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...

True North Organizing Network is a group engaged in community organizing in California’s “Far North,” especially the counties of Humboldt and Del Norte, and on Tribal lands. This region of California is often left “off of the map”...

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...

Long time Detroit organizer Ponsella Hardaway on church-rooted power, regional bridges, and why this moment demands conversations across the aisle

Introduction Contemporary debates often treat belonging as a fragile or novel aspiration—something that must be newly invented or defended against the complexities of modernity. Yet many of the norms, institutions, and moral commitments that...

On March 20th, OBI Data Analyst Kate Knowles presented work from the US Segregation Project at the annual meeting of the American Association of Geographers in San Francisco. She talked about the relationship between income and racial segregation...

The MAGA agenda has expanded under two Trump administrations, fraying the moral and social ties that are foundational to fostering connections and organizing toward progress. Communities are increasingly fractured by economic stress, political anger, and a media ecosystem that reinforces biases rather than seeking shared truths.

Lawrence Benito, executive director of the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights, on bridging tensions in Chicago and why democracy depends on it.

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...

Make the Road Nevada Deputy Director Blanca Macias: “People often ask why bridging matters in a time of deep division. My answer is simple: because democracy will collapse if we only talk to “our people.”

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...

Orange County organizer Blandy Morales traces her journey from fighting for community space as a child in Fullerton to building bridges and cultivating belonging in the same neighborhood today.

BERKELEY, CA: Hispanic Americans have made significant progress in recent decades in the areas of median home value, wealth accumulation, and employment when compared to their white counterparts, according to new research released Tuesday by Othering...