The Allied Media Conference in Detroit is one of the most impressive conferences I have been to with regard to media activism and media justice. Given the opportunity to see what is happening at all levels; independent media production, media activism, media justice and building deep knowledge on critical issues, it became clear the importance of building communications strategies and media rights for disenfranchised communities.

Specifically, the power of the story, historically, has proven effective in persuasively distributing information outside the constraints of supposedly ethical journalism. When communities effectively tell their stories, we get the depth of information necessary to enter debate on our own terms. One panel I went to called, "The Way we Tell History" prominent activists, including Grace Lee Boggs, discussed the ways that the legacy of Martin Luther King and Malcolm X were frozen in history with single words and phrases, as opposed to understanding their whole work as a work in progress.

So we are at a crossroads. We must tell our stories succinctly, but we must tell them in a way that is dynamic and telling of the reality of our lives.

However, it can be more than just our words. Media includes a variety of forms of expression and the Allied Media Conference also strategically used films to convey points via images. Two sessions that stood out to me included films from the New Orleans International Human Rights Film Festival and NO! The Documentary. In the first session there was a viewing of films that included stories of being evacuated and getting to the Astrodome along with covering some post-Katrina activism. I was moved by the intensity of the images and certainly showed me the power of film. NO! The Documentary, both discussed in the morning plenary and shown at a later time, is a documentary about rape and activism and one woman's journey in finding her peace and community through her activism around violence against women in the African American community. Again, struck by the strength, courage and truth of these women, I found myself moved.

Stories hold the key to freeing our communities from the lies that have been told about us. Through independent media production (including film, music, news and blogging), media activism and media justice, we can insert our voices in a way that will demand attention and generate accuracy.