Jordan Brown

Jordan Brown (she/her or he/him) is a student, poet, writer, and community organizer from Georgia who has made a new home in Washington, DC. Through her academic and activist work, Jordan advocates for disability justice and focuses on making activist spaces more accessible, inclusive, and community-oriented. She is also an apprentice restorative justice practitioner and has extensive experience facilitating workshops around various issues of identity and social justice.

Irene Franco Rubio

Irene Franco Rubio is an holistic activist, writer, and organizer based in Phoenix, Arizona. A young Latinx woman of Guatemalan and Mexican descent, Irene is rooted in community and devoted to the movements for social, racial, and environmental justice. Irene is committed to advocating for BIPOC communities through intersectional movement building, digital community organizing, and writing to uplift historically underrepresented stories and voices.

Camille Braswell

Camille Braswell is a rising undergraduate senior at Loyola University Chicago where she majors in both Environmental Studies and Economics. Her educational pursuits have revolved around public policy research focusing on the intersection of environmental issues and racial inequalities born out of historical policymaking. She has a particular interest in residential segregation and how it exacerbates and reinforces environmental injustices.

Aaron Kinard

Aaron Kinard is a recent graduate from the University of Wisconsin-Madison where he earned his Bachelor of Science in Education Studies and History. During his time at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Aaron’s research examined the racialized experiences of Black students in rural, predominantly white high schools.

May
7

Centenary of the Tulsa Race Massacre

Please join us for a moderated panel discussion to commemorate the centenary of the Tulsa Race Massacre, which occurred in 1921 in the Greenwood District of Tulsa, Oklahoma in an area known as “Black Wall Street.” Although the massacre is...

Blog: Chauvin verdict a wakeup call for medicine and public health

The Chauvin verdict provides a much needed expression of hope and solace for the Floyd family and to the millions of black people for whom his death was a painful reminder of the collective vulnerability of being harmed by the police.
May
18

Virtual Conference: Plessy v. Ferguson and the Legacy of “Separate but Equal” After 125 Years

TIME: Tuesday, May 18, 2021 11:00 a.m.–1:30 p.m. CT Register for the conference ABOUT: May 18 marks the 125th anniversary since the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in the Plessy v. Ferguson case. In acknowledgment of the decision’s lasting impact, the...

2020 Annual Report

We are proud to release our 2020 Annual Report documenting OBI's key research work, public events, and major activities over the past year.

Voters Rising Up

This report reviews the central work of the newly founded Rise Up for Justice Narrative Hub. The Hub brought together researchers, strategists, creatives, and digital communication specialists to support the civic participation of underrepresented groups and engage some of the leading Black- and Latinx-led power building organizations across the country.

Video: Making Urbanism Antiracist

On April 15, 2021, Assistant Director Stephen Menendian was interviewed by YIMBY Action Board Chair, Ernest Brown, as part of a series on "Making Urbanism Antiracist." They discussed the nature of opportunity, mobility versus place-based strategies, and the race versus class debate.