Imagine a future in which American identity is untethered from white supremacy — neither white supremacist nor centered around resisting white supremacy. Without forgetting the lessons of our past, this American identity would create space for a fundamental reconstitution of the story of America to align with the world we aim to build over the decades to come.
That is the animating impulse behind the Bridge Project, a collaborative narrative research project of the Social & Economic Justice Leaders Project and The South focused on developing a future story of American identity, of belonging in and to this country. The goal here is not to polarize people into action tomorrow but to entice people to a new shared identity that is so expansive and rooted in belonging that it is irresistible.
This narrative "destination" project takes a different approach from much of the narrative work that aims to win an election, to pass a policy, to make progress in the near term. The Bridge Project attempts to craft a story that aligns with who we are working to be in 30 years, and to strategize for transformation by building backward from that future narrative to inform the stories that shape our work today and in the coming years.
The Reframing the Prevailing American Narrative for 2052 report details the findings of over a year and half of research and analysis. We are sharing these findings with organizers, movement leaders, storytellers, and cultural influencers in the hope that you will help us imagine a future in which the prevalent story of American identity is untethered from white supremacy.
We invite you to actively engage with this report. Read it, critique it, —and share what you’re learning back with us via email at BridgeProject@sejleaders.org.
