Towards a third Reconstruction, featuring john a. powell

On Friday April 14, OBI Director powell spoke on an the afternoon panel entitled “ Beyond War on Crime/Towards a Third Reconstruction.” Professor powell spoke about the promise of both the first and second reconstructions, as well as the challenges...

The Belonging Barometer: The State of Belonging in America

On April 12, 2023, OBI director john a. powell was a featured panelist in a webinar introducing Over Zero and the American Immigration Council’s Belonging Barometer—as well as reporting the results of a national survey which featured the Barometer...

john a. powell at Bioneers: 'We need a more complex story'

In an April 8 keynote at the Bioneers conference in Berkeley, OBI Director john a. powell spoke about the importance of recognizing our interconnected relationship to both nature, and fellow humans. Against the separations that society has...

Form And Substance

The demand for racial equity has acquired greater intensity and urgency in recent years. Advocacy groups are demanding policies designed to address racial inequality in housing, the criminal justice system, and health care systems, among other areas...

Belonging: A Weekly Practice

Belonging: a Weekly Practice Space (BaWPS) is a free, weekly, drop-in space from the Othering & Belonging Institute. In form and content, it responds to some of the most consistent questions we get about belonging: Is belonging a destination, a...

Video: What if Justice is Getting in the Way?

In this March 29 event as part of the ongoing series The Edges in the Middle, scholar and activist Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor and Global Senior Fellow Bayo Akomolafe explore Black identity, Black excellence, and the limits of seeking inclusion...

Equity vs. Equality: What's the Difference?

There is a clip of US Senator Bernie Sanders making the rounds from a recent episode of Bill Maher’s HBO program, in which the host asked Senator Sanders to distinguish “equality” from “equity.” Senator Sanders explained that “equality” refers to...

Forging a Progressive Response to Fragmentation

For some, the defeat of Donald Trump in the 2020 presidential election and the prosecution of January 6th insurrectionists might suggest that US democracy has remained strong through years of social and political instability. In this year’s State of the Union address, President Joe Biden claimed that US democracy is “unbowed and unbroken.” However, it would be remiss to believe that the threat of authoritarianism has abated.

Beyond Equity: Unpacking Targeted Universalism

On March 8, 2023, Director john a. powell led a discussion on targeted universalism at the Leadership Learning Series hosted by the Institute for Nonprofit Practice. During the session, powell first discussed the concept, explored how it can help...

john a. powell in conversation with Isabel Wilkerson about her book, 'Caste'

OBI Director john a. powell on February 17, 2023 interviewed Pulitzer Prize-winning author Isabel Wilkerson at San Francisco's Sydney Goldstein Theater about her most recent book, Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents. Hosted by City Arts & Lectures...

Poll: Fewer OC Residents Experience Belonging in Schools than in Other Public Places

Schools are the context where Orange County residents are least likely to experience a sense of belonging, according to a survey conducted prior to the 2022-23 academic year by the Othering and Belonging Institute at University of California, Berkeley (OBI) and Orange County Congregation Community Organization (OCCCO).

Zoning Reform Tracker

The Othering & Belonging Institute is proud to launch the Zoning Reform Tracker, which is meant to serve as a hub for documenting zoning reform efforts across the United States. There are two components to the Zoning Reform Tracker: a sortable database, and an interactive webmap.

Impact Story: Making Democracy Better in Oregon

Editor's note: This article belongs to our Impact Stories series in which scholars, activists, artists, policymakers, and everyday people share their experiences putting OBI's research and principles into action in their communities. -- When we first...

Impact Story: Puerto Rico's Energy Insurrection

Editor's note: This article belongs to our Impact Stories series in which scholars, activists, artists, policymakers, and everyday people share their experiences putting OBI's research and principles into action in their communities. -- A couple...

Does Diversity Matter? In Tyre Nichols' Case, It Didn't

People have been asking me how I make sense of the fact that all five of the Memphis police officers who beat Tyre Nichols to death in that heinous attack were Black. Does that mean the attack was not racist? Does it negate race as a factor in the...

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E-Newsletter Archive

An Archive of past issues of our bi-weekly newsletter.
Aug
13

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...

Blog: Gender, Goosebumps, Grace, and Grieving

Julia McKeown's tattoo inspired by the poetry of Andrea Gibson. “When I left my body I did not go away. That portal of light was not a portal to elsewhere, but a portal to here. I am more here than I ever was before.” From Love Letter From the...