Narrative Power is Movement Power: Reflections from the Narrative Power Summit

Listening to the Second Line parade serenade a room full of dancing people in the French Quarter of New Orleans, I felt the energy of radical change.

Last month, I had the pleasure of attending the Narrative Power Summit (NPS) hosted by the Radical Communications Network and ReFrame in New Orleans, Louisiana. Social justice communicators and movement makers from around the world convened to build narrative power, community, and to develop narrative strategy and infrastructure for the future of our movements.

At this convening, I co-hosted a session called the “Narrative Help Desk.” Here, I witnessed how well-resourced and fueled our movements are with creativity, strategy, and partnership. Our session was one out of 30 workshops NPS crafted to deepen relationships, generate fresh ideas, collaboration, and engage in political discourse. Participants of our session shared pressing narrative challenges they were facing in their work spanning issues like criminal justice reform, housing justice, and gender justice. There in the room we collectively crowdsourced narrative-based interventions from participants in the room.

What I Heard: 3 Core Themes from the Summit

1. Narratives Are a Precondition for Movements, Not a Byproduct
As Shanelle Matthews, Co-Founder of Radical Communications Network reminded us in New Orleans: “Narrative is a precondition of movement not a byproduct of it.” Movements don’t just need messaging—they need stories that both shape public imagination, build collective identity, and shift power.

2. “Cede No Terrain”
This call to action from the summit was to defend hard-won narrative ground and not concede any space–culturally, politically, or ideologically–to oppressive systems. Kamau Walton, Associate Director of Communication for Right to the City, powerfully framed this mandate “Cede no terrain” for attendees to protect our narratives and cultivate new terrain rooted in liberation despite backlash and disinformation.

3. Building Narrative Infrastructure Requires Sustained Investment and Trust
The summit emphasized that building narrative power isn’t just about storytelling–it’s about infrastructure. That includes funding for long-term capacity (not just campaigns), support for network weavers, and community-rooted trust.

Thoughts on this Moment

As someone who has been a social media manager, organizer, and now researcher, our work as communicators in social justice movements often seems like an uphill battle with an ever-growing to-do list (and a gradual, but growing list of wins). The demands of communicating the complexities of the realities we’re collectively navigating feels more daunting to me now than ever before in the midst of rising abuses of power and growing inequities.

However, after attending the NPS, I’m reminded that the world we want to see is already being created. It is possible to build a multi-generational movement of communities that creates a world that is more equitable, livable, and joyful.

I’m grateful for the space ReFrame and the Radical Communications Network created for me to be in the midst of practitioners from all over the world whose struggles for justice, equity, and access look different yet share so many struggles.