Narrative Change Begins with You

Jamil Smith has some advice for people writing to create social change: in order to help others, sometimes you have to prioritize yourself.

His recommendation might sound counterintuitive, but Jamil knows what he’s talking about. Currently a Senior Writer at Rolling Stone, he has years of experience in high-impact journalism, including stints with Rachel Maddow, Melissa Harris-Perry, and The New Republic. In other words, he knows how to make an effective argument.

On February 22nd Jamil joined the New America CA Fellows for a writing workshop in San Francisco. With the Golden Gate bridge framed in the window over his shoulder, he and New America CA Director Autumn McDonald led a discussion about opinion writing, with tips that included:

1. Take care of your body and mind before sitting down at the computer. If you’re not feeling well, you can’t write well.
2. Make just one argument per piece -- you don’t need to include your whole life’s purpose in one article
3. Amplify the voices of the marginalized. If you’re writing about a particular community, include quotes and stories from community members in your piece.

This last point particularly resonated given the nature of the Fellows’ work. From advocating for homeless students to combating gerrymandering, the Fellows are uplifting communities across the state, creating more equitable economies and boosting civic participation. Elevating the voices of others is something that’s generally easy for New America CA Fellows to get behind.

Yet in one-on-one sessions throughout the rest of the day Jamil consistently reminded the Fellows not to ignore themselves either. He encouraged them to write in a way that situates themselves among the people they’re working with and for, asserting their own rights, as experts, to participate in the public conversation. Editors value when writers draw from their own unique knowledge and perspective, he told them, even on topics that have been covered in different ways before.

Put differently, Jamil encouraged the Fellows to believe not just in the value of the voices of the communities they are working with, but also in the value of the stories they themselves have to tell.

Coming out of the workshop Fellows reported that they’d learned different formats for writing and interviewing that would help them address opposing views, create richness in their arguments, and ensure that they are listening to marginalized people. And they reported new confidence in sharing their own voices and perspectives at scale.

It can be hard for the Fellows to step away from work for a whole day just to write, especially when the work they do is so critical and so urgent. But by investing in themselves -- with new knowledge, with individualized attention, and with quiet, focused time in a beautiful place -- the Fellows can magnify the impact they have for others.

Oh, and taking breaks once in a while to visit your local Yoda statue...that helps too.