From the Nominator

In June 2020, in the wake of George Floyd’s death, the Harvard Alumni Association partnered with a small, diverse group of alumni leaders to form an Anti-Racism Working Group to confront head-on centuries of systemic racism in America and to integrate the work of anti-racism in alumni communities worldwide. This group conceptualized and created a four-week leadership series, Using Public Narrative to Build Equitable and Inclusive Communities, consisting of four 90-minute video modules and in-person Zoom sessions for alumni based on Dr. Marshall Ganz’s leadership tool of Public Narrative. This stories-based practice teaches alumni volunteers to strategically use narrative—Stories of Self, Us, and Now—to illuminate shared values and move individuals and communities to make choices, construct identity, and inspire action. 

The program was offered in the fall to coincide with the weeks leading up to the U.S. presidential election to equip alumni with skills to use empathy and narrative to bring members of a community together, bound by shared values, to respond to challenge with unity, agency, and hope to create a new path forward. By analyzing the speeches of public leaders addressing deep crises, such as Robert Kennedy, Jacinda Ardern, and Killer Mike, and participating in an intensive exercise situated in the aftermath of George Floyd’s death, alumni practiced together and found the words they needed to talk about and understand the impact of racism on their lives and communities. This pedagogy engages the head, heart, and hands, and is foundational to building inclusive and connected anti-racist communities.

From the Judges

We very much appreciated that this program was very volunteer-based, run, and focused. It seemed to be highly academic in nature and was a very timely and important topic to address with volunteers.