Stephen Menendian

Stephen Menendian is the Assistant Director and Director of Research at the Othering & Belonging Institute, where he supervises or leads many important initiatives, including projects advising state, local, and federal housing authorities. Stephen is the author of many scholarly publications and journal articles, including the landmark books Structural Racism: The Dynamics of Opportunity and Race in America and Belonging Without Othering: How We Save Ourselves and the World (with john a. powell) from Stanford University Press.

Stephen’s primary areas of expertise are structural racism, civil rights, fair housing, belonging, affirmative action, targeted universalism, and educational equity, and his research focuses on the production of inequality between social groups, how institutions and communities can foster belonging (moving beyond “diversity, equity, and inclusion”), and the optimal design of equitable race-conscious policies as permitted by law, including California’s anti-affirmative action ballot initiative, Proposition 209.

Stephen’s most recent scholarly publications in refereed journals include “The Past, Present, and Future of Zoning Reform in the United States,” an examination of recent zoning reform efforts at the local, state and federal levels for the Rutgers Journal of Law & Public Policy, “Race and Politics: The Problem of Entanglement in Gerrymandering Cases,” which critically explores the divergent constitutional standards governing judicial review of partisan gerrymandering versus racial gerrymandering claims for the Southern California Law Review, and “The Shadow Constitution: Rescuing Our Inheritance from Neglect and Disuse,” a survey of a dozen federal constitutional provisions that have fallen into disuse for the University of Pennsylvania Journal of Constitutional Law.

Among other Institute projects, Stephen spearheaded the “Roots of Structural Racism,” a multi-faceted, interactive study revealing the persistence of racial residential segregation and its harmful consequences, and directs the California Zoning Atlas, a comprehensive database and analysis of restrictive zoning regulations in California. Stephen also directs the “Structural Racism Remedies Project,” an exhaustive repository and analysis of policy recommendations aimed at addressing racial inequality, the Racial Disparities Dashboard, an interactive tool for assessing racial inequality and progress across a broad range of indicators, and the Zoning Reform Tracker, a repository for tracking municipal zoning reform initiatives across the United States. Stephen also co-leads the Inclusiveness Index, an annual ranking of global and US state inclusivity, and supervises the Campus Bridging Project, an initiative designed to create connections between social groups at Berkeley and to inculcate a deeper sense of belonging on campus.

Stephen co-chaired “Race & Inequality in America: The Kerner Commission at 50 conference,” a conference held in the spring of 2018 that brought together the nation’s leading experts on race and housing, the criminal justice system, employment, transportation and heath care in order to envision a contemporary racial justice agenda. The proceedings are archived on our Kerner@50 conference page, including “The Road Not Taken: Housing and Criminal Justice 50 Years after the Kerner Commission Report,” a retrospective report analyzing the failure to heed the warnings and adopt the policy recommendations advanced by the Kerner Commission in the realms of housing and policing, co-authored with Richard Rothstein.

Stephen developed and co-authored the Institute's Amicus brief in the United States Supreme Court case of Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs v. the Inclusive Communities Project, which was cited by the Supreme Court in its landmark decision recognizing disparate impact claims under the federal Fair Housing Act. He also co-authored the Institute’s Amicus brief in Fisher v. Texas asking the Court to uphold the University of Texas’ race-conscious admissions policy in 2016.

Stephen regularly presents on the subjects of fair housing, affordable housing, racial segregation and inequality, zoning and land use policies, structural racism, Proposition 209 and race-conscious policymaking, targeted universalism, bridging practices and operationalizing belonging. In 2022, for example, Stephen was a featured speaker at the UC Center Sacramento, where he unpacked the “housing crises,” and served on a panel for the San Francisco Ed Fund on how to promote educational equity.

He has been interviewed, and his work covered, by CNN, Time, Newsweek, the Atlantic, the Guardian, the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, the San Francisco Chronicle, Five Thirty Eight, The Root, Axios, Bloomberg News, the New York Post, and the East Bay Times, among other print media, and many local radio and television stations across the country (see media mentions below).

Stephen also regularly advises and provides technical assistance to policymakers, foundations, non-profits and other institutions on creative ways to promote diversity, equity and inclusion within the bounds of law and on equity metrics, such as measures of segregation, opportunity and belonging. For example, Stephen testified before the California Reparations Task Force on housing segregation and the racial wealth gap, before a joint hearing of two California General Assembly committees on the subject of racial disparities in homeownership and policies to reduce them. Stephen was also an expert reviewer for the “Stronger Democracy Award,” and has served as an expert witness in multiple disparate impact housing lawsuits. Stephen is a licensed attorney.

Selected Publications:

Books:

• Structural Racism: The Dynamics of Opportunity and Race in America, Routledge (Forthcoming, 2025).
• Belonging Without Othering: How We Save Ourselves and the World, Stanford University Press (with john a. powell) (2024).

Journal Articles and Chapters:

• “The Uneven March of Progress: The Past, Present, and Future of Zoning Reform in the United States.” The Rutgers Journal of Law & Public Policy, Vol. 21, No. 1, p. 73-121 (Fall 2023).
• “The Shadow Constitution: Rescuing Our Inheritance from Neglect and Disuse.” The University of Pennsylvania Journal of Constitutional Law, Vol. 26, No. 2, p. 339-404 (February 2024).
• “Race and Politics: The Problem of Entanglement in Gerrymandering Cases.” The Southern California Law Review, Vol. 96, No. 2, p. 301-354 (2022-2023).
• “Putting Integration on the Agenda” (with Richard Rothstein). ABA Journal of Affordable Housing, Vol. 28, Number 2, p. 147-176 (2019).
• “Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing: A Reckoning with Government-Sponsored Segregation in the 21st Century.” National Civic Review, Vol. 106, Number 3, p. 20-27 (Fall 2017).
• “The Fight for Fair Housing: Causes, Consequences, and Future Implications of the 1968 Federal Fair Housing Act.” Routledge, p. 207-228 (October 2017).
• “What Constitutes a ‘Racial Classification’? Equal Protection Doctrine Scrutinized.” The Temple Political & Civil Rights Law Review, Vol. 23, p. 81-153 (Fall 2014).
• “Fisher v. Texas: The Limits of Exhaustion and the Future of Race-Conscious Admissions” (with john a. powell). University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform, Vol. 47, p. 899-933 (Fall 2014).
• “Beyond Public/Private: Understanding Excessive Corporate Prerogatives” (with john a. powell). University of Kentucky Law Journal, Vol. 100, p. 48-124 (2012).
• “Remaking Law: Moving Beyond Enlightenment Jurisprudence” (with john a. powell). St. Louis University Law Journal, Vol. 54 p.1035-1115 (2010).
• “Little Rock and the Legacy of Dred Scott” (with john a. powell). University of St. Louis Law Review, Vol. 52, p.1153-1189 (2008).
• “Parents Involved: The Mantle of Brown, the Shadow of Plessy” (with john a. powell). University of Louisville Law Review, Vol. 46, p. 631-702 (2008).

Selected Institute Publications:

• "Single-Family Zoning in California: A Statewide Analysis" (with Shahan Shahid Nawaz and Samir Gambhir). May 22, 2024.
• “Advancing Racial Equity: Legal Guidance for Advocates.” June 29, 2023.
• “The Racial Disparities Dashboard.” June 7, 2023.
• “The Zoning Reform Tracker” (with Ipso Cantong and Samir Gambhir). March 15, 2023.
• “Structural Racism Explained: Video & Teaching Guide.” January 16, 2023.
• “Deconstructing the 'Housing Crisis'.” November 30, 2022.
• “Single-Family Zoning in Greater Los Angeles” (with Samir Gambhir and Chih Wei-Hsu). March 2, 2022.
• “The Structural Racism Remedies Project.” February 16, 2022.
• “The Most Segregated Cities and Neighborhoods in the San Francisco Bay Area: The 2020 Update” (with Samir Gambhir and Chih Wei-Hsu). October 11, 2021.
• “The Roots of Structural Racism: Twenty-First Century Racial Residential Segregation in the United States” (with Samir Gambhir and Arthur Gailes). June 21, 2021.
• “Single-Family Zoning in the San Francisco Bay Area: Characteristics of Exclusionary Communities” (with Samir Gambhir, Arthur Gailes, and Karina French). October 7, 2020.
• “Ending Legal Bias Against Formerly Incarcerated People” (with Kimberly White, Eli Moore and Tamisha Walker). September, 2019.
• “The Road Not Taken: Housing and Criminal Justice 50 Years after the Kerner Commission Report” (with Richard Rothstein and Nirali Beri). May, 2019.
• “Targeted Universalism: Policy and Practice” (with john a. powell and Wendy Ake). May, 2019.
• “Racial Segregation in the San Francisco Bay Area, Part 1” (with Samir Gambhir). October, 2018.
• “Opportunity, Race, and Low Income Housing Tax Credit Projects An Analysis of LIHTC Developments in the San Francisco Bay Area” (with Phuong Tseng, Heather Bromfield, and Samir Gambhir). March, 2017.
• “The Inclusiveness Index 2016: Measuring Inclusion and Marginality” (with Elsadig Elsheikh and Samir Gambhir). September, 2016.
• “The Problem of Othering: Towards Inclusiveness and Belonging” (with john a. powell). Othering and Belonging, Issue 1, p. 14-39. Summer, 2016.
• “We Too Belong, A Resource Guide of Inclusive Practices in Immigration & Incarceration Law and Policy” (with Emily Stein, Thomas Nolan, Saba Ahmed, Bryan Lopez, Lupe Aguirre, and Guilherme Durães). April, 2016.
• Amicus Brief of Social and Organizational Psychologists as Amicus Curiae Supporting Respondents, Fisher v. University of Texas at Austin, et. al. in The Supreme Court of the United States. November, 2015.
• Amicus Brief of Housing Scholars as Amicus Curiae Supporting Respondent in Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs v. the Inclusive Communities Project, in the Supreme Court of the United States. December, 2014.
• “Responding to Rising Inequality: Policy Interventions to Ensure Opportunity for All” (with Justin Steil). May 2014.
• “Diversity Strategies for Successful Schools Recommendations to the State Board of Education of Ohio.” The Ohio Department of Education. (with Becky Reno, Richard Muniz and Nikol Bowen). September 2011.
• “Affirmative Action in Ohio: A Resource for Policymakers and Advocates” (with Caitlin Watt, Ryan King and Chenwei Zhang). Kirwan Institute for the Study of Race and Ethnicity. October 2010.
• “Systems Thinking and Race Primer” (with Caitlin Watt). The Kirwan Institute for the Study of Race and Ethnicity. December, 2008).
• “The Structural Racism Report to the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination: A Response to the 2007 Periodic Report of the United States of America.” (with Marguerite Spencer, et al.) The Kirwan Institute for the Study of Race and Ethnicity. January 2008.