Webinar: Pro-Immigrant Narrative Insights 

Join us tomorrow - Sep 22 at 2:00 pm EDT - to hear the latest findings from our three-phase research project into Narrative Insights for the Pro-Immigrant Movement.  

Together with cohort members in New York, Michigan, and Iowa, The Opportunity Agenda worked to uncover deeply held beliefs among key audiences, explore how views on race and the economy map onto views around immigration, and test messaging frames developed in the first two phases of research. Our conversation will include insights on how to move audiences toward accessible immigration policies. 

And earlier this month, our dynamic duo of Charles Sherman and Britney Vongdara joined Define America’s summit on combatting online xenophobia to discuss how to translate research into tools for the field. That’s the heart of what we do through the Narrative Research Lab webinar series. Register now to learn how you can put our original research to work for you. See you there!

Sneak Peek of Fellows’ Creative Projects 

The Creative Change Retreat also served as the culminating event for the 2023 Culture & Narrative Fellowship. Attendees enjoyed the opportunity to interact with and hear presentations from the fellows on their projects. Visit the links below to read the artist statements in their bios and get a sneak peek of their work.

🎥 Adamu Chan (see stills from his film): “I see ‘narrative reparations’ as a form of collective healing for impacted communities, where they are able to see themselves reflected in ways that feel authentic and affirming of their humanity and experience.”

💃🏽 Marcos Echeverría Ortiz (see photos of the archive): “Communities should have the means of locating, evaluating, rendering, and archiving their own stories, especially when they have often been altered, dismissive, and overlooked.”

🌸 Salomé Egas (see performance + workshop photos): “Using dance, theater, textile arts, music, and stop-motion video, the ‘Mas que un Petalo’ performance invites audiences to see the immigration experience through the eyes of a taxo flower, “Tauzhu Sisa,” an Ecuadorian native plant.

🪡 Jesse Krimes: “I believe that one of the most powerful ways to challenge both white supremacy and mass incarceration is to make the full humanity of incarcerated people more visible to the public and to illuminate the human toll of racist systems.”

🌊 Ixchel Tonāntzin Xōchitlzihuatl (see images from the digital campaign): “We center indigenous based wisdoms because people indigenous to this continent have been the cultural stewards of knowledge most relevant to this land.”

🎲 Jessica Valoris (see photos of the study kit): "By centering stories of Black resistance, community building, and solidarity, we can create new ways of defining what freedom and liberation mean."

🔊 Monique Verdin (see photos of the micro-grid radio station): Through experience living on the frontlines of climate abuse, where the legacies of environmental racism are deeply rooted, our network has recognized that the disaster is not coming. It is constant, we are preparing, we are prepared."