A new book critical to understanding racial inequities in the United States was released earlier this month and includes a chapter co-written by Haas Institute Director john a. powell and Director of the Just Public Finance program Wendy Ake. The...
Sept. 25, 2017 While much of the coverage of this month’s visits by right-wing provocateurs to the UC Berkeley campus, where we are located, focuses on the line between hate speech and free speech, another question remains: Why are they coming...
Sept. 25, 2017 From nearly all vantage points, the United States stands apart from its peers in the West for its lax legal treatment of hate speech. As noted in one New York Times article , “What much of [the] West bans is protected in [the] US.”...
Sept. 22, 2017 The basic mechanism of what Berkeley political scientist Ian Haney Lopez calls “dog whistle politics” is simple: call upon the anxiety or fear of minorities that already resides not-so-far beneath the surface, divide class interests...
September 19, 2017 By Irene Bloemraad and Ratna Omidvar This commentary is reposted from The Globe and Mail in Canada, where it originally appeared in February 2017. We are now witnessing the casualties of new United States policies arriving at...
September 6, 2017 By Kemi Bello At many times over the past eight months (and longer), this country has stood on the edge of the precipice of our values as we asked ourselves what truly "makes America great." From the travel ban on Muslims, the...
September 6, 2017 Condemning the events in Charlottesville is an easy act for a society that wants to believe it is post-racial. While shock may result as a natural reaction, this event, and others like it, should not come as a surprise. Astonishment...
August 21, 2017 The murder of Heather Heyer and the injury to 19 other peaceful protestors by a neo-Nazi terrorist in Charlottesville, Virginia on August 12 marked a tragic new low in U.S. history. A virulent, violent strain of racism, misogyny...
Like many people, I am deeply bothered by the events in Charlottesville, Virginia, this weekend. I give my heartfelt gratitude and appreciation to those who went to Charlottesville to stand up for decency, fairness and equality, who put their beliefs...
Yesterday on the fourth of July many celebrated US history, or at least part of it, while others were thinking about the many parts we are inclined to ignore. We are a country deeply divided in the way we look at our history. There are some Americans...
By Jordan Luftig May 31, 2017 Halfway through the event “From Domination to Prosperity: Building an Economy Where We All Belong,” john powell, the director of the Haas Institute, asked Sabeel Rahman and fellow panelists a question that went to the...
Zahra Billoo is the Director of the SF Bay Area Chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR). We spoke with her about her work with CAIR, current challenges facing the larger social justice movement, and how the Othering and Belonging...
March 7, 2017 Barely one month into the new administration and President Trump has already demonstrated he is willing to make good on some of his most dangerous campaign promises. Immigration raids from Los Angeles to Atlanta, coupled with a...
Our society is undergoing a profound shift. In the aftermath of the 2016 election, many of our foundational values and assumptions about our democracy are being called into question. Our core institutions and norms are under attack and in need of...
On Friday, January 27, President Trump issued an extraordinary executive order (#13769) under the title “Protecting the Nation from Terrorist Entry into the United States.” The scope and complexity of the order generated confusion among those charged...
Introduction We have seen and participated in transformative research strategies that defeated proposed jail expansions, won millions of dollars for community-prioritized programs, and built new community-led organizations that changed a political...
Want a chance to hear from experts studying the root of what’s driving us apart and how we come back together? Eager to build the skills to listen empathetically, elicit narratives of connection, and interview professionally? Looking for a chance...
Dr. Tanya Golash-Boza's book Before Gentrification: The Creation of DC's Racial Wealth Gap explores how redlining, incarceration, anti-blackness, and gentrification have resulted in DC becoming an extremely unequal city. She presented her book...