For the past year and a half, I’ve worked with researchers to study beliefs about reparations and to translate that research into language that advocacy groups and organizations can use to change their aims and practices. Our findings yielded a new understanding rooted in the belief arc framework about how narrative infrastructure can connect to day-to-day organizing and communications work.

Reparations may seem like a complicated issue, but at its core the definition of reparations is simple: “Reparations” is the process of a government making amends for harm. While most people think of reparations solely in terms of money, they include a variety of material, systemic, and symbolic repairs for victims, their families, and society. The process involves four steps that can be taken in any order: reckoning, acknowledgement, accountability, and redress.

But advocating for a social justice issue that has so much history, emotional complexity, and misconceptions surrounding it can be confusing. Just when I thought I’d convinced someone that reparations were politically feasible, I’d learn that they didn’t think slavery impacted the present and therefore reparations wouldn’t be needed at all.

The reparations movement is backed by a lot of research—including polls, surveys, national reports, and message testing—and I was adding to the list. Still, I initially wasn’t sure how to use the research in my advocacy work, and I didn’t see anyone else using it beyond an initial press release. As a narrative practitioner, I realized the problem was on my end: I hadn’t explained how to truly integrate these powerful research findings into the day-to-day work. To do this took a significant shift in my approach.

Back at the drawing board, I imagined an aerial view over a small town: the wide-range perspective makes it easy to see the interlinked systems of roads between hospitals, markets, and schools where goods are delivered across locations. But on the ground, unable to view the town’s layout entirely, it’s easy to feel lost and unsure of how to get from one place to another to access the right resources.

The narrative field has developed narrative infrastructure, the “roads” or set of systems maintained in order to deliver messages and narratives consistently over time, helped by belief arcs. These systems include strategic planning, collaborative networks, funding, data, and technology. Communications teams have become skilled drivers of reliable “vehicles” that include press releases, social media posts, speeches, events, film and television content, and art. These vehicles deliver a range of essential “goods”: messages, stories, and ideas.

Read the full article about the belief arc by Amity Paye at Nonprofit Quarterly.