Dear Friend,

In the midst of increasing threats and harms hitting us every day, I want to send this quick note to share what I’ve been working to achieve in my new roles since leaving Color Of Change at the beginning of the year. I’m thrilled about this next phase of leadership in my life, and excited about my book coming out next year.

Given the pressures and influx of information we’re all dealing with, let me jump right into a few updates related to the work of my nonprofit funds, different from the advisory work I’m doing through Rashad Robinson Advisors, LLC.

The goal of these funds is to build out the infrastructure, strategies, practices and projects that can expand progressive power and influence—not just on policy, but on culture. Right now, there are countless battles to fight, and the attacks on democracy, racial justice, and our communities are escalating and coordinated. But so is our response.

We’re grateful for the generous support we’ve received since our launch, which has allowed us to move quickly from concept to execution.

My focus is clear: helping progressive ideas take hold and movement forces win big. There are a few goals I’ve been focused on supporting since January—both through public engagement and behind-the-scenes work with key leaders—with a lot more coming up this year and next. I'll share more in the months to come, including in my monthly newsletter. But for now, here are four immediate updates:

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1 - Finding & Feeding Our Base

I have always enjoyed using my public voice to create opportunities for organizations I lead and alliances I believe in. But there’s a new urgency for doing this more widely and more effectively right now. This year I’ve spoken at a number of events including the National Domestic Workers Alliance Summit, the 15th anniversary of Mosaic Genius on Martha’s Vineyard, and The Apollo as part of WNYC’s Martin Luther King, Jr. Day event.

In a moment when people aren’t just looking for a way to connect to activism, but wondering whether activism even matters anymore— and whether we can win justice for ourselves and our communities in today’s America— we must give people a reason to believe and a way to connect. We need to find the base of people who will drive our return to power, and we need to give them what they want and need.

Behind the scenes, I continue to engage with many of the people who talk to Black people and other communities the most, through various media channels. I'm offering guidance on framing issues of the day and on longer-term narrative goals that can help us build a more active and powerful base. In addition, here are a few specific efforts I’ve been working on:

State of the People Tour

I thought the “24-Hour Takeover” to present an alternative to the State of the Union was so important: it was an effort to see who’s still with us, connect with people who might be losing faith, and present a tangible, experiential form of political engagement that people feel is an important part of their life and personal identity.

Following that moment, I helped Angela Rye, Joy Reid and other Black leaders extend that day into a multi-city tour that played out over four months: helping with the strategy, speaking at the opening in Atlanta and at the closing in Baltimore. There will be another tour later this year to expand the reach and impact even further, building on its initial success.

Essence Fest

Black cultural spaces are a necessary piece of the infrastructure required for narrative change. The moment we’re in demands community and connection to motivate people and push narratives forward. Essence Fest is particularly important as a place where so many Black women gather.

​I was on the main stage in a provocative conversation with Nikole Hannah-Jones and Charles Blow. We hit on some ‘real talk’ issues: where the progressive coalition may be weak and how Black communities can be strong in the face of everyday threats from the administration. I saw the way this conversation landed in the room and online. It showed signs of what we need: the kind of conversation that can bring people in and get people excited when talking points have long failed them.

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I hosted a separate event on the theme of ‘how we win’ with April Verrett, president of SEIU, Angela Rye, and Kendrick Sampson, introduced by Alphonso David. (April, Angela, Kendrick and I are pictured below.) The room included journalists, activists, community leaders, everyday media consumers and media makers—more than 100 people. The thrust of the conversation was rediscovering what makes us strong as a movement: ways of connecting with people that build trust and belief, expand networks of activism rooted in real communities and create un-ignorable pressure on decision-makers—the very themes of my forthcoming book.

We’re planning similar events that combine strategy and community in the coming months.

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Medicaid Campaign

I have brought ‘integrated strategy’ thinking to leaders taking on the challenge of making Medicaid an issue that will rally people in ways that helps us rise into power. This is going to be a long-term fight. Progressives were tested early on this year and were not able to prevent cuts that will clearly hurt millions of people. But it wasn’t surprising. We need a longer-term strategy brought to life through many forms of leadership across our country, and I’m continuing to support leaders with developing and realizing that vision.

I’ve been lucky to get to work with Ai-jen Poo, Dorian Warren and others who are leading this work at the intersection of care, labor and economic justice. Ai-jen was very generous to share:

Equity Campaign

I have also been developing a set of strategies that could enable us to do the one thing we must do to prevent attacks on equity from driving up economic inequality and taking us backwards by decades: building an equity-obsessed base.

We can’t get anywhere on these issues—whether Affirmative Action, DEI or basic anti-discrimination protections—without a base of people willing to fight for it. Lawyers cannot win it for us alone, no matter how committed. Nor can policy experts, no matter how creative. We need real people—in the millions—waking up every day driven to protect themselves and others, and seeing the fight over the infrastructure of equity in government, corporations and culture as the best way to do it. This strategy work is helping to shape efforts that others will be leading, pieces of which I may lead myself.

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2 - Seeing & Seizing Opportunities

Another key goal is making sure we see the potential in new efforts that are beginning to break through, and making sure they have what it takes to make the transition from a good idea to promising pilot, and from a promising pilot to a force to be reckoned with.

The Target Boycott

The attacks on equity present a full-blown crisis. There are few instances of people fighting back effectively, let alone in the form of corporate accountability. One of them is a community-led boycott of retailer Target—a people-powered effort to force Target to negotiate with Black communities over its backtracking on real-life-impact DEI policies. Target is undermining the very consumers from whom they reap profits, and this campaign is making that story public and powerful.

Black communities are essential to any successful resistance or opposition, and these leaders represent what it looks like to break through and mobilize communities in authentic and powerful ways. My team has stepped in to update their website and help guide their digital presence, which is one way we are supporting leaders who are already becoming a formidable driver of corporate accountability. We aim to do more as the campaign escalates.

Innovation Grants

Across several foundation-supported projects, my team and I are building out the infrastructure for a new approach to innovation grants: small investments in big ideas, including emerging leadership that is happening online, in specific geographic communities, and in other venues and channels that exist outside of our current progressive organizational ecosystem.

I firmly believe that many of these leaders and their experiments are the future of our progressive ecosystem. So we are finding ways to boost their chances of success. We must remember: many of the biggest breakthroughs in power-building over the last two decades did not come from legacy organizations. Our effort recognizes the role that innovators play—from media to organizing to leadership. It is designed to give them the breathing room they need to grow.

I’ll be excited to share more details about these projects toward the end of the year. If you're interested or want to discuss more, please reach out.

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3 - Challenging Our Field

There are so many conversations in philanthropy and across our sector focused on how we’ve fallen behind in the media game, how the right wing is beating us at every turn, and how we need to invest in narrative, culture and media at new levels. I helped start some of these conversations when I released Changing Our Narrative About Narrative early in 2018.

After years of seeing these conversations play out, however, I believe we need to disrupt them. Too many of them somehow lead us back to the very same thinking, tactics and talent they were originally supposed to help us get beyond. I believe part of my role now is to provide a way for funders, leaders and others to participate in narrative power conversations at a different level—one that leads to more effective action both in the short term and long term.

Media Framework for Investors & Builders

I have developed an outcomes-driven framework that shows what success really looks like in terms of making media investments and building media infrastructure. It details what many efforts often miss about how to ensure we convert investment into impact, instead of merely producing new or trendy content that doesn’t ultimately give us more power. I am open to sharing this framework and serving as a guide to anyone who is running and/or investing in media infrastructure that breaks through.

Narrative Power Website

I am also in the process of building out a website that will offer resources to those interested in getting beyond the somewhat circular ’narrative’ conversations in our movement and being part of what comes next. It will feature past narrative guides and research I have led, as well as current thinking, tools and opportunities to engage in next-level collaborations related to framing the issues of the day, working toward longer-term narrative goals, exploiting opportunities in front of us, and more.

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4 - Being Responsive, Flexible & Innovative

I have built a lean core team that is helping me participate in many fights at once, while contributing the ideas, guidance, material and other work that can help those fights win.

• Brandon Sharp, a cultural strategist and producer, with years of experience in talent management, storytelling and deal-making across media and entertainment.

• Seema Sadanandan, a longtime political operative who has run many game-changing and winning policy campaigns.

• Josie Duffy Rice, a nationally recognized expert on the justice system and a leading voice in the realms of journalism, political commentary and entertainment.

• Ryan Senser, a cross-sector strategist with expertise in behavior change, organizational development and narrative architecture.

Experts in research, campaigning, content strategy and other disciplines are joining our team for specific projects and we will continue to grow our network as our work grows. We are all supported by consultants with critical experience in operations: project management, legal support, and organizational administration.

I’ll also be launching a newsletter in the near future focused on strategy, ideas, and reflections on the movement at this moment.

Thank you for your support as I continue to develop this new phase of my life's work.

Rashad

​RashadRobinson.com​
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