Dr. Byron Green-Calisch shares how he turned 14 years of higher education and leadership research into consulting, public media work, and activism in Florida. He shares how racialized campus crime alerts and gaps in leadership education shaped his scholarship and pushed him to claim roles as educator, activist, and healer, grounded in collective liberation and a desire to help the helpers.

Byron also tells the origin story of the cookout moment that led him to co-found Justice Over Everything with State Rep. Michele Rayner, Esq., a coalition-based social justice center that leads with an intersectional approach dedicated to activating, fortifying, and uplifting communities in the margins of the margins.

We talk about the importance of intergenerational work, supporting the helpers, and why creating spaces for activism and healing are necessary for lasting change.

Connect with Byron on Instagram @Dr_BGC and @Justice_over_Everything

00:00 Cookout Reality Check

00:46 Elders to Us Moment

01:14 Stepping Up Ourselves

01:47 Justice Center Vision

03:11 The Village Program

03:39 Fixing the Burning House

04:18 Florida as National Playbook

05:01 Coalition Umbrella Model

05:20 Never Stop Fighting

33:22 Coaching for Community

34:31 Building a Justice Hub

36:35 Educate Before Activate

38:09 Hidden Dangers in Bills

42:29 Moments That Affirm

47:15 Passing the Baton

51:45 Influences and Mentors

01:02:04 Support Networks and Sacrifice

01:03:40 Three Social Justice Prompts

01:08:32 Message to the Future

01:09:54 Recreating Home

01:11:16 Closing and How to Support

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