Narrative and Identity

Values and Identity

In order to build a multiracial democracy, we need to understand the values that shape the identities of Black, Latinx, AAPI, and Native people so we can better understand how to connect with, engage, and inspire people toward civic participation. For too long, the traditional political industry has seen Black, Latinx, AAPI, and Native people as political objects rather than diverse and complex people with political agency. This translates into a lack of understanding about the values and identities that exist within communities of color.

At DPI, we have set out to get curious about the diversity and complexity within Black, Latinx, AAPI, and Native communities so that we can better understand the people we are working to engage and empower. We believe the insights from this research will support organizers in their work to build their base of volunteers and leaders, inspire more people toward collective action, and win more change.

Related resources
Video
2023
DPI Convening

Lessons from Values Cluster Research: Understanding & Engaging Voters in Ohio

Leaders from the Ohio Organizing Collaborative and HIT Strategies share the findings from their summer values cluster work with Black voters in Ohio. They outline how they engaged two of those clusters in their organizing work and explored lessons from that work for various communities in 2024 and beyond!
Video
2023
Narrative and Identity

Black Values National Survey and Cluster Analysis Briefing

In this video, The DPI Fund, HIT Strategies, and Sojourn Strategist discuss the Black Values National Survey designed to understand the various values and political identities that drive Black civic engagement.
Powerpoint
2023
Narrative and Identity

National Power Messaging Poll and Black Voter Segmentation Results

The objectives of this national poll were to understand attitudes heading into the midterm elections, segment our audience to determine who our base, persuasion, and opposition voters are, and identify messaging that resonates with Black voters.
Video
2023
Narrative and Identity

SXSW 2023: From Political Cynicism to BIPOC Political Power

DPI Fund partners Katrina Gamble of Sojourn Strategies, Jess Morales Rocketto of EquisLabs, Nse Ufot, and Terrance Woodbury of HIT Strategies presented at SXSW about how political cynicism threatens political power in young people and BIPOC communities.
Powerpoint
2023
Narrative and Identity

Latinx Values Messaging GOTV Test with Florida Rising Together

In fall 2022, Sojourn Strategies, in partnership with Florida Rising Together, Solidarity Strategies, and Analyst Institute, conducted a field experiment to measure the impact of a survey-informed message developed to increase voter participation among Latinx voters.
Image
2023
Narrative and Identity

Black Narrative Research Recommendations

A list of recommendations HIT developed for reaching Black voters.
URL Link
2022
Narrative and Identity

Building Black Power - DPI Digest

We know that building Black political power is about creating spaces where Black people are actively setting the agenda, having direct influence during the policy making process, and making Black voters hyper-aware of the collective power they hold to take civic action and make political change.
PDF
2022
Narrative and Identity

Latinx Values Survey

DPI supported Equis and Sojourn Strategies in a partnership with numerous organizing groups including Florida Rising, Make the Road Nevada, Poder NC, LUCHA, Voces de la Frontera, and PICO California to survey Latino voters and dig deep on who is voting, why, and what values are motivating for civic engagement.
URL Link
2022
Narrative and Identity

Latinx Values Survey Results - DPI Digest

DPI supported Equis and Sojourn Strategies in a partnership with numerous organizing groups including Florida Rising, Make the Road Nevada, Poder NC, LUCHA, Voces de la Frontera, and PICO California to survey Latino voters and dig deep on who is voting, why, and what values are motivating for civic engagement.
PDF
2022
Narrative and Identity

Black Narrative Research: HIT one-pager

During 2020-2022, we worked with POWER, Detroit Action, BLOC Wisconsin, Florida Rising, and New Georgia Project to examine which messaging frames and narratives would help increase political engagement among Black voters.
PDF
2022
Narrative and Identity

Winning While Black: Lessons Learned from the 2020 Georgia Election and Runoff

All eyes were on Georgia for the 2020 November election and the two United States Senate runoff elections in January 2021. This report identifies lessons and recommendations for the field, based on the experiences of New Georgia Project (NGP) and New Georgia Project Action Fund (NGPAF) during these elections.
PDF
2021
Narrative and Identity

New Georgia Project + HIT Focus Group

HIT Strategies conducted six focus groups (four in person and two online) of Black voters from Metro Atlanta and rural Georgia from July 28th to August 17th, 2021, on behalf of the New Georgia Project to explore the following research objectives...
PDF
2021
Narrative and Identity

BLOC Wisconsin + HIT Strategies Focus Groups

HIT Strategies conducted five in-person focus groups of Black voters from Milwaukee from August 4th to August 5th, 2021, on behalf of BLOC Wisconsin to explore the following research objectives...
URL Link
2021
Narrative and Identity

Black Narrative Workshop

Last fall, the DPI Fund hosted a workshop on Black narrative and messaging. Presenters included Katrina Gamble from Sojourn Strategies, Janay Cody, and Terrance Woodbury of HIT Strategies.
PDF
2021
Narrative and Identity

The Black Experience Model

The purpose of this segmentation was to provide insight into the various narratives black people hold about race and their experiences so that we can learn who we are trying to reach. To provide a foundation for understanding the political diversity of Black Americans, we applied a proprietary model to the 2019-2020...
Video
2022
Narrative and Identity

Ad run by POWER Interfaith in Pennsylvania prior to the 2020 election

POWER Interfaith in Pennsylvania ran an ad prior to the 2020 election that shows how they incorporated the Black Narrative research into their civic engagement outreach.
Video
2021
DPI Convening

Disrupting Assumption About Black Political Engagement

Through thoughtful research informed by organizers, we’re disrupting political assumptions about Black voters as cynical and uninformed and learning about how to support and sustain Black political engagement for the long term.
PDF
2020
Narrative and Identity

Black Political Literature Review 2020

Black politics in the United States, in the context of racial unrest and revolutionary demands, is a fraught yet fertile scholarly field. Unpacking the contours of how Black people conceptualize their relationship to the state, to society, and to one another is critical both because of the substantive need to...