1. Linked Fate & Interdependence: Reconnecting Communities & Reframing the Dialogue for a Transformative Agenda
john a. powell Williams Chair in Civil Rights & Civil Liberties, Moritz College of Law & Executive Director, Kirwan Institute September 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 internal AND external 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!

18. Save the date…

19. Visit Us Online www.KirwanInstitute.org

20. For Further Reading Bill Bradley Drew Westen George Lakoff:
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
John Sterman. (1994). Learning in and about complex systems. Systems Dynamics Review. Vol. 10, nos. 2-3:
Online tools:
Harvard Implicit Association Tests.