The last several months have been a wake-up call for those of us who want to see justice for Black, Indigenous, and people of color. It’s no longer enough to voice support for these communities, we need to take action to overhaul the racist systems and policies around us. Like many others, we’ve been exploring the specific actions we can take, internally and externally, to be proactively antiracist in what we do and how we do it.
As designers, storytellers, and strategists, we believe communications can play a powerful role in moving towards becoming antiracist. In this piece, we’re sharing ideas, strategies, and perspectives that help communicators and designers advance more productive conversations about racism and social inequality. While the policies and actions organizations take to be definitively antiracist may look different for all of us, we hope these ideas will help your own efforts to chart a new path forward.
Using Language to Lift People Up
Organizations working to fight inequality and injustice need to describe the communities they serve. But framing these groups with the challenges they face rather than the assets they possess can reinforce harmful stereotypes and undermine an organization’s actual mission. The practice of doing this well is known as “asset framing.” Trabian Shorters, founder of BMe Community, explains the what and why.
Giving Systems the Lead Role in Social Impact Storytelling
Speaking of framing, stories rely on characters to help readers relate to a topic. Typically, we think of these characters as individuals who demonstrate the impact of a nonprofit’s work or the nature of a problem. But when we make systems a primary character in social impact stories, they become a more powerful tool for challenging assumptions and inspiring action. Susan Nall Bales, founder of the FrameWorks Institute, makes the case for explanatory storytelling. to help tell a more complete story that helps us understand complex systems and the roles they play in shaping social issues.
Finding the Right Words
For nonprofit communicators, words matter—especially for organizations working across cultures, ethnicities, or any other groups requiring inclusive language. Drawing from research about the cultural, political and linguistic meanings of words, the Diversity Style Guide offers guidance and context for how to use them.
Making the Best First Impressions
Experiences are just as important as language for building an inclusive nonprofit brand. A new feature on LinkedIn offers a great example of a change that better serves their growing multicultural audience: users will soon be able to add a recording of the pronunciation of their names to their profiles.
Setting the Standard for Inclusive Design
Companies like Microsoft have a responsibility to stay at the forefront of progressive design and technology, especially when their products and services are used across cultures and borders. Microsoft’s Inclusive Design Guide offers insights, toolkits, and activities that anyone can use to make their work more inclusive.
Getting Started with Equity and Inclusion
Acknowledging the need for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) is an important first step, but affecting real change in your organization can often feel daunting at best. These 7 practical ideas published in the Stanford Social Innovation Review can help make equality at your nonprofit a practice—not just a conversation.
Rethinking the Design Process
The world around us is filled with products and experiences that have been designed with certain needs in mind. And while design impacts everyone, design decisions are often made without considering the diverse needs and perspectives of the people they affect. Design Justice Network seeks to rethink the design process with a set of principles that place people who have been marginalized by design directly at its center.
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Check out our other Curated Resources such as 7 Innovative Fundraising Strategies for Uncertain Times and 7 Resources for Navigating the Coronavirus Pandemic.
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