NI Blog
Here you will find case studies, interviews, insights, and reflections from staff.
If you’re navigating narrative change you know that everything is, well <waves hands>, messy in the world. Every day is noisy and chaotic. It can be tough to judge what’s working and what’s not, whose voice is trustworthy and whose isn’t reputable. People may retreat towards the familiarity and security...
Narrative Initiative is committed to supporting storytellers whose work challenges harmful narratives on complex topics, such as disability, reparations, and sexual violence. That is why we have partnered with the Unicorn Authors Club to help members of the 2022 Changemaker Authors Cohort, tell their own stories while also broadening their...
You have your argument, you’ve identified your audience, and you’ve pitched your op-ed with successful results. Now what? How do you keep the momentum going? How do you continue the conversation with your audience? How do you consistently access large platforms where your audience gathers without the possibility of being...
The imminent repeal of Roe v. Wade has brought public narratives of motherhood and reproductive justice to the forefront. Each side has weaponized race to change public perception and influence policy. While poor people and birthing people of color face the most severe impacts of anti-abortion laws, including criminalization, the...
From 2015-2018, I was an interviewer with the New York Trans Oral History Project (NYTOP). A friend had convinced me to join because I love doing interviews and wanted to do something meaningful and concrete to support trans people. He reasoned that my inability to extricate myself from conversations made...
The iconic Sundance Film Festival is coming up next week, from January 20th to the 30th, in a virtual format. As always, we’re looking for insights into culture, narrative and storytelling. This year’s lineup includes “83 feature-length films from 28 countries, 41% of which were made by first-time feature filmmakers.”...
Narrative organizing is the act of building, creating and using narrative to shift power towards justice, equity and democracy. Narrative without organizing is a collection of observations and stories. Narrative without organizing leaves narrative power to others. When we bring alignment, polyvocality, and community leadership to narrative work we are...
Scot Nakagawa is a Senior Partner at ChangeLab. Scot has spent more than four decades exploring questions of structural racism, white supremacy, and social justice. Here, Scot takes us on a journey through the cultural and legal systems of white supremacy, structural racism and white nationalism. Scot defines the terms,...
Science fiction is full of all-knowing villains. They can’t be understood or defeated. The unknown, as storytellers from H. G. Wells to N. K. Jemisen recognized, is confusing and unsettling. The unknown is full of wonder but also fear. Systems language in journalism, media and social change often reminds me...
This article was originally published in 2017 by Rinku Sen. Over the last five years, intersectionality has become a buzzword and an accountability standard for social change organizations and leaders. It is so commonly used that a recent look at #intersectionality results on Twitter reveals everyone from the United Nations...
Grief, Love, Action: Transforming collective sorrow into collective power was co-hosted by Narrative Initiative and Women’s March Network. You can watch a video of the event here and find out more about our guests below. We look forward to carrying this conversation forward as we turn collective grief into new,...
Gender is a Story We Tell Ourselves
The first time I read Yoon Ha Lee’s Ninefox Gambit, I was captivated by the worldbuilding and the story’s overarching military conflict. Ninefox Gambit is a space opera about a female soldier and the undead male general whose spirit possesses her and, although the author is trans, the story has...