For this week’s storytelling installment, we’re once again casting the spotlight on Humans of New York (HONY) — and for good reason. Let me tell you something. If you’re a fundraiser and you’re NOT following HONY on Facebook, you’re doing yourself a serious disservice, and you’re putting your donors at a disadvantage, too. How come? Because you’re missing out on some of the best storytelling on the internet. Actually, you’re missing out on some of the best storytelling in the universe, period. And it’s a learning opportunity you can’t afford to miss out on. Why? Because no one does emotional storytelling like Brandon Stanton has, does, and continues to do. So do yourself a favor if you’re not yet acquainted with HONY, and go connect with them now. Whether you catch HONY on Facebook, Instagram, their official website, or Twitter, the necessity of storytelling and the humanness of it will be illuminated right before your very eyes.
Frankly, the DNC could learn a lot from HONY.
Brandon is a photographer, and photography is his primary mode of both artistic expression and communication. But Brandon himself is more of a story curator than a storyteller. As he creates the space for his subjects to do the talking, they not only open up, they blossom before the world. Their stories take full shape and inspire all kinds of feeling.
The narratives that stream across HONY’s platform frequently connect to current events, and a recent series connects directly to DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals). DACA was an American immigration policy established by the Obama administration in 2012. 800,000 “Dreamers” were enrolled under this policy, which enabled those who came to the US as minors to receive a renewable two-year period of deferred action from deportation and to be eligible for a work permit. Research showed that DACA’s effects were extremely positive, from increasing labor force participation and wages to reducing poverty in immigrant households.
But just last month, Trump repealed DACA anyway, and the response was mixed, even among his own party.
It’s easy to view DACA through the lens of numbers and statistics. There exists a pernicious idea that DACA-eligible people are more likely to engage in crime, despite the lack of evidence supporting this. DACA is a human concern, and a compassionate concern. And HONY’s recent series encapsulates this and immortalizes it like no one else has. Check it out.
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I can’t wait to meet with you personally.
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