Day 15 Theme: Changing the Narrative: Advancing justice through asset framing

Stories hold tremendous power in our world, work and lives. As writer Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie has said: “Stories have been used to dispossess and to malign. But stories can also be used to empower, and to humanize. Stories can break the dignity of a people. But stories can also repair that broken dignity.”

We encourage you to watch Adichie’s 19 minute talk “The Danger of the Single Story,” and to note your reactions and reflections. What single stories have you held or heard in your work/volunteerism/studies? Who and what do these stories promote and privilege? Are they advancing justice? Are they uplifting those who are marginalized? Are they inspiring new possibilities for equity and liberation?

In pursuit of challenging the prevailing story about the people we serve, the League was very excited to host Trabian Shorters, the founder of BMe (website linked below), as the keynote speaker at our 2019 annual policy forum. Often in the nonprofit world, we define people by the problems they face and their lack of resources and capacity to address them. Mr. Shorters offers us a more empowering alternative in asset framing—defining people by their strengths and aspirations. For a better understanding of how this shift in perspective works, we invite you to read the blog post below. We ask you to hold asset framing as a central theme in your mind as we complete the final week of the Challenge.

Reflect & Respond:

What single stories have you held or heard in your work/volunteerism/studies? Who and what do these stories promote and privilege? Are they advancing justice? Are they uplifting those who are marginalized? Are they inspiring new possibilities for equity and liberation?

OR

In respect to 'asset framing', do these ideas have you rethinking your approach to advocacy on behalf of families with low incomes and communities of color?