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Subject: [WUNRN] Immigrant Rights - Intersectionality of
Issues: Gender+, Breakthrough USA Rights & Racial Justice Program
WUNRN
Direct Link to Full 69-Page Report: http://us.breakthrough.tv/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/Restoring-Fairness-_-4-16.pdf
Breakthrough took an intersectional approach, framing the abuse of immigrants’ rights in a broader context of human rights abuses based on gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation, religion, and class. By leveraging popular culture and digital media to reach and mobilize young people in particular, Breakthrough sought to reframe the debate on immigration in both public opinion and media coverage while encouraging activism around immigrant rights.
IMMIGRANT RIGHTS – INTERSECTIONALITY OF ISSUES: GENDER +,
BREAKTHROUGH USA RIGHTS & RACIAL JUSTICE PROGRAM
Shortly after Breakthrough was established in
the U.S., the September 11 attacks occurred. Latent and not so latent
anti-immigrant sentiment bubbled up and spread, leading to physical attacks on
individuals and triggering a series of legal measures and enforcement actions
that are still a live issue today. In response to the precarious position of
immigrants in the aftermath of 9/11, Breakthrough developed a program on
immigrant rights and racial justice, focusing primarily on the denial of due
process rights created by the increasingly aggressive detention and deportation
actions by federal, state, and local authorities. Breakthrough took an
intersectional approach, framing the abuse of immigrants’ rights in a broader
context of human rights abuses based on gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation,
religion, and class. By leveraging popular culture and digital media to reach
and mobilize young people in particular, Breakthrough sought to reframe the
debate on immigration in both public opinion and media coverage while
encouraging activism
and immigrant rights.
Framing Breakthrough’s Model
of Change. In its Immigrant Rights and Racial Justice Program, Breakthrough
committed itself to “creating public support for fair immigration policy in the
United States,” by “lessening the fear and hostility toward immigrants and
building bridges across religious and ethnic communities” and “raising
awareness about the importance of civic engagement…and fair immigration
policies that protect human rights.” Breakthrough’s theory
of change can be summarized as follows:
Fair
immigration policies can only be achieved with a broad-based, culture-wide
shift in support of the full range of immigrants’ rights.
That
shift can only happen by reaching new audiences and getting them to recognize
that the denial of the rights of immigrants is a denial of all our rights.
To
achieve that recognition, we must break down issue silos in a way that shows
how different forms and systems of oppression intersect, so that a wide range
of organizations and individuals understand that the struggle for immigrant
rights is part of a larger shared struggle for rights, one that includes their
own struggle.
Arts and culture
provide a powerful way to break down those silos by engaging new audiences intellectually
and emotionally, fostering public dialogue, and creating immersive experiences
that cultivate a human rights culture.
Two frameworks inform this evaluation. First,
the James S. and John L. Knight Foundation (2011) provides a framework for
assessing public information projects along the dimensions of news, awareness,
capacity, voice, and action to determine their influence on news coverage, the
broader information ecosystem, and activism.
Second is the concept of “networked
nonprofits,” organizations that capitalize on the digital media revolution to
amplify voice, build a diversity of strategic relationships, and constantly
innovate.1 Breakthrough’s
commitment to using cutting-edge communication technologies and popular culture
to bring about transformational change allowed it to have an outsized influence
given its small size and program budget in the U.S. (averaging just over
$530,000/year between 2001-2011).
1 From Beth Kanter and Katie Paine, The Networked Nonprofit, Jossey
Bass, 2013.xv
NEWS: Tremendous
success at getting coverage for its issues and getting its message broadly
disseminated; skilled exploitation of openings in a dynamic media
environment. |
AWARENESS: Breakthrough
itself and with its partners raised broad awareness about rights abuses
related to enforcement, illustrating the intersectionality of rights abuses
by using emblematic cases of immigrants of different races, genders, classes,
religions, and circumstances. |
CAPACITY: Shared
its expertise about human rights communication and the use of digital media
through trainings, conferences, and guides; “loaned” its expertise to allies
through production of digital media for their use. |
VOICE: Through
its videos and video games, raised the voice and shared the perspectives of
immigrants and their supporters; provided an outlet for immigrant-rights
activists through Restore Fairness; used its own voice through public
speaking and editorials; supported partners in their advocacy efforts. |
ACTION: Offered
individuals multiple opportunities to act; supported the mobilizations of
partners and allies. |
KEY
LEARNINGS INCLUDED
Taking an
intersectional human rights approach enhances immigrant rights advocacy by
breaking down issue silos.
Arts and
popular culture play a key positive role in conveying information, creating
human connections, and building bridges between diverse individuals and
activist organizations.
Digital
media is a versatile tool for engaging audiences and building community, and
it offers enormous power to scale up even a relatively young and small
organization’s influence.
Individual
stories and video documentation are powerful tools for building support and
understanding regarding the range of challenges and injustices immigrants
confront.
Working
with others and investing in relationships has a huge multiplier effect,
especially when organizations have their strong complementarities in
distinctive competencies.
Taking a
long-term perspective, engaging youth, and making sustained investments to
bring about a cultural shift is more effective than tying advocacy to specific
pieces of legislation.
Messaging
must be carefully tailored based on research into public attitudes and
opinions.
There are
alternatives to celebrity endorsement for occupying pop-cultural space and
raising a controversial issue’s profile; only when an issue gets “safe” enough
will celebrities engage.
Strategy must drive technology
adoption, rather than the other way around—yet taking risks and experimenting
is at the core of being an innovative organization, building resilience, and
delivering unexpected big wins.
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