Overcoming the Narrative of Fear

Faith in Minnesota is a political home for people of faith who are acting boldly and prophetically to create a new, people-centered politics in Minnesota — one rooted in abundance, where everyone is in and no one is out. Thanks in part to support from Voqal, Faith in Minnesota and its partners worked to build an integrated race/class narrative and media campaign focused on combatting the fear-based narrative often present in the political sphere.

Faith in Minnesota worked with Uprise, SEIU Minnesota, Education Minnesota and many other progressive partners to create dynamic, strategic communications. Using a Greater Than Fear frame, it implemented a wide-ranging strategy that generated winning messages for progressive campaigns across the state. Uniting groups behind the Greater Than Fear banner, both in the field and online, created a large and powerful echo chamber and allowed the progressive movement to appear unified, enormous and strong.

The result was a powerful and successful media campaign. The Greater than Fear message was broadly disseminated across social media. Countless Minnesotans identified with this anti-fear messaging. In fact, many were so enthusiastic, that they willingly created videos to talk about what Greater Than Fear meant to them. This effectively pushed back against the negative, dog-whistle type messaging that many opponents of progressive candidates in Minnesota were advancing.

And this positive approach to politics paid off. Minnesotans elected progressive candidates who grounded their campaigns in this type of anti-fear rhetoric to the office of governor, lieutenant governor and attorney general. In addition, several candidates were elected to the Minnesota Legislature, U.S. Senate and Congress on the back of this hopeful narrative.

At Voqal we believe that a truly socially equitable world requires a political system built on the principles of inclusivity and hope, not division and fear. We are proud to have supported the work of Faith in Minnesota and its partners to advance a narrative that pushes back against the negative and divisive messaging often used to discourage individuals from coming together. We look forward to their continued efforts to build a Minnesota that welcomes everyone equally.