Starting a thread to unpack this @courierjournal article, possibly the deepest dive profile to date on our organization’s work to change the narrative & impact culture by using the power of story to transcend politics & shift the conversation... courier-journal.com/story/life/201…
@courierjournal According to reporter @SavannahEadens: "What started as a social movement and storytelling platform asking people to #DefineAmerican, the #Louisville -based nonprofit is trying to change the narrative around immigration & citizenship in the United States.”
@courierjournal It’s no accident that the conversation about how we @defineamerican is based in #Kentucky, the birthplace of iconic cultural figures such as Lincoln & Ali — & the former Confederate States President Jefferson Davis … It’s my home as well.
@courierjournal As I told the @courierjournal: “These juxtapositions that exist in our community are permeating just below the surface, & I can't think of a more perfect place to have this conversation…
@courierjournal ...w/ @defineamerican, we hold the sincere, radical belief that Americans can finally come together, reckon with conflict, and aspire to something new.”
@courierjournal Being from #Appalachia, I’m incredibly proud to be here in Middle America, fly-over country, where a lot of people feel ignored. When we tell people we're headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky, it carries a lot of weight ... because they realize we are doing something different.
@courierjournal We really want folks to look in the mirror and start asking who are we as a people? What does an American even look like? How you challenging your own notion of what it means to be American in 2020 & into the future? (Hint: We can help you!) defineamerican.com/join/
@courierjournal Article captures origin of our org. & ethos we carry fwd from founder @joseiswriting: “Vargas makes it clear he's not working on immigration policy & that his mission w/ @DefineAmerican is to start a cultural shift surrounding perception: I'm not a lobbyist, I'm a storyteller."
@courierjournal The article recalls some of our major campaigns, working w/ partners to get the @AP to stop referring to people as "illegal" & demanding that media orgs not cite hate groups as sources on immigration stories #WordsMatter #SourcesMatter
@courierjournal It delves into our work in #Hollywood: "If I didn't believe in the power of story, I wouldn't be an actor or filmmaker. I know that story is how people's lives are changed. The more we tell our story, the more people empathize," @RealBambadjan said of Define American.
@courierjournal & @courierjournal talks about our important chapter work in #Kentucky & in 1/2 of states — b/c immigration is not just a coastal issue. Isai Sanchez, immigrant born in Mexico & raised in the West End who is leading the University of Louisville's @DAChapters is a big part of it.
@courierjournal Love the kicker on this story, from Isai: "It's about trying to get people from sympathy to empathy to compassion. From looking through the window at someone in the rain, to standing next to them in the rain, to holding the umbrella over them."
