E-Newsletter Archive

An Archive of past issues of our bi-weekly newsletter.

Our policy on publishing blog & opinion pieces

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...

Blog: European Identity and the Question of Belonging

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...

Impact Story: Belonging isn’t a soft feeling - it’s a hard practice

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.”

Blog: Lies, Propaganda, and Culture/Truthtellers in the Authoritarian Populist Era

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...

Impact Story: Learning to bridge before I had the words for it

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.

Study: Hispanic Americans made progress in wealth & employment, but fell behind in infant mortality

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...

Building Bridges and Climbing Hills in the OC

OCCCO, the Orange County Congregation Community Organization, has a vision for Orange County, California: to be a place where all people live with dignity and thrive. Their campaign, Anaheim is Our Home, is an invitation for the city of Anaheim to be...

Impact Story: Power of Bridging in Action

Othering and Belonging Institute’s Bridging for Democracy project, a coalition of grassroots organizations across the country, started listening to people. What they are finding is an antidote to authoritarianism.

Belonging in a time of state violence

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.”

This is what fierce, organized love looks like

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...

I don't believe in hope. But I do believe in you

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 —...

California adopts OBI opportunity map for the 9th consecutive year

BERKELEY: The California Tax Credit Allocation Committee (CTCAC) has adopted the opportunity map developed by the Othering & Belonging Institute (OBI) and its partners, California Housing Partnership and the Terner Center for Housing Innovation for...

Real Solutions

Welcome to Real Solutions, a special 8-episode podcast series from the Othering & Belonging Institute featuring people leading efforts across the country that show what bold policy solutions would move the country towards belonging and wellbeing for...

Asia-Pacific Just Transitions

This white paper documents how local and regional organizations are confronting these challenges and shaping pathways toward just transitions that are not only low-carbon but also equitable, locally grounded, and reparative. Conducted by the Global Justice Program (GJP) at the Othering & Belonging Institute, UC Berkeley...

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E-Newsletter Archive

An Archive of past issues of our bi-weekly newsletter.
Apr
9

Book Talk: The Mixed Marriage Project

Join us on April 9, 2026, at UC Berkeley for a presentation by Dorothy Roberts on her latest book, The Mixed Marriage Project: A Memoir of Love, Race, and Family. Register here About the speaker Dorothy Roberts is the 14th...

Our policy on publishing blog & opinion pieces

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...