Social Justice Origin Stories

Demetrius T. Gary describes the impact moving from a multilingual, multiracial middle school experience to a rural, mostly white high school where he was the only Black person had on his racial identity development. He shares his experiences with assimilation, what led him to view code-switching as an asset, and how that unforgettable transition helped him realize there isn’t any one way to be Bla...

This is Volume 4 of “Take This With You“, a special series from Social Justice Origin Stories. Storytelling is a gift, and in this series, storytellers reflect on what they hope stays with you after their episode ends. As you listen to their sharing, consider this moment as an invitation to reflect on your own journey. 🔔 If you haven't already... SUBSCRIBE to Social Justice Origin Stories on YouT...

Reflecting on over a decade of teaching, Relando Thompkins-Jones explains his teaching philosophy and why it centers critical self and systems reflection, education as a path to liberation in collaboration and community. He reflects on the significance of social justice education, which not only provided him with language to express himself and describe the experiences, and inequitable patterns he...

Instead of a single, pivotal moment, Sarah Jones compares her journey towards social justice work to a fire that ignited during her first experiences with race and racism in the 1st grade, defining further memories and experiences as the logs that kept the fire burning. She shares a story about how studying abroad as a first-generation college student revealed how capitalism reinforces inequity by...

Made with minimal equipment and rooted in the idea that ideas need time to grow, this bonus crossover episode between Notes From an Aspiring Humanitarian (NAH) and Social Justice Origin Stories revisits Relando's very first recording from 10 years ago with special guest l o t i walker, a social worker, social justice advocate, artist, and photographer. l o t i shares why she chose social work, the...

Sometimes, reflecting on the past helps us move forward. Social Justice Origin Stories is an idea whose time has come, but there was a podcast before the podcast, a platform before the platform. In today's episode of Design Decisions, Relando reflects on the experiences that led him to create his very first podcast, Notes From an Aspiring Humanitarian, and how that journey laid the groundwork for...

Tyler Adams of the GoodPain Podcast opens up about how a life-altering event involving his youngest daughter cracked his heart open and expanded his understanding of privilege, complicity with oppressive systems, and what it really means to live in alignment with his values, including using storytelling to make heart-to-heart connections that create lasting change. He shares his experiences with t...

dr. monique liston, founder of Ubuntu Research and Evaluation, tells the story of how her dissertation research on human dignity for Black people led her to root her organization in the concept of ubuntu: “I am because we are” as a rejection of individualistic, capitalist thinking and a response to anti-Blackness and data violence. She shares how navigating academic and professional spaces as a Bl...

Kwesi A. Robertson shares about his journey through corporate America, pop culture, and the experiences that shaped his awareness of social justice. He describes the patterns that led him to recognize why access to vulnerability isn't a level playing field, noting how popular self-help and success narratives often hide an "underbelly" that ignores systemic barriers while blaming individuals for th...

Social Justice Origin Stories started off as a podcast, but is growing into something more. This is your guided tour of everything available on Social Justice Origin Stories' YouTube channel (so far). In this episode of Design Decisions, you'll learn about the categories, special series, and the playlists that are available, so you'll know where to explore and what you'll find when you get here....

This is Volume 3 of “For Those Who'll Come After“, a special series from Social Justice Origin Stories. In this series, storytellers reach across time, sharing messages and reflections for future generations, sharing what they want them to know, remember, and carry forward in the ongoing pursuit of social justice. 🔔 If you haven't already...SUBSCRIBE to Social Justice Origin Stories on YouTube! h...

Realizing social justice is not a simple or linear process, and the weight of the work can wear us down. Whether you are actively engaged on the front lines of your work, taking time to rest, or simply trying to survive the everyday realities of living within oppressive systems, we need you. Social Justice Origin Stories is here to remind you that wherever you are in the struggle, these stories ar...

This is Volume 4 of The Justice We Imagine, a special series from Social Justice Origin Stories. This series focuses on storytellers' responses to three essential questions:   When is true social justice possible? What shapes our approach to the work? And why does understanding and sharing our social justice origin stories matter? As you listen to their responses, reflect on what your answers migh...

After witnessing the racism her Black students experienced up close on a bus trip to Kentucky, Sharman Spieser’s awareness shifted from understanding how racism operates on an intellectual level to a deeper understanding gained from lived-experience. She reflects on how segregation, isolation, and scarcity thinking operate within a white supremacist capitalist system to keep us apart, and emphasiz...

This is Design Decisions: a space where I share news and updates about Social Justice Origin Stories as it continues to grow and evolve. More than updates and announcements, though, it’s a space for meaning-making, where I expand on the ideas, values, and design decisions that shape this work. It’s a space to think out loud, and a place where I talk through what it's like to build social justice o...

Patrick Taylor, LCSW, US Air Force veteran and doctoral student in Social Work at USC, tells the story of how learning about the Grand Challenges for Social Work in his program and being surprised by how few Social Workers knew about them led him to recognize the experience as a systemic issue. Taylor's research led him to coin the phrase the Micro Pipeline in Social Work (MPISW), the systemic fun...

Pooja Kothari, Esq. begins her social justice origin story with memories of her father, who helped cultivate her abilities to think critically as a child, her early awareness of sexism in gender-segregated cultural spaces, and her later experiences with racism and internalizing shame as a cis, queer, first-generation Indian-American woman of color. Recalling her experiences as a former public defe...

In this educational segment of Social Justice Origin Stories, Dr. Darryl B. Rice, Associate Professor of Management and Richard T. Farmer Associate Professor at Miami University, returns to discuss a recent article he and his team published on how authoritarian leadership harms Black employees in the workplace. Rice argues that, in the context of workplaces in the United States, authoritarianism i...

Reflecting on his 50-year career as a Social Worker, William "Bill" Vanderwill speaks on the importance of strengths-based practice, intergenerational communication, community organizing, and the grassroots power of everyday people taking actions for social justice. Listen in to hear insights from the man Relando affectionately calls "the Fred Rogers of Social Work." This episode includes: How mis...

Dr. Byron Green-Calisch shares how he turned 14 years of higher education and leadership research into consulting, public media work, and activism in Florida. He shares how racialized campus crime alerts and gaps in leadership education shaped his scholarship and pushed him to claim roles as educator, activist, and healer, grounded in collective liberation and a desire to help the helpers. Byron a...

Drawing on her expertise in social work and education policy and her lived experience as a Black Biracial woman, Dr. Anissa L. Eddie shares how intentional racial socialization in the earliest years can disrupt anti-Blackness, foster radical self-love in Black children, counter the formation of harmful biases, and promote racial equity. Dr. Eddie also shares her personal “Sankofa Bird” journey: re...

This is Volume 3 of “Take This With You“, a special series from Social Justice Origin Stories. Storytelling is a gift, and in this series, storytellers reflect on what they hope stays with you after their episode ends. As you listen to their sharing, consider this moment as an invitation to reflect on your own journey. 🔔 If you haven't already...SUBSCRIBE to Social Justice Origin Stories on YouTu...

Marquita D. Gooch, MLIS, reflects on the pitfalls and power dynamics of representing a library system publicly, while being limited in her ability to speak freely without fear of retaliation. She talks about the freedom she’s found to be more vocal since leaving traditional library work, and shares how her experiences became catalysts for creating Life After Libraries, her podcast and web series c...

No one gets to where they are by themselves, and this project would not exist without the collective wisdom of the storytellers who’ve shared their stories with us. This is Volume 1 of “In Community”, a special series from Social Justice Origin Stories. This annual series brings together the voices of storytellers whose stories were published in a given year. To everyone who has listened, watched,...

Randy Quansah, creator of Kujo's Kid Zone, shares a memory of an early experience with racism at school that sparked his journey of self-discovery and awareness of African history and identity. What began as sharing the lessons he learned with his daughter expanded into considering other kids and their families, which then became the inspiration behind his educational show for children. Randy talk...