Remaking the Economy: How to Change Our Stories about the Economy

What are the stories that we need to tell to better understand our economy, and lay the groundwork for building a more inclusive, democratic world? Storytelling—the construction of spoken or written accounts of a series of events that we tell each other to understand our world—offers critical tools to build movements, upend myths that hold us back, and construct cultures that can sustain a democratic economy.

This webinar conversation, co-moderated by NPQ and the BLIS Collective, takes a deep look at how to use storytelling to advance transformative change. Participating in the conversation are the following people:

Peggy Bailey is vice president for housing and income security at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, based in Washington, DC.
Jessica Feingold is co-CEO of Common Future, based in Brooklyn, NY.
Jeremie Greer is co-founder and co-executive director of Liberation in a Generation, based in Washington, DC.
Nick Tilsen (Lakota) is cofounder and CEO of the NDN Collective, based in Rapid City, South Dakota.

Among the many topics the webinar explores are the following:

What are the narrative roadblocks to building a more liberatory economy?
What myths are holding back racial and economic justice work?
What are new stories that need to be told?
How can one engage in narrative change work for the long haul?
What is the infrastructure that can advance narrative change work?
What are the connections between narrative work, policy, and culture?
How can people advance new stories about the economy in their own work?

Resources:

Peggy Bailey, “A Blueprint for Prosperity: Expanding Housing Affordability,” Washington, DC: Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, January 31, 2024.

Jack Barry, Ann Searight Christiano, Michael Huang, Shanelle Matthews, Annie Neimand, Rakeem Robinson, Heena Shah, Trina Stout and Zakyree Wallace, “Building Narrative Power for Economic Justice by Telling Better Stories,” NPQ, April 12, 2023.

Cristina Diaz-Borda and Jessica Feingold, “Breaking Silos to Enact Change,” Oakland, CA: Common Future, August 3, 2023.

Steve Dubb, “A Vision for Social and Economic Justice Rises in Indian Country,” NPQ, December 18, 2020.

Jeremie Greer, “Building Power: Challenging the Material Advantages of Whiteness,” NPQ, June 15, 2022.

Nick Hanauer and David Goldstein, “Can the Economy Be Liberated? (With Jeremie Greer),” Pitchfork Economics, May 30, 2023.

Trevor Smith, “To Build Narrative Power for Reparations, We Need Infrastructure,” NPQ, December 14, 2023.

Nick Tilsen and Gaby Strong, “Dismantling the Land Theft System: A Land Back Vision for Philanthropy,” NPQ, November 21, 2022.

About the authors

Peggy Bailey

Peggy Bailey is vice president for housing and income security at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities based in Washington, DC.

Jessica Feingold

Jessica Feingold is co-CEO of Common Future, based in Brooklyn, NY.

Jeremie Greer

Jeremie Greer is co-founder and co-executive director of Liberation in a Generation, an organization incubated by PolicyLink, which is building the power of people of color to totally transform the economy.

Nick Tilsen

Nick Tilsen (Lakota) is a cofounder and CEO of the NDN Collective, which works with Native Americans across the country. Previously, he cofounded and directed the Thunder Valley Community Development Corporation on Lakota land in Pine Ridge, South Dakota.

Trevor Smith

Trevor Smith is a narrative and cultural strategist who writes and researches on topics such as racial inequality, the racial wealth gap, and reparations. He is the Co-Founder/Executive Director of Narrative Power at the BLIS Collective, an organization dedicated to strengthening narrative infrastructure across Black, Indigenous, and progressive social movements. He was the Director of Narrative Change at Liberation Ventures, where he built a narrative lab dedicated to building narrative power behind reparations. He has previously worked in program and communication roles at the Surdna Foundation, ACLU of NY, and the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.

Steve Dubb

Steve Dubb is senior editor of economic justice at NPQ, where he writes articles (including NPQ’s Economy Remix column), moderates Remaking the Economy webinars, and works to cultivate voices from the field and help them reach a broader audience. Prior to coming to NPQ in 2017, Steve worked with cooperatives and nonprofits for over two decades, including twelve years at The Democracy Collaborative and three years as executive director of NASCO (North American Students of Cooperation). In his work, Steve has authored, co-authored, and edited numerous reports; participated in and facilitated learning cohorts; designed community building strategies; and helped build the field of community wealth building. Steve is the lead author of Building Wealth: The Asset-Based Approach to Solving Social and Economic Problems (Aspen 2005) and coauthor (with Rita Hodges) of The Road Half Traveled: University Engagement at a Crossroads, published by MSU Press in 2012. In 2016, Steve curated and authored Conversations on Community Wealth Building, a collection of interviews of community builders that Steve had conducted over the previous decade.

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