Relando Thompkins-Jones

2025

Design Decisions

New Playlist Update: Part of Something Bigger

Introducing Part of Something Bigger. In this playlist, you’ll find highlights from episodes of Social Justice Origin Stories. Each one can stand on its own, and each is part of something bigger and more connected. These impactful clips offer glimpses into powerful truths, hard-earned insights, and transformational stories. Whether you’re here for a quick spark or deeper reflection, you’re in the right place. Watch, share, and when you’re ready, dive into the full episodes and join the conversation!

July 19, 2025
Personal Journeys

Using Intergroup Dialogue as a Catalyst for Social Justice with Kelly Maxwell

Kelly Maxwell reflects on how coming out as a lesbian in the 1990s sparked a deeper examination of her whiteness and a lifelong commitment to understanding her relationship to privilege and oppression. She traces her journey from growing up in an almost exclusively white small town in Ohio to dedicating 17 years to social justice education through intergroup dialogue at The Program on Intergroup Relations at the University of Michigan. Kelly also shares stories from her family life as part of a multiracial, interracial, two-mom household, and how those dynamics shape her personal and professional values on justice. She speaks candidly about the tensions of institutional “neutrality,” and how she works to align her values with her responsibilities on campus and in her role as Board Chair of the Difficult Dialogues National Resource Center, a nonprofit that supports colleges and universities in using dialogic practice to create transformational change in the pursuit of equity and justice.

June 25, 2025
Personal Journeys

Do The Hard Thing: Confronting Our Privilege as a Path to Justice with Angie Freeman

After narrowly avoiding a car accident in a parking lot one day, Angie Freeman (they/them) reflects on how that experience, and their initial reaction in the moments before and after learning the other driver was Deaf, expanded their awareness of their unexamined privilege. The experience set them on a path to learn American Sign Language (ASL), learn more about the lived experiences of Deaf people, and sparked a journey of self-work to more deeply understand how privilege operates. This journey continues to inform their life and work today as a speaker and educator.  

Angie also shares an example from their experiences as a Black, trans, and nonbinary parent that speaks to the importance of teaching children the expansiveness of gender identity and family structures from a young age. 

Their storytelling invites us to start with ourselves, to focus on deconstructing the misinformation that’s reflected through our privileged identities, and to use the power we have in service of equity and justice.

June 11, 2025
Design Decisions

New Playlist Update: The Why Behind The Work

The Why Behind The Work playlist is designed to ground you in the values and aspirations that shape Social Justice Origin Stories. It’s great for new viewers or longtime supporters seeking to reconnect with the project’s purpose and direction. This playlist also features project updates and series announcements, and will be updated regularly as the project evolves.

June 7, 2025
Design Decisions

New Playlist Updates: Episode Intros and Podcast Clips

New Playlist Updates: Episode Intros! Available for viewing on Social Justice Origin Stories’ YouTube Channel. This playlist will allow you to explore the powerful opening moments of Social Justice Origin Stories’ episodes. The Podcast Clips playlist features highlights from episodes of Social Justice Origin Stories, designed for busy changemakers or those who prefer to use their watch or listening session time to explore snippets from multiple stories, rather than the long-form format.

June 7, 2025
Design Decisions

Social Justice Origin Stories Passes Its First 100 Subscribers on YouTube!

Social Justice Origin Stories recently passed 100 subscribers on YouTube, and I’m so grateful to each and every listener. Whether you’ve watched one episode or every single clip, you’re helping to build a community that values truth, justice, and connection. We’re just getting started, so if you’re new here, hit that subscribe button, tell people across your friend groups and networks about Social Justice Origin Stories, and let’s grow together.

June 5, 2025
The Justice We Imagine

The Justice We Imagine Vol. 2 | Social Justice Origin Stories

This is Volume 2 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.

May 28, 2025
Educational Segments / Organizational Histories

Fighting Anti-Blackness: Loving Ourselves with Daily Practices of Self-Reflection with Nadia Brigham

As an intellectual activist, Dr. Nadia Brigham has possessed the ability to recognize the patterns of injustice from an early age. She tells stories from her early life, highlighting pivotal moments that sparked her passion for social justice.

She reflects on her journey of completing her dissertation research exploring the ways power is wielded through language and narratives that dehumanize Black people, and how the emotionally difficult process of making meaning of the ways anti-Blackness is transmitted to individuals and throughout our social systems led to the surprising yet purposeful emergence of “Radiant & Rising”, a collection of interactive healing tools for Black people to engage in the daily practice of self-love while combating internalized anti-Blackness.

In explaining the five affirmation themes of Radiant & Rising that are designed to foster daily reflective practices for combating and unlearning anti-Blackness, whether you are Black or not, Dr. Brigham’s storytelling emphasizes the need to counter the lies embedded in anti-Black messages and reaffirms the worthiness that Black people have always had.

May 14, 2025