An Approach Rooted in Empathy
We use storytelling to build connection and belonging that leads to lasting social change
How do we cultivate social change?
At Roots of Change, we believe that social change comes from uprooting the unhealthy soil of our past and cultivating new soil that will allow all of us to grow in healthy, sustainable, and equitable ways.
Storytelling is our tool.
Storytelling deepens connection and belonging, which allows cultures to become more empathetic and open to change. Cultural change opens the door for lasting social change. We’re here to help you tell stories. To tell the stories that matter.
Our Theory of Change
Old Rotted Roots
Our society and institutions were built on top of the unhealthy soil of, as bell hooks refer to it, white supremacist capitalist patriarchy.
The roots, or social conditions, are unable to flourish in spoiled dirt. Policies, legislation, and social norms will continue to reinforce the systems beneath the roots if we do not cultivate healthier soil.
Marketing sits at the base of the tree because it plays the outward-facing role of reinforcing the unhealthy systems below it. Modern marketing is about manipulation, accumulation, and the status quo. It reinforces old narratives that are no longer true or healthy.
Our Tools
We need deeper cultural change to make it easier to transition to a new future. Without shifting culture, progressive actions will not have lasting impacts.
Storytelling is how we shift the narrative, then the culture. Humans are social and visual creatures. Our brains are most likely to understand complex concepts more easily through storytelling.
As Audre Lorde’s famous quote puts it, “the master's tools will never dismantle the master's house."
We cannot reach an equitable society with the old ways. We must create new traditions, language, and practices if we are to create a new world. This work is both personal and collective. It’s up to each of us to shift our mindsets into the world that we want.
New Soil
Tending to new soil asks us to intentionally build new systems with community, equity, and sustainability at their core.
This starts with our own personal and collective growth. Capitalism has given growth a bad name, but not all growth is about extraction and exploitation. We all live and breathe the old rotted roots, which requires us to examine old norms, understand our role and unconscious limitations, and intentionally support our personal growth.
By dismantling the illusions of white supremacist capitalist patriarchy, we create the roots of the new system. We can shift to community-based care rather than toxic individualism. We can recognize the universal benefits of an equity-based approach. Finally, we can build sustainability into all that we do, including how we treat ourselves and our bodies.
Our work is to build a world that has never fully been realized, which is why imagination, creativity, and joy are crucial. Stories illuminate what is often hidden about the harmful systems and help bring everyone along. Healthy soil opens up new ways of living.