Social Justice Origin Stories cover art

Social Justice Origin Stories

Social Justice Origin Stories

Written by: Relando Thompkins-Jones
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Social Justice Origin Stories is a storytelling project that highlights 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 about ourselves and our world 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 that 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 and 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 confines of the status quo to imagine and design more equitable and humanizing systems. Every journey has a beginning. What's yours? Social Justice Origin Stories is produced, edited, and hosted by Relando Thompkins-Jones© 2025 Self-Help Social Sciences Success
Episodes
  • Rejecting The Path Of Least Resistance and Refusing To Be A Passenger With Tyler Adams
    Jul 8 2026

    Tyler Adams of the GoodPain Podcast opens up about how a life-altering event involving his youngest daughter cracked his heart open and expanded his understanding of privilege, complicity with oppressive systems, and what it really means to live in alignment with his values, including using storytelling to make heart-to-heart connections that create lasting change.

    He shares his experiences with the complexities of navigating loss, confronting privilege, subverting the status quo, and the power of staying connected to our humanity.

    Tyler encourages listeners to resist the "path of least resistance," refuse to be passive participants, and to remember the importance of collective action and accountability on the journey toward justice.

    Stay Connected with Tyler and GoodPain by visiting their Website: https://goodpainco.com/

    LISTEN TO RELANDO'S GUEST EPISODE ON GOODPAIN - This Just Ain't Working For Us: https://goodpainco.com/podcast/goodpain-podcast-season-02-episode-20-this-just-aint-working-for-us-relando-thompkins-jones-social-justice-origin-stories/

    🔔 If you haven't already...SUBSCRIBE to Social Justice Origin Stories on YouTube! https://www.youtube.com/@socialjusticeoriginstories?sub_confirmation=1

    ❤️ SUPPORT THE PROJECT Support this work by becoming a patron: https://www.patreon.com/SocialJusticeOriginStories

    💬 SHARE YOUR STORY OR FEEDBACK Your voice helps shape this community and may be featured in a future episode.

    Email: stories@socialjusticeoriginstories.com

    Leave a Voice Note: https://socialjusticeoriginstories.com/contact/ or https://www.speakpipe.com/socialjusticeoriginstories

    Or leave a comment below

    🎧 LISTEN & FOLLOW

    Website: https://socialjusticeoriginstories.com

    Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/social-justice-origin-stories/id1771268991

    Wherever You Get Your Podcasts: https://pod.link/1771268991

    Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/socialjusticeoriginstories/

    Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61567841874653

    Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/sjoriginstories.bsky.social

    LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/social-justice-origin-stories/

    LinkedIn (Relando): https://www.linkedin.com/in/relandothompkinsjones/

    LinkTree for more: https://linktr.ee/SocialJusticeOriginStories?fbclid=PAZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAaZzPfl3gCm5NY9C_Y-glRzwDu-8BvHfkCJaQlDihfrQxbYWC1dnxgRL2kU_aem_kmgEcokBmDt8WaAtlWQMQQ

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

    00:00 Breadcrumbing Change

    01:54 Risk And Paralysis

    03:40 Humility And Legacy

    06:36 Show Intro And Mission

    07:49 Meet Tyler...

    Show More Show Less
    1 hr and 21 mins
  • Using My Oar, My Voice, to Design Equitable Futures: Ubuntu and Social Justice with monique liston
    Jun 24 2026

    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.

    Follow Ubuntu Research & Evaluation

    Website: www.ubunturesearch.com

    Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ubunturesearch/

    Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ubunturesearch

    🔔 If you haven't already...SUBSCRIBE to Social Justice Origin Stories on YouTube! https://www.youtube.com/@socialjusticeoriginstories?sub_confirmation=1

    ❤️ SUPPORT THE PROJECT Support this work by becoming a patron: https://www.patreon.com/SocialJusticeOriginStories

    💬 SHARE YOUR STORY OR FEEDBACK Your voice helps shape this community and may be featured in a future episode.

    Email: stories@socialjusticeoriginstories.com

    Leave a Voice Note: https://socialjusticeoriginstories.com/contact/ or https://www.speakpipe.com/socialjusticeoriginstories

    Or leave a comment below

    🎧 LISTEN & FOLLOW

    Website: https://socialjusticeoriginstories.com

    Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/social-justice-origin-stories/id1771268991

    Wherever You Get Your Podcasts: https://pod.link/1771268991

    Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/socialjusticeoriginstories/

    Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61567841874653

    Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/sjoriginstories.bsky.social

    LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/social-justice-origin-stories/

    LinkedIn (Relando): https://www.linkedin.com/in/relandothompkinsjones/

    LinkTree for more: https://linktr.ee/SocialJusticeOriginStories?fbclid=PAZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAaZzPfl3gCm5NY9C_Y-glRzwDu-8BvHfkCJaQlDihfrQxbYWC1dnxgRL2kU_aem_kmgEcokBmDt8WaAtlWQMQQ

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

    00:00 Dignity and Ubuntu Roots

    03:04 Humanity Quote and Abolition

    05:52 Show Intro and Guest Welcome

    08:24 monique liston Background

    09:40 Activation and Ancestral Seeds

    12:00 Founding Ubuntu and Data Violence

    17:24 Why Ubuntu Name Matters

    ...

    Show More Show Less
    1 hr and 15 mins
  • Stop Believing In Things That Don’t Believe In You: On Asymmetrical Vulnerability with Kwesi A. Robertson
    Jun 10 2026

    Kwesi A. Robertson shares about his journey through corporate America, pop culture, and the experiences that shaped his awareness of social justice. He describes the patterns that led him to recognize why access to vulnerability isn't a level playing field, noting how popular self-help and success narratives often hide an "underbelly" that ignores systemic barriers while blaming individuals for the negative outcomes they experience.

    Kwesi defines social justice as a form of love and a foundational lens for understanding reality, urging listeners to seek connection, shared language that actually acknowledges the complexity of our experiences, and shared responsibility to build spaces where everyone can fully show up.

    🔔 If you haven't already...SUBSCRIBE to Social Justice Origin Stories on YouTube! https://www.youtube.com/@socialjusticeoriginstories?sub_confirmation=1

    ❤️ SUPPORT THE PROJECT Support this work by becoming a patron: https://www.patreon.com/SocialJusticeOriginStories

    💬 SHARE YOUR STORY OR FEEDBACK Your voice helps shape this community and may be featured in a future episode.

    Email: stories@socialjusticeoriginstories.com

    Leave a Voice Note: https://socialjusticeoriginstories.com/contact/ or https://www.speakpipe.com/socialjusticeoriginstories

    Or leave a comment below

    🎧 LISTEN & FOLLOW

    Website: https://socialjusticeoriginstories.com

    Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/social-justice-origin-stories/id1771268991

    Wherever You Get Your Podcasts: https://pod.link/1771268991

    Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/socialjusticeoriginstories/

    Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61567841874653

    Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/sjoriginstories.bsky.social

    LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/social-justice-origin-stories/

    LinkedIn (Relando): https://www.linkedin.com/in/relandothompkinsjones/

    LinkTree for more: https://linktr.ee/SocialJusticeOriginStories?fbclid=PAZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAaZzPfl3gCm5NY9C_Y-glRzwDu-8BvHfkCJaQlDihfrQxbYWC1dnxgRL2kU_aem_kmgEcokBmDt8WaAtlWQMQQ

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

    Timestamps:

    00:00 Packing Up the Persona

    00:53 Rage at Vulnerability

    01:26 Who Gets to Be Seen

    02:28 Not Written for Me

    03:28 Questioning the Boundaries

    04:22 Self Help Underbelly

    05:51 Justice Beneath Anger

    07:00 Show Intro and Mission

    08:11 Meet the Guest Kwesi

    15:31 Activated by the Book

    21:41 Body Cost of Success

    25:55 Family Roots and Unlearning

    31:27 Weighted Vest at Work

    37:45 Writing Finds Community

    42:30 Pop Culture as Justice Lens

    48:27 Learning Black History Playbook

    52:08 Choosing Justice Forward

    53:56 Advice With Conditions

    55:51 Pop Culture Empowerment

    58:05...

    Show More Show Less
    1 hr and 40 mins
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