groups are ready to engage in this work.
We received applications from 28 groups (62 individuals!), so we know there is a strong desire for this type of training and skill-building. Nonprofits across the region are hungry to play on the same level as those who oppose their values and their work.
Groups selected:
Imagine Black
NAYA
Partnership for Safety and Justice
Interfaith Movement for Immigrant Justice
Rural Organizing Project
Verde
Planned Parenthood Advocates of Oregon
Centro Cultural de Washington County
Oregon Futures Lab
Building Power for Communities of Color
Centro Latino Americano
These groups are primarily BIPOC-led, and we have partnered with many of them in the past. They have strong visions, as well as the staff and budgets to be successful in this program. They effectively spoke to the narrative work they desire to do and the narrative environment facing them. Each group will receive $11,000 to participate.
Highlights from the applications:
“There are many racist, xenophobic, machista, homophobic, transphobic, and colorist, narratives that we face. Among them are: powerlessness - a belief that says these problems are too big, and try to "go up against them," and live a thriving life is pointless; inferiority - a belief that life is second to whiteness; othering - a belief that the earth and all its inhabitants are not connected, but something to drain for individual, momentary gain; and mistrust - a belief that communities who are targeted because of their identities are not to be trusted for fear of retribution or reparations. These narratives are rebuked by Centro's staff, and we share our own narrative.” - Centro Cultural de Washington County
“The message we amplify is the intersection of racial, economic, and environmental justice. As a predominately POC organization working in the environmental space with many white dominant organizations, our message is to lift up the voices of frontline communities and the impact of climate change on POC.” - Verde
“The narratives that impact us are both harmful narratives that are believed by the anti-immigrant communities and disempowering narratives that have been driven to try to counter anti-immigrant rhetoric… IMIrJ’s approach to shifting these narratives has been to accompany faith communities or people of faith and spirituality to unveil the systems invested in these narratives through our organizing work.” - Interfaith Movement for Immigrant Justice