A research-backed guide for building bridges across difference in any area of our lives, from esteemed civil rights scholar john a. powell, developed with Rachelle Galloway-Popotas.
About the Book
We don't want to live in a society in turmoil. In the US, 93 percent of people want to reduce divisiveness, and 86 percent believe it's possible to disagree in a healthy way. Yet with increasing political and social fragmentation, many of us don't know how to move past our differences. Civil rights scholar john a. powell presents an actionable path through "bridging" that helps us communicate, coexist, and imagine a new story for our shared future where we all belong.
With inimitable warmth and vision, powell offers a framework for building cohesion and solidarity between disparate beliefs and groups. He defines key concepts such as "othering," which primes us to see people as a threat; "breaking," which excludes people or sees them as threatening our belonging; and finally "bridging," which fosters acceptance both of those we might have othered and even aspects of ourselves. He shares personal reflections as well as practices to help you begin bridging wherever you are--in your community, friendships, family, workplace, and even those with whom you might never have imagined you could find common ground. He calls upon us not just to engage with bridging but to become bridgers.
"Bridging is a salve for our fractured world," powell says. "We can overcome the illusion of separateness by honoring our differences, transcending the notion that difference divides us, and instead co-create a world where everyone belongs."
Events
- March 5, 2026 — Beyond the Divide: A Conversation on Belonging with john a. powell & Dr. Jennifer Eberhardt hosted by Stanford Business School
- Dec. 2025 — Minnesota Public Radio with Catharine Richert: john a. powell at the Fitzgerald Theater, co-hosted with Minneapolis Public Radio and the Bush Foundation
- Jan. 2026 — Silicon Valley Reads 2026 Launch Event: Bridges to Belonging, an evening with Keeonna Harris (Mainline Mama: A Memoir), Annie Harnett (Unlikely Animals: A Novel), and john powell (The Power of Bridging).
- Sept. 2025 — john a. powell in conversation Malcolm Clemons Young at the Grace Cathedral
- May 2025 — Bay Area Book Festival: 2025 Democracy Dialogues: Building Communities that Thrive with john powell, Yuria Celidwen, Aida Mariam Davis, David Jay, moderated by Tim McKee
- April 2025 —The Power of Bridging: A conversation with UC Berkeley Journalism's Sherene Marisol Meraji
- March 2025 — Book Launch: Greater Good Science on The Power of Bridging (Watch part 1 & part 2)
- Dec. 2023 — Detroit Book Launch: An evening with john powell hosted by InterFaith Leadership Council of Metropolitan Detroit and the Damon J. Keith Center for Civil Rights
In the Media
- The Progressive Magazine — Bridging to the Future: An excerpt from john a. powell’s ‘The Power of Bridging.’
- Chronicle of Philanthropy — 34 Summer Books, Movies, and Podcasts to Mend America’s Divisions
- Skillman Foundation State of Education broadcast — Can We Agree? Especially If It's About the Kids.
- City Arts & Lectures Podcast — Courtney Martin with john powell on "The Power of Bridging; How to Build a World Where We All Belong"
- Science and Nonduality — Building Bridges with john a. powell
- KQED — john a, powell on polarization and the "Power of Bridging"
- California Report Magazine — How a UC Berkeley Professor Confronts Division With a Vision for Belonging
- Nonprofit Quarterly — Who Is Included in and Who Will Fight for “We the Civic”?
- El PAIS — john a. powell: ‘When fear wins, democracy crumbles’
- Greater Good Science Magazine — Can we build a world where we all belong?
- Berkeley News — john a. powell: In a time of tense division, we must see the humanity in our opponents
- Minnesota Star Tribune — Longtime Twin Cities civil rights figure implores us to be curious, not divisive
- UC Berkeley Journalism — NeEddra James of The Stakes Explained sits down with john a. powell
Book Clubs and Book Selections
- Next Big Ideas Book Club (curated by Malcolm Gladwell, Adam Grant, Daniel Pink, and Susan Cain) — How the Power of Bridging Builds Common Ground with Others: The Power of Bridging chosen as one of their books of the month and featured a “Book Bite” narrated by john for their members
- Yale Climate Connections — 12 books to prepare you for Trump 2.0
- Silicon Valley Reads — Building bridges to belonging through books
- OBI University — 2025 Bridging Book Club
Additional Resources
Want to deepen your understanding of the text, or facilitate a discussion on the book with a group? The resources below are a great place to start. We have two packs that serve as companions as you read the book, providing helpful summaries and guiding questions to support your thinking.
- Download a readers discussion guide on The Power of Bridging, which includes a summary of the book, reflection questions for each chapter, provocations, and other resources.
- Download a workbook as a guide to key ideas in the book, and as an overview and resource on bridging for learners to spark interest and dialogue, strengthen shared practice, and deepen engagement.
Praise for The Power of Bridging
“john powell’s vision for a world where we all belong is powerful and compelling in large part because it's rooted in decades of values-based work advocating for civil and human rights. His ideas have inspired shifts in policy that have transformed people's daily lives, and his approach to justice questions has influenced countless activists and policymakers alike.”
—Michelle Alexander
Civil rights attorney, legal scholar, and best-selling author of The New Jim Crow
“This brilliant book is a must-read for all practitioners of social change, and everyone committed to preserving and expanding multiracial democracy.”
—Deepak Bhargava
President, Freedom Together Foundation
“Both timely and timeless, this book is a unique guide to help us navigate the challenges we face as a society.”
—Ai-jen Poo
Co-Founder and President, National Domestic Workers Alliance
“With careful attention to the realities of fragmentation and the stories that reproduce it, john a. powell points us toward a better story—what he calls a 'bridging story'—that can help us find a bigger 'we.' This is the kind of scholarship we need to build toward a Third Reconstruction of America.”
—Rev. William J. Barber II
Yale Divinity School, President, Repairers of the Breach, Co-chair, Poor People's Campaign
“A revered scholar and beloved educator, john powell inspires us to believe in a world of belonging —and shows us how to labor for it. In his masterful new book, powell teaches that separateness is an illusion. In the face of cruelty and injustice, we can choose to succumb to fear and despair—or find the courage to forge connections with others, the earth, and ourselves in order to transform the world, from the inside out.”
—Valarie Kaur
Bestselling author of See No Stranger and Sage Warrior
“A thought-provoking read by one of the most inspirational thinkers of our time who inspires us to have courageous conversations and encourages the critical shift towards a more inclusive and compassionate society.”
—Kumi Naidoo
South African social and environmental justice activist; former Secretary General of Amnesty International
“The Power of Bridging is a page turner I would recommend to everyone. I was stunned how similar john's background was to my own, and though we took different paths in life we somehow wound up in the same place in many ways... this book that teaches us new skills of engagement that anyone can apply in their daily lives is lucid, generous, and often beautiful, and it is used to express profound righteousness and moral clarity.”
—Pastor Bob Roberts
Founder, GlocalNet and Multi-Faith Neighbors Network
“In The Power of Bridging, john powell shows us how to expand the tables we occupy by building bridges with those society has othered. By doing this we can save the world we have and leave a better one for future generations. powell has personally changed my own life and approach to being human. His invitation to bridge, and innovation around social change, is a game-changer that will be studied beyond our time.”
—Rev. Ben McBride
Spiritual leader and activist for peace and justice
Order your copy of the book using the links below:
