Introduction
From an international cast of leading activist communicators, a timely and instructive handbook for telling stories that change the world.
“The twenty-first century has seen a profound shift in the global sociopolitical and economic landscape, shaped by seismic interventions ranging from the War on Terror to the COVID-19 pandemic. Between 2000 and 2024, social movements like Black Lives Matter, #MeToo, climate justice, the Fight for $15, Palestine liberation, health care for all, and queer and trans resistance have illuminated a new narrative–one rooted in an inclusive vision of society, driven by a newly politicized and radicalized generation.
This shift did not happen by chance. Movement workers have meticulously crafted communications and narrative strategies, honing their political messaging and storytelling to seize narrative power in today’s struggles.
In Liberation Stories, today’s foremost progressive and leftist communicators, organizers, artists, journalists, and academics share their collective wisdom in one powerful volume. Featuring in-depth case studies of both contemporary and historical movements, Liberation Stories distills successful theories, strategies, and tactics for anyone wanting to understand–and participate in–the diverse initiatives currently shaping our society.
As far-right and conservative movements gain traction worldwide–attacking our books, our bodies, and our democracies–Liberation Stories emerges as a vital resource for constructing the world we envision, one story at a time.” – Publisher
Who is it for?
“Liberation Stories is accessible to a range of audiences.
First, it provides social-movement workers with a capstone text that deconstructs how organizers, activists, and advocates have harnessed narrative power and communication strategies to advance the vision of a multiracial, multinational, radical democracy across diverse movements, geographies, and regimes. Secondly, it offers everyday people, parents, scholars, and those invested in a more just future an insider’s perspective on how narratives are used to wield immense power.
The anthology aims to equip all readers with the tools to collectively develop counter-hegemonic strategies and a proactive vision for a society that benefits the many rather than a privileged few.” – Source
About the Editors
Shanelle Matthews collaborates with social justice activists, organizations, and campaigns to inspire action and build narrative power for social justice and liberation. She is the former communications director for the Movement for Black Lives and the Black Lives Matter Global Network. Shanelle founded the Radical Communicators Network, a global community of practice for social movement communications workers. She is also a former Activist-in-Residence and faculty member of Freedom Scholars at The New School. Today, she teaches full-time as a distinguished lecturer at the City College of New York in the Department of Anthropology and Interdisciplinary Studies. Her courses include Narrative Power in the Black Radical Tradition, Rhetoric of Liberation: The Role of Narrative Power in Contemporary Movements, and Black Women’s Resistance: Narratives of Safety and Survival. She is the co-editor of the forthcoming anthology Liberation Stories: Building Narrative Power for 21st Century Social Movements (New Press, June 2025). She lives in Brooklyn.
Marzena Zukowska is an organizer, communications strategist, and the co- founder and co- director of the UK- based immigrant rights organization POMOC. For a decade, Marzena has developed narrative and organizing strategies for leading social and political movements in the United States, the UK, and Europe. They are the former media director at the National Domestic Workers Alliance, and a former leadership team member at the Radical Communicators Network. Their work has been published in two anthologies— Queer Activism After Marriage Equality (Routledge) and Asylum for Sale: Profit and Protest in the Migration Industry (PM Press)—and they co- authored New Brave World, a report on the field of pop culture for social change in the UK. They are the co-editor of the forthcoming anthology Liberation Stories: Building Narrative Power for 21st Century Social Movements (New Press, June 2025). Marzena is a queer, nonbinary Polish immigrant who was born in Białystok, Poland, and grew up undocumented in Chicago, United States.
The Radical Communicators Network (RadComms) is a community of practice for emerging and experienced movement and communications workers. They build narrative power for a just and liberatory future.
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Explore Further
- Narrative Change: Start here
- Changing Our Narrative About Narrative: The Infrastructure Required for Building Narrative Power
- What Makes Narrative Change So Hard?
- Conditions to Flourish: Understanding the Ecosystem for Narrative Power
- Building Narrative Power for Racial Justice and Health Equity
- How to Change the Narrative / Story: Guides, Worksheets and Templates
- What we can Learn from the Marriage Equality Campaign
- Films and Documentaries about Social Justice, Movements, Victories and Leaders