Using my Oar, My Voice, to Design Equitable Futures: Ubuntu and Social Justice with monique liston

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“I believe Black people should be free, and that’s something we should think about in our lifetime..”

–dr. monique liston

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 Black woman moved her to create an environment where smart Black girls are affirmed and where teams can interrupt harmful narratives, misinterpretations, and visual depictions about Black communities.

dr. liston connects Ubuntu to abolitionist leadership, describes Ubuntu Research and Evaluation’s “undisciplined” and “ungovernable” approach, and encourages listeners to read books, write books, and embody Ubuntu right where they are.

This Organizational Histories segment includes:

• Why “I am because we are” matters: learn about the meaning of Ubuntu, an African philosophy that informs dr. liston’s life and work that centers interconnectedness and collective humanity.
• How to combat data violence: what does it mean to interrupt harmful narratives about Black people in data and research?
• The necessity of being undisciplined: find out why holding no allegiance to traditional academic disciplines can pave the way to real change, and how being ungovernable shapes the Ubuntu Research and Evaluation team’s impact in social justice work.
• Honesty as a foundational building block for justice: why being honest with ourselves (about what we want, regret, or hope for) is essential for true social justice.
• Everyone is an evaluator: dr. liston’s thoughts on why you don’t need a PhD or fancy credentials to be a force for change. Your lived experience is already enough to shape new futures.

Meet monique

What happens when Black identity is loved, protected, and defended as we collectively learn about process and change in organizations and programs? This is the question that dr. monique liston unapologetically built a community-engaged intellectual and regenerative life practice around.

She is the founder, chief strategist, and joyful militant at UBUNTU Research and Evaluation, an undisciplined learning organization that was awarded Milwaukee Business Journal’s Diversity in Business Award. She also serves as the Executive Director of The Leadership Undercommons, an organization that protects and fulfills a sense of dignity for Black people through learning and leadership.

She is a sought-after facilitator, speaker, evaluator, collaborator, and good time have-r. Never forget that she went to school for many years but is most proud to be an alum of Howard University. Her awards include being a 2024 Milwaukee Business Journal 40 Under 40 Honoree, Public Allies 1st and ONLY honorary alumni, and HBCU Alumni United Milwaukee Alumni of the Year.

While she is not a self-identified poet, she published a book of poetry titled FRACTALS in 2025. As the daughter of Ursula, granddaughter of Gracie J. and Bernice, pet-mom of Simone, a mini Goldendoodle, and Franklin, a Russian Box Tortoise, she asks that you send her recommendations of bookstores, restaurants, and beaches to help her find joy while surviving the end of a white supremacist heteropatriarchal queerphobic world.

More from monique

First, smart Black girls can have a professional environment where they are not a threat… secondly, Black folks can defend against data violence.

UBUNTU Research and Evaluation is a strategic learning organization powered by unapologetic Black women, femmes, and non-binary folks working as undisciplined strategists committed to resisting anti-Blackness and building the intellectual and political defenses of all Black people, in solidarity with the global majority, through education, facilitation, and evaluation.

We are Black, Brilliant, and Alive!

January 2027 UBUNTU turns 10… so I am in a season of reflecting on what we have been doing the last ten years.

Follow Ubuntu Research & Evaluation

Website: ubunturesearch.com
Instagram: @ubunturesearch
Facebook: @ubunturesearch

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Social Justice Origin Stories is produced, edited, and hosted by Relando Thompkins-Jones