ABOUT ME

My Story

Jonathan L. Butler is a political activist and organizer whose efforts address systemic injustice through the work of community organizing around issues of social inequality, civic/political engagement, and human rights. A native of Omaha, Nebraska, Jonathan has been involved in community-based organizing since they were young. As a child, Jonathan was raised in a religious environment where a high value was placed on service for others and they have carried that embodiment of civic engagement to this day with his unwavering commitment to fight for justice, equity, and liberation. 

Jonathan is a proud graduate of the University of Missouri-Columbia (B.S. Marketing/M.Ed Education Policy and Analysis). As a undergraduate student, Jonathan was very involved in civic engagement organizations and held various student leadership positions. During his graduate school career, Jonathan received national attention for his activism with several grassroots collectives. The first was MU For Mike Brown (MU4MB) an organizing collective born in response to the 2014 murder of Michael Brown in Ferguson, MO by three Black queer women from the University of Missouri (Mizzou). The collective's goal was to fight police brutality through protest, community organizing, and political education. Also, ConcernedStudent1950 a collective, of which they were one of the eleven founders, that had the mission of building on the work of MU4MB by addressing racism, sexism, discrimination, and other systemic issues on the Mizzou campus in 2015. In that same year, Jonathan made headlines when they began a hunger strike, in conjunction with other ongoing campus movements (e.g. Indigenous peoples movement, the Latinx student movement, Graduate Student Union organizing, etc), to protest racist and unjust acts on his campus and call for accountability in campus leadership. The success of MU4MB, ongoing social movements on campus, the ConcernedStudent1950 initiative, and Jonathan's hunger strike triggered subsequent protests internationally. Students of color and those who stood in solidarity with them, everywhere from colleges in California to the University of Ibadan in Nigeria, demanded institutional change and had their voices heard. Jonathan has received various recognitions for his activism including: the 2016 Ford Motor Company Freedom Award, the 2016 NAACP Image Award as a member of the ConcernedStudent1950 collective, and being named on The Root's 2016 list of Top 100 influential people.

In addition to being an organizer, they are a public speaker. Jonathan enjoys the ability to engage others in critical, and often difficult, dialogues that help push our society forward. They has spoken across the nation in everywhere from local businesses to national academic conferences on a variety of topics, in particular conversations about community organizing and social justice. In addition, they have taught and guest lectured on social movements, college activism, social inequalities, gender equity, and international security. Through his speaking engagements, and other opportunities to present, his thoughts on race, politics, and activism have appeared in The Root, Los Angeles Times, The Washington Post, and other outlets. They have also been a guest on CNN, ABC, Comedy Central, and other outlets.

Jonathan is also a visual artist and writer. His first collection of photography and poetry is forthcoming. Through his work as an artist Jonathan helps to curate community-engaged art workshops and curriculum as a form of cultural resistance and empowerment. Currently, they are an artist and editor for BYP100's zine MelaNation and also helps organize visuals for political education for a local chapter of the Movement for Black Lives (M4BL).

In his leisure, Jonathan enjoys reading, spending quality time in nature, brewing herbal tea, speculating about science fiction, and finding obscure quotes from his favorite authors.