Examining the World Bank’s Doing Business Report

In its Doing Business Report 2014, the World Bank Group asserted the goal of its "Doing Business" project is to end global poverty and create shared prosperity for all through investments in agriculture, and to deliver a body of knowledge that allows...

Structural Racism in Flint, Michigan

On January 16, 2016, President Barack Obama signed an order declaring a state of emergency in Flint, Michigan. [i] It was not because of a tornado or hurricane, flooding or landslides, as was the case in South Carolina or Mississippi a few weeks...

What Puerto Rico Needs: Our Collective Concern and Alternative Solutions

January 8, 2016 In a sign of severe political and financial upheaval, and after years of ongoing economic instability, Puerto Rico defaulted on $174 million this week — a portion of the country's total debt measured at $74 billion. “It’s very simple...

Racing into the Future

December 31, 2015 Dear friends, "Identity"—Dictionary.com's "Word of the Year"—was undoubtedly one of the most popular topics of 2015. As what has been called " the year of identity" draws to a close, issues of race remain at the forefront of our...

What Trump Gets Right

Photo Credit: Taz + Belly, Creative Commons License By john a. powell, Director of the Haas Institute for a Fair and Inclusive Society How does one make sense of a U.S. presidential candidate calling for the banning of Muslims entering the country...

Condemning Donald Trump is Not Enough

Islamophobia is contingent upon the construction and reification of a homogenized Muslim “other” who should be viewed suspiciously, scrutinized, dehumanized, and excluded from “our” societies.

Rent Control: The Key to Neighborhood Stabilization?

September 09, 2015 By Miriam Zuk Whoever thought rent control would be making a comeback after 30+ years? Especially in California, a state that essentially ended the ability of jurisdictions to apply strict rent controls with the passage of the...

Looking Back and Facing Forward on the Americans with Disabilities Act

Twenty-five years after the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act, Paul Hippolitus, Director of the Disabled Students Program at UC Berkeley, talks about his work in the disability field for the past 44 years. Prior to coming to Berkeley...

Twenty-Five Years: Celebrating the Passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act

In 1990, Congress passed the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), legislation that attempted to outline and enforce policies to break down barriers for people with disabilities in modern American society. Before the passage of the ADA, persons with...

Why Sanctuary Policies Must Stay: The Legal and Factual Reasons for Limiting ICE Detainers

15406523566_6ba635a354_o.jpg Katie Steinle’s death is a tragedy. Steinle is the 32-year-old woman allegedly killed by a gunshot wound inflicted by Jose Inez Garcia-Zarate—often referenced under the alias Juan Francisco Lopez-Sanchez (“Sanchez”) [1]...

The Intersection of Social Consciousness and Happiness

By: Ry Walker Is it possible to be both socially conscious and happy? This is the question I continue to ask myself. After having officially completed the first half of my college career, I can say that I have changed drastically. I have figuratively...

Capitalism: What Next?

What I began as a review of Cynthia Kaufman’s Getting Past Capitalism has transformed into something both intellectually thrilling and personally significant. In this regard, Professor Kaufman’s text is a fantastic success. For anyone, like myself...

Housing segregation and the American Dream: Reflections on the Supreme Court’s historic decision in the Texas housing case

This post originally appeared on the Berkeley Blog. Housing remains the centerpiece of the American Dream. Housing is not only a place to live, but is also a conduit and hub to an array of public and private resources, from neighborhood and community...

Searching for Equality in Indiana and Beyond

This post was originally published on the Berkeley Blog. Throughout the history of our nation, many faith traditions have led on social issues. Religious leaders and faith-based communities played a critical role in the abolitionist movement...

When we fully claim Black Lives Matter, we move closer to All Lives Matter

Editor's note: For a more recent article by professor john a. powell on the same topic published in response to the killing of George Floyd click here. --- July 15, 2015 By john a. powell At a recent training on implicit bias and targeted...

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E-Newsletter Archive

An Archive of past issues of our bi-weekly newsletter.
Aug
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Bridging Partnerships for Scaling Housing Justice

Register now Housing justice for all. To truly be for all, we need housing solutions at scale. Scaling just solutions that match what our communities want and need is about more than building more affordable housing units. It requires building...

2024: Building a World Where Everyone Belongs

OBI is a think-and-do tank dedicated to building a world where every person—no matter their race, class, education, gender, politics, religion, ability, or background—is recognized and valued.