A cutout of john powell speaking at an event, his arms are raised and forward in a slight gesture. Behind him is a circle made of OBI's colors.
WE ALL BELONG IN THE CIRCLE OF HUMAN CONCERN

Othering is the problem of our time. Belonging is the solution.

The Othering and Belonging Institute at UC Berkeley advances groundbreaking approaches to transforming structural marginalization and inequality. We are scholars, organizers, communicators, researchers, artists, and policymakers committed to building a world where all people belong.

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Featured Content

Taking Stock: Visioning Beyond the Refinery

Richmond, CA has been called a "refinery town" because of the widely-felt presence of Chevron's oil refinery in the city. But what is the actual web of relationships between the oil refinery and the Richmond community?

Featured Work

CLT housing in Lake Tahoe
  • Publication
  • September 16, 2022
Community Land Trusts as Stewards of Public Land
California’s affordability crisis has reached every corner of the state, and local governments are examining their assets to find ways to support the preservation and development of affordable housing. This guide documents how local governments can...
Handprint
  • Publication
  • July 21, 2022
The Pervasiveness of Islamophobia in the United States
This report was submitted in July 2022 to the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination in review of the US government’s compliance with the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD).
Multiracial climate activists marching in Detroit
  • Blog
  • August 29, 2022
We Can't Have Climate Justice Without Global Justice
On August 16, 2022, US President Joe Biden signed the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) into law. The IRA is the largest explicit investment for mitigating climate change in federal history, and a concerted effort to mitigate the pronounced economic pressures faced by Americans...

Areas of Work

The faculty, staff, researchers, and affiliates of the Othering & Belonging Institute work together with multidisciplinary approaches to learn, research, and construct solutions for society's most pressing issues. Our programs and initiatives are all designed to effect transformative change.

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Areas of Work

The faculty, staff, researchers, and affiliates of the Othering & Belonging Institute work together with multidisciplinary approaches to learn, research, and construct solutions for society's most pressing issues. Our programs and initiatives are all designed to effect transformative change.

SEE ALL AREAS
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Arts and Cultural Strategy
People targeted by facial recognition software
Technology & Belonging
Illustration of two hillsides — one tinted blue, one green — descend on a waterway from opposite sides. The hillsides are close but do not touch; instead, they are connected by a small bridge.
Bridging & Belonging
Painting of indigenous people belonging to the Lummi Nation looking to the horizon. The figures at the foreground face away from the viewer, and we see colorful traditional garb. In the background is a dim, blue-grey body of water and a thin line of mountains far beyond.
Climate Justice
Flattened stylized illustration of three people — one woman with black hair, another woman with a white hat and brown hair, and a Black man with cropped black hair — all wearing masks with smiles printed on them.
Health
Watercolor illustration with the earth at the center with various foods — chicken, corn, peppers, mangoes, and so on — revolving around it. We see mostly South America, Africa, and the Atlantic Ocean as well as partial views of Europe and North America.
Food Systems
The San Francisco Bay is reimagined in a temporally collapsed manner; in the foreground, indigenous Ohlone people gather on marshland and in boats, smoke from fires rising above their village. In the background, we see the present-day skyline of San Francisco filled with skyscrapers and the Golden Gate Bridge.
Housing
microsite banner islamophobia
Islamophobia
Close-up illustration of a large hand writes with a pencil; four small figures including one person in a wheelchair hold the hand up
Narrative Power
An illustration featuring tens of people ascending an escalator at four different levels. The escalator zig-zags left and right, alternating at each level. The illustration is on a bright yellow background and blue foreground.
Targeted Universalism
Featured Content

Bridging to Belonging Case Series

This case series captures real-world examples of bridging to belonging through written cases and podcast interviews. In this series, we analyze a range of breaking moments and bridging opportunities across different scales and contexts, such as schools, movements, governments and communities. They “show and hear” how these concepts play out on the ground. We hear from leaders implementing the work, and individuals who have experienced the transformation of bridging to create belonging.

Featured Publications

inclusiveness index map of the world

Study: Hawaii most inclusive state for 4th straight year; Sweden tops global rankings

BERKELEY: Hawaii is the most inclusive state in the country, a new study from UC Berkeley's Othering & Belonging Institute finds, followed by Nevada and Rhode Island. The rankings for 2021, released Tuesday, gave Hawaii the top spot for the fourth...
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The Structural Racism Remedies Repository

This a repository of policy-based recommendations for addressing structural and systemic racism or advancing racial equity drawn from a vast array of published material.
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Cultures of Care

OBI is proud to launch Cultures of Care, a collection of profiles of people who are practicing collective care in affirmative, unconventional and even insurgent ways. Click above to experience the project, watch the videos, listen to the podcast, read up on our interviews and essays, and use the learning guides.
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Explore Othering and Belonging

Image grab from video shows john a powell
  • Video
  • August 7, 2015
Black Lives Matter, A Year After Ferguson (featuring john a. powell)
Director john a. powell is featured in this video produced by AJ+ one year after Michael Brown's killing in Ferguson, Missouri.
Event flier showing title and sponsor logos
Oct
28
  • October 28, 2022, 9am - 5pm
Reflections on an “Appropriate" Public Education:  Forty Years After Board of Education v. Rowley
The 1982 landmark decision of the Supreme Court in Board of Education v. Rowley set a standard for the support public schools must provide to students with disabilities, but the legacy is complex. 
An illustrated laptop depicts floating shapes and images
  • Video
  • August 12, 2021
Animated Explainer Video Series
Our animated explainer videos break down some of the key principles that guide our work at the Othering & Belonging Institute. Follow the links below to view the videos, to read transcripts of the audio, and to learn more about each concept.