The Counter Narrative Project
This month’s organizing spotlight is on the Counter Narrative Project (CNP)! Founded in 2014 to amplify the voices of Black gay men, CNP works at the intersection of narrative and social justice. PWN is proud to have collaborated with our brilliant comrades at Counter Narrative Project for many years. Their commitment to creating beauty in our movement, storytelling, archiving history, loving and honoring the legacy of Black gay men is unparalleled and continues to inspire us. In that spirit, we bring you the genius of Charles Stephens, CNP Founder, and Executive Director, in his own voice below. You can support CNP’s important work by donating here.
We interviewed CNP Founder & Executive Director Charles Stephens to learn more about their work. Of CNP he says, “CNP is a love letter to the great artist-activists like Essex Hemphill, Marlon Riggs, and Joseph Beam. These figures have provided so much joy and inspiration to our movement. They sparked our political imaginations and offered an early intersectional analysis for the HIV movement. Our hope is that CNP pays tribute to their legacy through how we engage the arts and culture, shift narratives, and advance HIV justice.”
Today, how is CNP countering narratives and speaking truth to power to change policy and improve lives?
CNP understands that narrative change precedes social change. Successful social movements change policy by changing narratives. To that end, CNP speaks truth to power to change policy in the following ways: (1) Through creating original content that promotes visibility for our community and issues impacting us. (2) Through telling the stories about our community as a way to raise awareness and also centering our humanity. (3) Through mobilizing our community, including artists and cultural workers to use their platforms to advance racial and HIV justice.
What is CNP doing to uplift the Black gay vote?
CNP advances voting rights in the following ways: (1) Through ensuring that our stakeholders are up to date on their voter registration. (2) Creating a space on our platforms, including the CNP digital publication, “The Reckoning,” for our stakeholders to hear from candidates and elected officials.
The Counter Narrative Project
What issues are a focal point for CNP, your members, and allies?
CNP members, the CNP Tribe, as we say, are focused on everything from fighting HIV criminalization laws, ensuring PrEP access, promoting harm reduction, resisting white supremacy, and implementing various approaches to narrative shift work.
How can Black gay men and their allies get involved in your key initiatives?
Folks can get involved by joining our email list: https://www.thecounternarrative.org/contact-us
What do you need from your allies?
From our allies, we need a greater allocation of resources for Black organizations.
