Active Voice Lab (AV Lab) is a community initiative that claims to provide training for philanthropists, media outlets, and advocacy groups on how to push left-of-center narratives promoting  social, economic, and racial equity. ^{1 2} AV Lab is a project of Community Initiatives and is funded by several nonprofits including the MacArthur Foundation and Ford Foundation. ³

Background and Funding

AV Lab is a project of Community Initiatives and is funded by several left-of-center nonprofits including the MacArthur Foundation and Ford Foundation. ³

Advocacy

Immigration

Active Voice Lab argues that certain immigration policies within the United States stem from “underlying issues, like racism, [xenophobia], or class privilege.” ⁴ AV Lab claims to be working with the Ford Foundation to advocate for left-of-center immigration policy reform to “protect the rights of future immigrants.” ^{5 6}

LGBT Issues

Active Voice Lab has been involved in the development of several films to promote LGBT outreach and LGBT-related topics. Out in the Silence advocates for expanding LGBT outreach to rural communities in the United States, ⁷ Shelby Knox Redux criticizes religious communities that oppose same-sex marriage, ⁸ and The New Black documents different perspectives of Marylanders regarding the same-sex marriage referendum held during the 2012 election. ⁹ For The New Black, AV Lab partnered with the Ford Foundation, National Black Justice Coalition, Human Rights Watch, and the NAACP. ^{9 10}

Criminal Justice

Active Voice Lab has worked with several organizations including the Ford Foundation, the Constitution Project, and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) to advocate for left-of-center criminal justice policy. ¹¹ In 2012, AV Lab worked with the U.S Department of Justice’s (DOJ) Community Relations Service (CRS) to address “community conflicts and tensions that arise from differences of race, color, religion, and national origin.” ¹²

American Muslim Community

Active Voice Lab (AV Lab) helped develop Welcome to Shelbyville, which documented citizens from Shelbyville, Tennessee on Somali refugees moving to their town following the 2008 economic recession. ¹³ AV Lab partnered with immigration advocacy groups in developing the documentary including the Migration Policy Institute, Unbound Philanthropy, and the Fledgling Fund. ¹⁴ AV Lab also helped develop the documentary New Muslim Cool which covered a New York drug dealer and his conversion to Islam and later teaching Islam to at-risk youth in the region. ^{15 16}

1.  “Active Voice Lab.” Community Initiatives. Accessed January 13, 2025. https://communityinitiatives.org/project/active-voice-lab/.
2. “AV Initiatives.” Active Voice Lab. Accessed January 13, 2025. https://www.activevoice.net/av-initiatives/.
3. “Leadership.” Active Voice Lab. Accessed January 13, 2025. https://www.activevoice.net/leadership/.
4. Bartz, Steve, Sonya Childress, Ellen Schneider, Elaine Shen, Faith Rogow, Gail Evenari, Kien Lee, et al. “Farmingville Discussion Guide.” Active Voice, June 21, 2004. https://www.activevoice.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/FarmingvilleDiscussionGuide.pdf.
5. “Who Is Dayani Cristal?” Active Voice Lab. Accessed January 13, 2025. https://www.activevoice.net/av-archive/who-is-dayani-cristal/.
6. “The Global Lives Initiative.” Active Voice Lab. Accessed January 13, 2025. https://www.activevoice.net/av-initiative/shifting-narrative-global-lives-initiative/.
7. “Out In the Silence: Home.” Out in the Silence | Home. Accessed January 13, 2025. https://legacy.wpsu.org/outinthesilence/.
8. “The Education of Shelby Knox.” ITVS. Accessed January 13, 2025. https://itvs.org/films/education-of-shelby-knox/.
9. “The New Black.” Active Voice Lab. Accessed January 13, 2025. https://www.activevoice.net/av-archive/the-new-black/.
10. “LGBT Initiative.” Active Voice Lab. Accessed January 13, 2025. https://www.activevoice.net/av-initiative/building-inclusive-movements-lgbt-initiative/.
11. “Gideon’s Army.” Active Voice Lab. Accessed January 13, 2025. https://www.activevoice.net/av-archive/gideons-army/.
12. “Department of Justice.” Active Voice Lab. Accessed January 13, 2025. https://www.activevoice.net/av-archive/department-justice/.
13. “Welcome to Shelbyville.” ITVS. Accessed January 13, 2025. https://itvs.org/films/welcome-to-shelbyville/.
14. “Shelbyville Multimedia.” Active Voice Lab. Accessed January 13, 2025. https://www.activevoice.net/research/shelbyville-multimedia/.
15. “Hamza Perez: Bursting the Muslim Stereotype.” Positively Pittsburgh. Accessed January 13, 2025. https://positivelypittsburgh.com/hamza-perez-bursting-muslim-stereotype/.
16. “Muslims in America Initiative.” Active Voice. Accessed January 13, 2025. https://www.activevoice.net/av-initiative/challenging-stereotypes-muslims-america-initiative/.