What is a narrative and how might it center justice?
MJN sees narrative as the stories, facts, beliefs, and ideas that are told to us, we tell ourselves, and we tell others. Narratives form from words, pictures, sounds, & way more. They shape — & are shaped by — how we think, what we think, and what we do, on our own & together. They shape public opinions, elections, policies, and more.
We are committed to fostering narratives that serve MJN’s characteristics of justice and noticing when they don’t. The six concepts below help us design processes that better serve our values. They recognize the importance of interaction, context, authenticity, empathy, and human connection in designing differently. They also remind us that flashy campaigns need to be backed up by concrete, embodied, and practical actions if we want short term inspiration to have long term impact.
But designing narratives also requires us to work towards learning these things together.
How do people come to believe what they do? What life experiences brought them to their beliefs? What did they read or watch?
Who is shaping narratives the most? Dominant, unjust narratives — including anti-Blackness, climate denial, and more — are often guided by a small, wealthy few who are not seeking justice. These are insidious systemic practices that we have to understand if we want to resist them. Click here for more.
Concepts grounding justice-centered narratives
