Connectivity & Mutuality

1. Linked Fate & Interdependence: Reconnecting Communities & Reframing the Dialogue for a Transformative Agenda john a. powellWilliams Chair in Civil Rights & Civil Liberties, Moritz College of Law & Executive Director, Kirwan InstituteSeptember 24, 2007

2. Connectivity & Mutuality “We are all caught up in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever effects one directly effects all indirectly.” -The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

3. Linked Fates…Transformative Change • Our fates are linked, yet our fates have been socially constructed as disconnected, especially through the categories of class, race, gender, nationality, religion…

4. Our Current Paradigm • Current paradigm: Hobbesian, isolated, radically individualistic • Perceives individuals as autonomous-independent selves • Egoistic, possessive, separate, isolated, rational • Role of state: protect individualism and individual property

5. Our Current Paradigm • This has led to increasing isolation and fear of the other • This framework creates and marginalizes the racialized other • Creates false separations – negates shared humanity • As a result we are a nation divided, and have failed to achieve true democracy

6. Effects of Current Paradigm on Social Justice Work • Within this framework, social justice work: • Overlooks opportunities for coalition building • Is more fragmented and isolated • May be competitive and divisive • Can lead to guilt or disempowerment • Is not connected to an overarching set of shared values • Lacks a cohesive and unified vision!

7. Are we too individualistic or can we transcend this disconnectedness?

8. A New Paradigm • Individualism and interconnectivity are not mutually excusive • When a linked correctly, interconnectivity supports individuality • We believe this is possible through collective imagination • A New Paradigm!

9. A New Paradigm • What is the alternative vision? • A model of connectedness • Individuals as part of something bigger • Inter-being, unified, not egoistically separate

10. A New Paradigm • Shared Fate • This has been interpreted by some to be synonymous with self-interest • This is too narrow -- as institutions shift, so will individual or group interests • Need an overarching collective vision of shared fate not predicated on personal or group-based interests

11. Next Steps • Now that we have this framework of connectedness and shared fate, where do we go from here? • Need to separately consider: • internal analysis • communication strategy • programmatic approach

12. Next Steps • Must be explicit about both internalANDexternal communications strategy- these are not always the same • Need to explore ways not only of “talking about race” but also “doing around race”

13. Next Steps: Analysis • Understand your audience & their dominant frames • Different symbols animate different associates with different groups • Need to first understand what that frame means to different groups • Example- freedom

14. Next Steps: Communication Strategy • Don’t rely on highlighting disparities or structures alone • May work best with some groups but not others • Must connect the individual with the structures- tell stories that use the personal to lift up the structural • Grapes of Wrath

15. Next Steps: Communication Strategy • This story must activate the correct frame for your audience • Priming- how an individual process information depends on the frame that is activated • Can be explicit or implicit • Example: “illegal alien”

16. Next Steps: Programmatic Approach • Develop and implement solutions that benefit ALL members of society • Linked fate • Targeted Universalism • Action- Linked intervention • Focus on “Turning Points” • Multiracial and multiethnic coalitions • Shared communications strategy

17. Concluding Thoughts • The obstacles we face can seem insurmountable, however… • Through a new paradigm and with coalition building we can make great strides in addressing the race and class disparities in our nation • Strategic transactional change, can ultimately accomplish transformation • Eyes on the prize(s) Remember- We Have, and Can Make Progress!

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20. For Further Reading • Bill Bradley • The New American Story. (2007). • Drew Westen • The Political Brain: The Role of Emotion in Deciding the Fate of the Nation. (2007). • George Lakoff: • Whose Freedom?: The Battle over America's Most Important Idea (2007). • Thinking Points: Communicating Our American Values and Vision (2006). • Don't Think of an Elephant: Know Your Values and Frame the Debate--The Essential Guide for Progressives (2004).

21. For Further Reading • Reports & Articles: • Thinking Change:  Race, Framing, and the Public Conversation on Diversity. What  Social Science Research Tells Advocates About Winning Support for Racial Justice Policies. Available online through The Diversity Advancement Project http://www.diversityadvancementproject.org/ • John Sterman. (1994). Learning in and about complex systems. Systems Dynamics Review. Vol. 10, nos. 2-3: 291-330. • Online tools: • Harvard Implicit Association Tests. https://implicit.harvard.edu/implicit/demo/