Stanford Social Innovation Review podcast: “Rewriting Our Cultural Narrative for a More Just Society”
I recently listened to a Stanford Social Innovation Review podcast in which RashadRobinson, president of nonprofit Color of Change, explains how we can rewrite “our cultural narrative for a more just society.” Rashad asks, “Are the structures that we’ve set up truly allowing us to translate the hopes, aspirations, and dreams of the people that we serve into the real-world change that they actually deserve?” He argues generally, the answer to that question is no.
Rashad points out the issue with our current method of addressing inequality, in which we provide charity to those in need. We see poverty and inequality as “unfortunate,” and because of whatRashad calls the “empathy effect,” we want to provide charity to help with these unfortunate situations. He provides the example of the lack of diversity in leadership in the workforce. He suggests, “maybe [diverse individuals] need mentorship.” I know I have fallen guilty of this exact thought, especially since volunteering with children is a passion of mine.
Shifting our view from “unfortunate” to “unjust”
Instead of viewing inequality as “unfortunate,”he pushes us to view it as “unjust.” He says only when we see inequity as unjust will we be able to move past false solutions, such as mentoring underserved populations, training those reentering the workforce after prison, and the like. Rashad clarifies he is in no way against mentorship and other surface-level solutions, but to truly enact change, we must move past these surface-level solutions and instead focus on the root cause of the inequity—the systems that are set up for those in poverty, minorities, refugees and other at-risk populations to fail.
Rashad claims our systems, in their current state, are not working for all of us. However, he emphasizes history shows “when oppressed people win, they win for everyone.” Righting the wrongs of our systems allows all people to thrive, not just the few doing the oppressing.
When you ask Mitch McConnell to jump, I’m betting he won’t ask, “how high?”
Righting those wrongs requires more than simply asking they be righted. Rashad explains, “you’ll never see a petition from Color of Change asking Mitch McConnell to stand up for affirmative action.We’ve decided Mitch McConnell won’t stand up for affirmative action because we ask him to, so as a result, we’re not going to actually do that campaign.”
Rashad describes a petition of this sort as “clicktivism” and emphasizes the focal point is presence, not power. He defines presence as the ability to be seen, whereas power is the ability to influence. At Color of Change, he says the difference between presence and power is why they focus on the “enablers.”
When a mob of white nationalists violently marched in Charlottesville, Virginia, Color of Change didn’t petition the government to put an end to white supremacy and hate speech. Instead, they looked to companies. When they visited white nationalist groups’ websites, they saw they could purchase paraphernalia with a credit card or make a donation viaPayPal. Color of Change took their collective voice to the companies that were making these transactions possible—all the way from the banks to the credit card companies—and said, “if you don’t process fees for ISIS, you don’t process fees for white nationalists.” The companies listened, took action, and one system through which white nationalists thrived was dismantled.
Where should we go next?
I love a new way of thinking about a problem just as much as the next person, but I wouldn’t be doing the podcast or the Color of Change justice if I left you here without a way forward. In fact,Rashad said in the podcast one of the best ways to change the systems in place is to give people “something very clear and strategic to do.” Therefore, I leave you with two clear and strategic action items to help rewrite the cultural narrative and create a more equitable and just society:
Educate yourself and others. Listen to the podcast—maybe a few times (I’ve listened twice already). Become aware of the way in which you and those around you think and talk about inequality. Do you fall prey to the “empathy effect?” Empathy is of course important, but if you’re spending more time empathizing with those you’re hoping to support than you are acknowledging their power and the unjust systems at play, you may need to check yourself. No finger pointing here—I’ll be working on this right alongside you.
Get involved in pushing for change. Given the topic of the podcast, Color of Change is a great place to start if you’re looking for a way to take real action against unjust systems of oppression. On their website, you can virtually sign active petitions and find phone numbers and scripts for calling government officials and businesses over specific issues. As examples, you can sign a petition telling NBC Today not to air interviews or programming with white nationalist hate group leaders or call New York’s governor to demand he grant clemency to criminalized survivors of domestic violence. You can also start your own campaign and petition for a cause you’re passionate about. As a note, if you’re wondering about the legitimacy of Color of Change, the Stanford Social Innovation Review is a legitimate, award-winning publication and platform that covers a range of issues in the social innovation and social change space. The Color of Change has a partisan slant, so please ensure you do your own due diligence before getting involved with any new organization.
All in all, I’d encourage you to stretch your thinking when it comes to inequality and social impact, as this podcast surely stretched mine. How do you plan to go forward and join the fight for equality for all? I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments down below.