I joined SSSP as a graduate student in the mid-1990s. A fellow student suggested that it was a more welcoming, less intimidating and elitist organization than ASA, and I immediately found that to be the case. But I quickly realized additional aspects of SSSP that appealed to me, primarily its more progressive and radical approach to sociology and its commitment to activism and praxis. I continue to value these characteristics of SSSP and believe that especially in this moment, we need to promote, communicate, and develop these values and practices as an organization, to expand our community to more fully embrace and engage activists and practitioners. While I value our academic and scholarly opportunities and contributions, I believe that in order to stand apart, SSSP can - and should - be so much more than a traditional professional organization. We need to seek pathways toward social justice and social change that take us beyond research and beyond academia. I know that many SSSP members whom I greatly admire and respect are engaged in this very work and I hope that we can continue to recruit and support members with the vision, creativity, passion, and commitment to take us toward this goal.

Sarah Jane Brubaker, Virginia Commonwealth University

"I presented my first conference paper at SSSP in 2005 on “in-house outsourcing” at a labor studies session organized by George Gonos. SSSP has been an important anchor to my scholarly growth since then. In 2018, I attended my first labor studies division meeting and met SSSP long-standing members (Gillian Niebrugge-Brantley, Corey Dolgon) who encouraged me to organize a conference session the next year, then run and be elected as labor studies division chair the year after, and finally volunteer to mentor graduate students and welcome new members at a designated breakfast at the annual conference. I’ve developed numerous relationships with other SSSP members since 2018 that have supported my professional identity as a researcher and scholar of labor studies (and now an emerging one in educational problems).

I am so proud to belong to SSSP. I think it is an exceptional professional organization that supports the development of scholars through mentorship and numerous professional opportunities. Join SSSP and I believe you will find a welcoming home!"

Jacqueline M. Zalewski, West Chester University of Pennsylvania

"SSSP’s importance as a professional organization lies in its mission to create cutting edge, empirically sound research that contributes to reducing inequality and injustice in the world. As someone who entered the world of academia believing that education and research are the best tools for fostering a more fair, just, and equal world, I’ve found a home in SSSP. As a community of scholars committed to using sociological theory backed by empirical research to find solutions to social problems, SSSP is truly unique."

Mary Bernstein, University of Connecticut

"SSSP is one of my academic homes. I joined SSSP early on as a graduate student, and now as an early career scholar, I am thankful for my decision. Unlike many other academic conferences, SSSP has cultivated a space where scholars can receive feedback in kind and constructive ways. At SSSP I have met and been inspired by Rahsaan Mahadeo, Shirley A. Jackson, Corey Dolgon, Rodney Coates, and so many others.

Outside of the conference, SSSP has supported me in many ways. Through the mentoring program, I met Vilna Bashi who has been invaluable as a guide and mentor. I have participated in op-ed writing workshops, and I am a past recipient of the Racial/Ethnic Minority Graduate Fellowship. So, in no small part, SSSP has been foundational to the formation of my intellect and scholarship, and I plan to always give back!"

Korey Tillman, Northeastern University
SSSP Sustaining Member Gold

"I won't lie. I own a LOT of shoes. It may have to do with not having a lot of shoes when I was growing up. SSSP is like a comfortable pair of shoes that go with everything you wear! I know when I attend the meetings that I will find old friends and make new ones. I enjoy the support of my colleagues which makes SSSP an organization that gives my conference experience meaning.

SSSP is a place where I feel I can serve on a variety of committees and have run for elected office because it means working with like-minded folks who are doing their part to give back to an organization that has given us so much. I feel comfortable in SSSP which is why I continue to renew my membership each year and why I attend the meetings!"

Shirley A. Jackson, Portland State University

"In SSSP, I have been able to work for the past 20 years within a community of people who are committed to social justice. It has been incredibly rewarding to belong to an organization where I’m able to align my personal and political values with my professional life. This is a place where praxis is possible, and I’m honored to serve as SSSP’s Executive Officer."

Elroi J. Windsor, University of West Georgia

"I first came to SSSP in 1997, through the Association for Humanist Sociology [AHS]. AHS was the group Betty and Al Lee built after leaving SSSP for becoming too much like ASA—'enmeshed deeply in the bureaucratic, technocratic, plutocratic, and imperialistic structure of our society.' I felt then as I do now, that SSSP has the potential to be a radical professional base for people engaged in scholar activism. But we must support and challenge each other, work hard and reflect harder together, and stay committed, be vigilant and find joy with one another, if radical social change is our mission and sociology our method. I continue to ask the same question the Lees did back in 1954: can sociology 'be the brash, young, vital, productive, unsettling, even revolutionary pursuit it has been in its most valuable periods?'"

Corey Dolgon, Stonehill College

"SSSP is part of my core of who I am as a sociologist. I became a member as early graduate student and have found the mentorship, both peer and senior, and community ties to be invaluable as I continue on my own academic journey. I am thankful, especially now, to be part of an organization striving for social justice. My career path has not been traditional and have always felt welcomed by the SSSP community and I look forward to continuing to learn from colleagues and to supporting new members of the society in the years to come!"

Alexis Anne Bender, Emory University

"I first started coming to SSSP as a graduate student in the late 1980s because my mentor, Barbara Katz Rothman, was involved. Over time, it became my favorite sociological home. I found - and still find - the world of mainstream sociology pretty inhospitable and anomic. SSSP was - and is - far more welcoming. In SSSP, I’ve found brilliant comrades who agree that sociologists should work toward social change, and who combine activism with scholarship. I’ve also made wonderful friends, too, through my involvement in the organization. I am proud to have successfully encouraged many graduate students to attend SSSP, and delighted they have made it their sociological home also.”

   
Wendy Simonds, Georgia State University
SSSP Sustaining Member Gold