Featured Event

2021 Othering & Belonging Conference

Othering & Belonging Conferences are dynamic and uniquely-curated gatherings that advance cutting-edge scholarship, narratives, movements, systems, and policies that support a fully inclusive “we.” Join us in a learning and caring space unlike any...
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.
A VISION OF AN INCLUSIVE FUTURE

Together, we are Othering & Belonging

The Othering & Belonging Institute at the University of California, Berkeley is a vibrant hub of scholars, researchers, organizers, strategic communicators, policymakers, and community partners working to find new ways to identify and eliminate the barriers to an inclusive, just, and sustainable world.

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Featured Work

A residential Oakland skyline with a HOLC redlining map in the background
  • Publication
  • October 11, 2021
Updating Our Segregation Research for the 2020 Census
As part of our ongoing research into racial residential segregation, we offer two new reports based on the latest demographic data of the San Francisco Bay Area and nationally using the recently-released 2020 Census. We've also significantly revamped our interactive web tool.
A close crop of a mural. Two faces appear mirrored, adorned by ornaments and flowers.
  • Publication
  • October 15, 2021
Redefining Who Belongs
Recent acute instances of failed political leadership—particularly around the pandemic and an ongoing lack of action to protect Black lives—have shone a bright light on questions essential to our future as a country: Who are we? Who are we becoming? Who must we become if we are to create a different world where everyone belongs?
Islamophobia art
  • Publication
  • September 29, 2021
Islamophobia Through the Eyes of Muslims
The Othering & Belonging Institute developed and administered this national survey between October 14 and November 2, 2020, among the US Muslim population (citizens and noncitizen residents who live and/or work in the US) to understand the prevalence...

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
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 Justice
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

Marchers in the 1960s demanding welfare rights

Fighting Poverty with SNAP

This report accounts for the value of SNAP in helping low-income individuals and families acquire food, particularly during times of economic hardship.
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Segregation map of the US

The Roots of Structural Racism Project

The Roots of Structural Racism Project was unveiled in June 2021 after several years of investigating the persistence of racial residential segregation across the United States.
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climate refugees report cover

Climate Refugees

This report argues that a comprehensive framework for climate-induced displaced persons forced to cross international borders to be considered “climate refugees” is necessary.
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Explore Othering and Belonging

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.
EVENT FPO
Nov
5
  • November 5, 2021, 2pm - 3:30pm PT / 5pm - 6:30pm ET
White Space, Black Hood: Opportunity Hoarding and Segregation in the Age of Inequality

Join author Sheryll Cashin for a book talk about her recently-released White Space, Black Hood: Opportunity Hoarding and Segregation in the Age of Inequality, followed by a conversation with john a.

Illustration of a flower holding up and presenting a human to another flower.
  • Newsletters
E-Newsletter Archive
An Archive of past issues of our bi-weekly newsletter.