The Stories We Tell: The Politics of Stigma and the Language of Immigration Reporting
“Deny entry to all female foreigners.”
Require sterilization of all foreign visitors prior to entry.”
“Are we right in saying that ‘these dogs and cats in Ohio are celebrating this afternoon?’”
These were just a few of the social media responses to the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decision on birthright citizenship, a ruling that reaffirmed the status quo of issuing citizenship for babies born in the U.S. The comments are just the latest chapter in a long history of anti-immigration sentiment. Caricatures of immigrants, racist language and exclusionary laws can be traced back to the earliest days of the Republic.
In this webinar, we’ll take a closer look at one aspect of that history and explore how a social justice initiative launched 21 years ago has shaped the language we use and the stories we tell about immigration today. In 2005, a memo from influential Republican pollster Frank Luntz urged conservatives to use the term “illegal immigrant” over more neutral terms. In response, our featured speaker Rinku Sen, a political strategist and expert on changing narratives then at Race Forward, mounted the “Drop the I -Word Campaign,” which ultimately convinced major media outlets including the AP, USA Today, and the LA Times to stop routinely using the word “illegal” when referring to immigrants. Sen, executive director of the Narrative Initiative, will join Center for Health Journalism Director Michelle Levander to excavate the recent history of the terms we use when talking about immigrants, explain how they’ve become politically weaponized, and discuss what’s at stake for the health and well-being of immigrant families and communities.
This webinar is a joint presentation from the Center for Health Journalism and the Narrative Initiative. The webinar is part of our occasional “Stories We Tell” series, made possible thanks to the generous support of The California Endowment.
Speaker
Rinku Sen is a writer and social justice strategist, and the executive director of the Narrative Initiative. She is the former executive director of Race Forward and was the publisher of their news site, Colorlines. Under Sen’s leadership, Race Forward produced some of the most impactful racial justice successes of recent years, including the Drop the I-Word campaign. She was also the architect of the “Shattered Families” report, which identified the number of kids in foster care whose parents had been deported. She is the author of the books “Stir it Up” and “The Accidental American,” which advance a model of community organizing that integrates a political analysis of race, gender, class, poverty, sexuality, and other systems. As a consultant, Sen has worked on narrative and political strategy with numerous organizations and foundations, including PolicyLink, and the ACLU. She serves on numerous boards, including the Women’s March, where she is co-president, and the Foundation for National Progress, publisher of Mother Jones magazine. Over a nearly 40-year career, Sen has mentored dozens of organizers, community leaders, philanthropists and artists. In her current role leading Narrative Initiative, she is building a vision of multiracial, pluralistic democracy, and helping organizers across movements learn how to saturate every story with their ideas.