Humanizing the immigrant narrative, one story at a time.
Define American is a narrative change organization that uses the power of storytelling to humanize conversations about immigrants. We conduct original, cutting-edge research to identify narratives that inspire people to action. Our advocacy within entertainment, digital media, and the arts is creating an America where everyone belongs. Define American was founded in 2011 by Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Jose Antonio Vargas and has been named one of the world’s most innovative companies by Fast Company.
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Featured Report
‘Immigration Will Destroy Us’ and Other Talking Points
The culmination of three years of original research at Define American looking at the impact, tactics, and reach of anti-immigration narratives on YouTube — and tools to fight back.
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Featured Guide
Creativity is Boundless: An Inclusive Guide
The new Inclusive Guide is a roadmap for artist support organizations and grantmaking programs to make fellowships, grants, and residency programs more accessible to all, regardless of citizenship or immigration status.
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Featured Tool
The Define American Immigrant Representation Scale
Our new assessment tool helps creators in entertainment tell more humanized, nuanced, and fully-realized stories through immigrant characters for television and film.
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