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.
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.
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.
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.
Claire Downing, Founder and Principal at The Moonlight Collaborative, shares a story of how witnessing her parents’ activism and the ways they navigated differences as an interfaith family shaped her own commitment to activism; paving the way for her to be able to develop a commitment to continually understand and embrace the complexities of her identities and relationship to privilege and oppression later in life as a white Muslim woman who converted to Islam. Claire also recalls how experiences in toxic workplaces ultimately led her to establish The Moonlight Collaborative, where she partners with organizations that are invested in “creating the conditions for marginalized folks not only to survive, but thrive.”
Her storytelling invites listeners to reflect on their own identities and strengths and to identify their unique place within the social justice ecosystem to drive lasting change.
