Consistent with our mission and values, as a multi-disciplinary research center that seeks to advance a world of belonging without othering, the Othering & Belonging Institute (OBI) conducts research, develops narrative strategy, and supports...

Leo Murrieta, Make the Road Nevada’s Outgoing Executive Director, in conversation with Mansi Kathuria and Joshua Clark Make the Road Nevada is a statewide, member-led nonprofit organization that builds the power of Latine, immigrant, and working...

Dylan Cleverly is a writer and artist based in Boston, MA. He will be pursuing a Master's degree in Critical, Curatorial, and Conceptual Practices in Architecture at Columbia University in the fall. Our right to imagine is under siege. While the...

Dylan Cleverly is a writer and artist based in Boston, MA. He will be pursuing a Master's degree in Critical, Curatorial, and Conceptual Practices in Architecture at Columbia University in the fall. All images published with permission from Adam...

As the world darkens and shadows fall, it is difficult to find a clear path forward to see the light. In my previous reflection, I explored the challenges of this moment, and insisted on three key principles: two limits that should not be...

We currently live in a world that is rapidly changing. And depending on where you stand, many would say it is for the worse. Long before the recent attacks on Iran, the prime minister of Canada, Mark Carney, made the observation at Davos in mid...

At a first glance, the European Union – and the European identity centred on it – might seem like a good example of what belonging without othering might look like. This is certainly how the EU would like to imagine itself. As the European Commission...

I was walking around Barcelona when Melania Trump’s gaze suddenly greeted me on the side of a bus shelter. Disoriented by the sight of the US first lady in the heart of Catalonia, I moved closer and realized it was an ad for her documentary. I had...

Othering and Belonging Institute Director john a. powell reflects on the killings by ICE agents in Minneapolis: “When we accept othering as a justification for violence, we normalize a system where belonging becomes conditional — and no one is truly safe. Humanity struggles to survive in such an environment. Democracy cannot.”

In Minnesota, in the face of fear and violence, we see courage and connection. Where systems and politicians seek to divide, there are networks of support. Where terror attempts to isolate, a powerful multiracial movement of neighbors have responded...

As we welcome back the return of the light and a new year, it is a time to reflect, to celebrate, to mourn, to plan and to take stock. For me, 2025 brought many wonderful gifts and also many challenges. These gifts and challenges were — and are —...

In a 2024 podcast interview with Joe Rogan, Mark Zuckerberg mentioned that corporate culture in America is neutered, taking the grandstand view that the workplace needs more “masculine energy.” At the time, in some circles, Zuckerberg’s comments were the source of both outrage and mockery...

I find myself back at the library to begin to express the deep learnings conveyed to me through that late literary giant Dr. Gloria Jean Watkins, better known by her pen name, bell hooks. I had a unique and cherished opportunity to spend time with the published and unpublished works of bell hooks at the Special Archives Library at Berea College. It seems only right that now...

Editor's note: The ideas expressed in this blog are not necessarily those of the Othering & Belonging Institute or UC Berkeley, but belong to the author. All photos by Samir Gambhir. During my recent visit to Germany, the Memorial to the Murdered...

This is the third piece in a series from director john a. powell on the ongoing assaults on our democracy and communities, and how we may think about, respond to, and confront them. You can also watch our livestream conversation with john about this...