Thread by @tsmith1211

Appreciate the thread @Ruth_STaylor did yesterday on the growing #narrativechange field. As with most spaces, this field is dominated by white voices, so I feel it's necessary to do a follow-up thread highlighting the POC leaders who have helped me navigate this space.

Thread

I have to start off with @rashadrobinson who was also named in @Ruth_STaylor thread. His piece on narrative infrastructure has informed my work the most thus far.

belonging.berkeley.edu/changing-our-n…

Also, have to shout out @bridgitaevans who was also named on @Ruth_STaylor thread. Everything that @PopCollab puts out is amazing. The Becoming America fund showcases the way they bring together folks within entertainment, philanthropy, and social justice.
popcollab.org/the-becoming-a…

@arijmikati is brilliant and one of the nicest people I've had the pleasure of meeting. She's the mind behind the Muslim Narrative Change Cohort over at @pillars_fund

pillarsfund.org/culture-change…

Alan Jenkins @Opportunity1 co-founded @oppagenda and this 2018 piece is one I often refer back to when I need a reminder of why narrative change work is so important.

belonging.berkeley.edu/shifting-narra…

@culturejedi is reshaping how we think about grief in social movements. With the state of affairs in the US, I urge you to read this piece over the weekend.
inthesetimes.com/article/freedo…

What does a culture that embraces Black Liberation look like? The folks at @IntelMischief have been discussing and strategizing this for years.

My guy Idris Brewster and his team over at @mvrsandshakers are using AR to highlight underrepresented historical BIPOC leaders.

hechingerreport.org/building-virtu…

This 2018 paper by @aijenpoo for the US Partnership on Mobility, which was led by @heynisha, was one of the first papers I read on the topic.

mobilitypartnership.org/changing-narra…

@rshabazz is heading up the work at @Critic_Minded, intermediary focused on building the ecosystem of cultural critics in the US. He wrote this powerful op-ed about Juneteenth while he was still at @ColorOfChange

shondaland.com/act/a32918681/…

@MelindaWeekes leads @BeautifulVntrs which is cultivating the ecosystem for the next Harlem Renaissance.

beautifulventures.com

@mutalenkonde leads @ai4theppl -- a nonprofit comms firm focused on racial justice in tech. Read this piece from her on the need for a feminist analysis in the @Meta-verse.

msmagazine.com/2022/02/08/met…

@favianna and the process she ran behind the Constellations Change Fund is a daily inspiration.

culturalpower.org/stories/creati…

@NayantaraS and @zentronix were just a few of the minds behind the Butterfly Lab at @RaceForward. Everyone interested in narrative and culture change should know about them/this project.

raceforward.org/practice/arts-…

@AnnePriceICCED and @jhumpa_b have long discussed the power of narrative in economic policy over at @InsightCCED
medium.com/economicsecpro…

Their 2020 piece on centering Blackness is a must-read for anyone interested in the intersection of narrative change and racial justice.

medium.com/economicsecpro…

Shameless plug. I'm in a cohort with a bunch of brilliant POC activists brought together by the @_Narrative who are writing books to reframe how we think about an array of topics.

narrativeinitiative.org/changemaker-au…

My friend @carolinedjoyner is one of the brilliant minds behind Color of Change's Hollywood work -- transforming how Black people are perceived on screen.
indiewire.com/2018/10/disney…

I don't think they have Twitter -- but you have to check out the work of Alicia Walters over at the Black Thought Project.

blackthoughtproject.com/about

@andre_banks and his team at @ABpartnersco are building a new type of agency to disrupt the PR-industrial complex.

They also just launched their new website!
abpartners.co

While he may not be considered to be in the "traditional," narrative change field. @NeilLewisJr words and research inspire my work everyday.

fivethirtyeight.com/features/why-m…

Same with @mwkraus
psyarxiv.com/k3dmf/

This list wouldn't be complete without @IanHaneyLopez of course.
vox.com/2020/2/18/2111…

Perhaps one of my favorite organizations and group of people -- @_collettewatson, @aliciacbell, @JosephATorres and the twitter-less? Venneikia Williams behind @Media2070 -- are reframing the conversation around media and reparations.

mediareparations.org

@mediadataequity and folks over @weareotv have been talking intersectional stories for a min.... and I'm out of space. When I started this thread I thought it would be hard to come up with POC leaders in this space, but it wasn't. We're here. Amplify us.
weareo.tv/community/ligh…