What are Deep Narratives?
At The Center for Cultural Power, we define Deep Narratives as the most enduring, deeply-situated themes and ideas that have permeated stories for over 50 years. They are deeply values-based, future-envisioning, and future-building—an underlying belief that transmits a value. Deep Narratives provide the logic for a worldview and manifest as a “core belief” or “gut instinct” that guides people to determine whether something is right or wrong. Some people refer to them as mindsets, meta-narratives, or mental models (Constellations Fund). The term “deep narrative” is used in place of the previously used “organizational values” to better reflect the foundational stories, beliefs, and cultural lineages that shape meaning and drive action.
Our Deep Narratives
Culture is power: Culture is the beating heart of our human experience. It is the traditions, rituals, and expressions of our deepest values and beliefs. It provides continuity and connection across generations and moves us forward. Culture is fluid and ever-changing, shaping what we think is possible. Culture can heal, sustain collective action, and offer the space where we dream new worlds into existence. When we harness cultural power, our wildest dreams become possible and then become real.
We steward the past and future: We understand our lives as part of an arc that stretches long before and long after our individual lifetimes. When we create and transmit wisdom across generations, it is not only a means of survival but also a means for introspection, transformation, regeneration, sustainability, and thriving. We create possibilities for reimagining our futures when we learn from the wisdom of those who came before us, and when we act from the knowledge that we will become ancestors to those who come after us.
Love moves us toward liberation: Love creates possibilities for all of us. When we love ourselves and others, we open space for healing, repair, and growth, forging opportunities for joy, connection, and reciprocity. Love is an act of abundance. It inspires action and solidarity. It dissolves boundaries and borders. From love grows freedom and justice. When communities center love, we create a space for accountability, responsibility, and collective care. When societies center love, we transform the world.
We thrive when we care for each other: Collective care is fundamental for individual and community health. We prioritize caring for communities, our loved ones, and ourselves, and we believe that our institutions and governing systems must be oriented to support both our well-being and ability to care for each other. We understand collective well-being as a core measurement of success for a culture, an economy, and a society.
We determine our lives and future: In order to thrive, people must be able to choose their own path. Individuals must have the autonomy to make decisions about their bodies and lives. Communities must be able to develop the cultural, political, and economic systems that meet their needs while respecting the dignity and autonomy of others. When we honor each other’s right to self-determination, we recognize our unique lived experiences, capacities, and wisdom. We learn from each other, and together, we grow.
Interested in learning more? Read our full 2025 Narrative System Report to explore ways we’re strengthen narrative alignment across programs, measuring impact over time, and resourcing cultural strategy as essential infrastructure for justice in a rapidly shifting world.
Download the 2025 Narrative System Report
The CultureStrike Network
We’re formally announcing the launch of The CultureStrike Network — A Creative and Political Home for connection, collaboration, resources, learning, and collective action in this critical moment. This network exists because of years of stewarding relationships and collaboration with all of our communities and pa
The Disruptors Fellowship (2025)
Our new Research & Impact Report explores the last five years of The Disruptors Fellowship and the powerful outcomes that emerge when BIPOC writers are empowered as narrative leaders with the power to shape the future of storytelling.
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