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Choosing Solidarity Over Individualism
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The American Dream narrative plays across our screens and in music, literature, and mainstream media with a seductive promise: work hard enough, and you'll achieve everything your heart desires. From rags-to-riches movies to social media "how I made it" stories, reality shows where contestants compete for success through individual determination, and video games with "zero-to-hero" storylines, individualism permeates our popular culture.
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While individualism itself isn't necessarily negative, it becomes deeply problematic when it erases institutional responsibility and minimizes structural racism. This erasure is particularly evident in how inequities are often framed and discussed in mainstream discourse.
This is why we must reframe inequities and solutions and popularize narratives grounded in racial justice and collective liberation.
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At Just Narratives for Multiracial Solidarity, you’ll join narrative strategists, communicators, organizers, cultural workers, and storytellers to co-create racially just narratives that will transform mindsets, policies, practices, and institutions. Attendees will get to participate in relevant plenaries, skill building breakouts, and fun and insightful art activations. Alok Vaid-Menon, an internationally acclaimed poet,
comedian, and artist whose work sits at the intersection of creative expression and movement building, will be our keynote speaker.
Registration closes October 20!
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An example of how individualism narratives can have harmful effects is evident in current efforts to criminalize homelessness in Washington, D.C. By framing homelessness primarily as a matter of personal choice and individual behavior requiring stricter enforcement, attention is diverted from the structural factors at play -- including gentrification, the severe shortage of affordable housing, inadequate mental health services, and systemic economic inequities, such as mortgage discrimination.
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Last year, Race Forward partnered with five organizations, as part of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s Mindset Consortium, to interrogate how American narratives of individualism can fuel inequality. We published our findings in a series of essays called "Different & the Same." This powerful work continues at Just Narratives for Multiracial Solidarity.
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Our opponents actively use various pop culture mediums to reinforce individualistic achievement narratives. We must come together to build solidarity narratives that challenge the dominance of individualism in our culture and media. We need to create stories that illuminate the structural nature of our challenges and inspire collective action.
Enhance your Just Narratives experience by participating in and/or hosting an event in your community as part of Cultural Week of Action.
We hope to see you soon in St. Louis for Just Narratives.
In solidarity,
Race Forward
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Special Thanks to Our Sponsors!
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| Race Forward is proud to welcome the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and Transgender Law Center as sponsors for Just Narratives.
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| P.S.: We're offering group pricing for organizations sending three or more people to the convening. Receive 10% off our popular ticket levels if you purchase three or more tickets at the Sustainer or Connector
level. To learn more about group savings, please email us at [email protected] with your group name, number of tickets, preferred ticket option, and whether you’d like to pay by credit card or invoice.
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Copyright © Race Forward, PO Box 96353, Washington, DC 20090-6353, USA
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