The image features an elderly Black man speaking into a microphone. He is wearing glasses, a baseball cap with an insignia, and a yellow T-shirt with some text and graphics visible. There is a banner in the background with reversed lettering, suggesting the word "SPEECH," indicating that the man is likely at a public speaking event or rally. His expression is focused and seems to convey a sense of seriousness or passion about the topic he is discussing.

Image by  on flickr

Narrative change and other communications strategies influence how we look at the world and what we think is possible. Narratives and stories inform norms, or the broadly accepted behaviors to which we usually conform that can either promote health, safety and wellbeing, or impede our progress. Think about how social norms changed around smoking and tobacco use in the U.S. over the last several decades. The stories we heard about the impacts of tobacco use on people around us, and about how industry promoted use, coupled with policy change, changed our attitudes and behaviors over time. Stories are a powerful tool to advance racial justice, health equity, and safety. But to do that we need to understand what narrative change is and its distinction from strategic communications, think about the importance of community-centered narratives, and why it's important to lead with racial justice.

Learning outcomes: 

  • Learn about narrative change and the distinction from strategic communications

  • Understand the importance of community-centered narratives

  • Identify why leading with racial justice in narrative change work is important