My Why for Social Justice Origin Stories

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My name is 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’ve been reflecting on how oppression thrives in isolation, and how being in community with others offers solutions to many of the problems we face. It can provide answers to the feelings of helplessness and hopelessness that can arise in the face of oppression. It grounds us in our why, reminds us of our connections to history and movements larger than ourselves, and can show us that by leveraging our collective strength, we can achieve outcomes that would be impossible to do alone.

I’ve also been thinking about how chaotic times are right now, and how difficult these days can be for those of us who seek to create a more socially just world. Moments like the one we’re in have led me to question my own contributions too, and I’ve been asking myself what grounds me, what motivates me, what I’m passionate about, and what I have the capacity to do during these times.

One answer that keeps coming up for me when reflecting on my contributions at the intersection of passion, agency, and capacity, is creating connection and community through storytelling. Acting in service as a bridge-builder and convener, connecting people and themes across social issues and experiences to foster collaboration, coalition-building, and solidarity across communities while creating and uplifting narratives that inspire action.

This has been a dream project that will not go away. It’s been with me since 2011, appearing in its earliest form as “The People Who Inspire Series” on my Blog: Notes from an Aspiring Humanitarian. My experiences over the years that followed have allowed that initial idea to grow into what it is today: Social Justice Origin Stories.

Social Justice Origin Stories is a storytelling project that highlights the personal stories and defining moments that have inspired individuals and organizations to labor for equity and social justice. Through truth-telling: the honest sharing of their experiences–storytellers teach us about themselves, enabling us to learn more about ourselves through their stories. By reconnecting with pivotal moments of activation in their lives, they invite us to do the same.

At Social Justice Origin Stories, we believe:

• There’s power in storytelling, and that lived experience is experience.
• There’s room enough for all of us to do this work. There are many ways to contribute, and our contributions don’t need to be the same. We can enter and remain engaged in the work using the gifts that are special to us, while supporting others in using theirs.
• We have the capacity to grow and change for the better when exposed to new information and experiences.
• We believe in our inherent worth and capabilities, and we possess the power to inspire and create change in ourselves and others.
• We can transcend the status quo to imagine and design more equitable and humanizing systems.

The project features storytelling from a variety of perspectives:

Personal Journeys: Interviews with individuals sharing personal experiences and defining moments on their journey to work for social justice. Stories may include influential people or events that shaped their social or political analysis and activism or solidarity efforts, as well as personal, work, or community accomplishments that were transformative. These episodes may also explore how individuals have worked to resist the impacts of internalized oppression to work for liberation and/or how they have, from positions of privilege, sought to betray the systems that grant those privileges and work for liberation as well.

Watch the latest episodes in Personal Journeys or explore the full playlist

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Organizational Histories: Stories about the formation and evolution of social justice projects, organizations, and initiatives. If you’ve started a business, organization, or initiative, tell us about your work and the catalysts that inspired it.

Watch the latest Organizational Histories Episodes or explore the full playlist

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Educational Segments: Explainer episodes on social justice concepts, historical context, and current events. Guests will provide breakdowns of specific topics, such as redlining, health disparities, or the school-to-prison pipeline, offering insights from both their work and lived experiences.

Watch the latest Educational Segments or explore the full playlist

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Community Voices: Audience-generated content, such as stories, questions, or comments that inspire reflection, connection, solidarity, and action.

Watch the latest in Community Voices or explore the full playlist

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Weaving Our Voices: This section brings together multi-storyteller series from Social Justice Origin Stories. Here, individual interviews converge into shared reflections. Whether exploring what social justice really means, offering wisdom to future generations, or inviting us to take something meaningful with us, these curated compilations reveal powerful patterns that emerge when our voices are woven together.
 
In each piece, you’ll hear storytellers in conversation…not always directly, but in rhythm and resonance as their insights, struggles, and dreams overlap, contrast, and build on one another.

Watch the latest in Weaving Our Voices or explore the full playlist

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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 origin stories in this time we’re living in, and the things I learn and experience along the way.

Watch the latest in Design Decisions or explore the full playlist

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Visit and subscribe to the Social Justice Origin Stories YouTube Channel to explore all video episodes, clips, and playlists.

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I truly believe that there is room for us all in this work, and that there are many ways to intervene and contribute. Social Justice Origin Stories is one way that I can use my gifts and strengths to intervene, within a larger ecosystem of pathways and strategies designed to move us closer to equity and justice, and I believe that sustaining this work will also support those who are contemplating what their contributions could be, while reminding others out there who may be feeling fatigued by the times we’re currently in, to accept and honor all the emotions they feel, to remember the strength they already possess, their inherent dignity and worth, the people and communities who have helped them along the way, and to remember the ways that all of our futures and liberation are intertwined.

To learn more about my founding beliefs, assumptions, and aspirations for Social Justice Origin Stories, check out this Playlist.

Ubuntu!

Relando Thompkins-Jones (He/Him) MSW, CDP

Creator, Host, Producer: Social Justice Origin Stories

socialjusticeoriginstories.com