emily sajewski
#LoveThyNeighbor(No Exceptions)
Design paired with strategic communication can influence communities and national policy.
Challenge
The Friends Committee on National Legislation
(FCNL) is a nonpartisan Quaker lobby in the public interest that lobbies on legislative issues ranging from climate change to mass incarceration to peacebuilding. In 2016 I saw a need to create a broad message that connected all legislative issues and fit the brand of Quaker values. Taking initiative, I created #LoveThyNeighbor (No Exceptions). This message, implemented during a divisive political climate, resonated with many audiences and quickly became popular in constituent and congressional circles. At first the campaign was interactive, allowing friends and strangers to celebrate one another.
Gaining Momentum
We utilized social media and our network to spread the campaign. Quaker communities quickly embraced #LoveThyNeighbor (No Exceptions), hanging banners outside their meeting houses.
Seattle Community Quakers took the message of #LoveThyNeighbor (No Exceptions) to the local Islamic Center to show their support after a number of mosques in the area had been threatened. Read about the event in The Seattle Globalist feature.
Evolving for the Times
After the 2016 election, #LoveThyNeighbor (No Exceptions) morphed to signs held at rallies, pins worn on jackets, placards placed in front yards, and most importantly, a call to action. FCNL connected the message to their legislative asks, calling on members of Congress to vote with compassion. This message was especially poignant during the Muslim Ban and Health Care debates. Photographs of #LoveThyNeighbor (No Exceptions) signs often worked their way into media coverage. Today FCNL continues to nurture the campaign.
