Relando Thompkins-Jones
I'm a macro social worker, social justice educator, and consultant who uses media and education to advance equity and social justice within people, organizations, and communities. I started Social Justice Origin Stories because I believe in the power of storytelling and making our experiences accessible to others, because I believe in the liberatory effects of social justice education, to support justice-seekers in finding community and feeling less alone given the relentlessness of oppressive systems, and to be a resource of support and reflection for those who are thinking through how they could best contribute to the work. We need all who can, to do what they can.
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 also tells the origin story of the cookout moment that led him to co-found Justice Over Everything with State Rep. Michele Rayner, Esq., a coalition-based social justice center that leads with an intersectional approach dedicated to activating, fortifying, and uplifting communities in the margins of the margins.
March 4, 2026
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: reclaiming what was missing in her own racial identity formation to empower future generations.
Her storytelling reminds us why it’s never too early to engage children in racial equity work in developmentally relevant ways.
February 18, 2026
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. Visit the Weaving Our Voices section for more entries in this series, as well as other special series that bring the voices and collective wisdom of storytellers together.
February 4, 2026
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 chronicling her journey beyond traditional libraries, and Black in the Stacks, her podcast highlighting the inspiring stories of librarians, authors, advocates, and others from the African American and African Diaspora.
Black in the Stacks is more than a project; it’s a way to build narrative power. Marquita believes everyone has a story to tell, and encourages anyone who can to share theirs.
January 21, 2026
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.
Many thanks to the storytellers who have contributed to this project and have trusted me and this space with their sharing.
December 23, 2025
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 talks about his dedication to educating children about African history, challenging Eurocentric narratives, the importance of cultural representation, and the necessary cycle of growth that comes from leaning and unlearning about ourselves and the world.
His message to creatives is that you are more than enough. Randy wants listeners to understand the power of making the first moves towards implementing their big ideas, and encourages you to just start instead of waiting for perfection, knowing that the act of following your path will create opportunities for you to get to where you’re going.
December 10, 2025
This is Volume 3 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?
Why does understanding and sharing our social justice origin stories matter?
As you listen to their responses, reflect on what your answers might be.
November 26, 2025
This is Volume 2 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.
November 12, 2025
Sheldon Gay shares his journey of late identification as gifted and neurodivergent, which fostered his commitment to humanizing Black, gifted, and otherwise neurodivergent experiences to promote acceptance and self-love. Through his podcast ‘I Must Be Bug’N,’ Sheldon aims to dismantle the pathology associated with labels and celebrate the strengths and challenges, what he terms “the ‘cape and the kryptonite” of neurodivergent people.
Sheldon advocates for narrative change and more compassionate storytelling about neurodivergence, reminding listeners that labels don’t have to feel like pathology.
October 29, 2025
Tracie Jae, human culture strategist and educator, describes how her family both shielded her from and prepared her to engage with racial injustice, and shares about the breadcrumbs that helped her to learn that racism shouldn’t be normal.
She tells the story of the birth of her identity as The Quiet Rebel, and breaks down her more HUMAN (Honest, Urgent, Meaningful, Accountable, Nuanced) approach to equity conversations and explains why real social change starts with addressing harm, embracing difference, and staying curious about the stories missing from the narratives we’re told about ourselves and the world around us.
October 15, 2025
