Blog Posts

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...

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 I had a unique and cherished opportunity to spend time with the published and unpublished works of bell hooks at the Special Archives Library at Berea College.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...

Could you knock on the door of someone that you disagree with and have an open, connecting conversation? In 2024, canvassers across five states set out with this very question in mind. This wasn’t your typical political canvassing. Instead, it was a...

Changes in the political order—globally and nationally—are part and parcel of human history. In 2025, the process of becoming less and less inclusive and democratic is seemingly leaving no country unscathed. The arc of history is bending in the...

This is the second in a series from director john powell on ongoing assaults on our democracy and communities, and how we may think about, respond to, and confront them. In my first piece for this series, I touched on core norms I believe many of us...

FIGHTING FORWARD is a new essay series OBI is releasing over the month of October authored by director john powell on the ongoing assaults on our democracy and communities, and how we may respond to and confront them. Essay 1: What We Share The...

This is the first in a series of discussion pieces we’re releasing this month from director john powell on ongoing assaults on our democracy and communities, and how we may respond to and confront them.

Join us in learning from UC Berkeley’s graduate students in two new policy memos on housing policy for belonging, adapted from their much longer student projects! These memos offer lessons for advocates, funders, legislators, and other change-makers...

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. -- The Free Speech Movement at UC Berkeley in the 1960s was a movement born from civil...