Structural racism — or the way systems like housing, education, employment and justice create racial disparities without overtly racist actors — is a concept that is often “deeply misunderstood,” according to Stephen Menendian at @obi-belonging.bsky.social. news.berkeley.edu/2025/08/14/w...

"A belonging story also honors and celebrates difference—race, gender, religion, and all types of group identity are not rendered invisible in service to a larger, universal story or short-term political project." - john a. powell Full #FightForward Essay: belonging.berkeley.edu/belonging-st...

We're hiring! Assistant Professor — Disparities and Education Policy. This faculty position is for someone whose scholarship addresses the goals of the Education Policy Cluster of the @obi-belonging.bsky.social. aprecruit.berkeley.edu/JPF04211

@PolicyWise.com is sharing resources to empower the social-serving community. Explore a new toolkit by @obi-belonging.bsky.social aimed at empowering community leaders to gain influence, reshape narratives, and drive policy change through transformative research. Learn more at: buff.ly/MLBDmsx

Who Is Included in and Who Will Fight for “We the Civic”? nonprofitquarterly.org/who-is-inclu... - john a. powell, @obi-belonging.bsky.social - @npquarterly.bsky.social

Excellent from john a powell at @obi-belonging.bsky.social at Berkely, where bosses acceded to Trump's demand for list of names. "To fight forward means to defend rights not simply to preserve the past, but to carve out a future where belonging is real." belonging.berkeley.edu/fighting-for...

Stephen Menendian, the director of research at @obi-belonging.bsky.social, has spent over 15 years studying structural racism. Watch him explain how most of the mechanisms that form structural racism have taken shape in the post-Civil Rights era. youtu.be/y1DA6P3QQNM?...

(En)Gendering Authoritarianism: This project explores how authoritarian movements leverage and weaponize gender to divide society and opposition movements, and lay the groundwork for authoritarian power consolidation and violence. belonging.berkeley.edu/engendering-... by @obi-belonging.bsky.social

What's Gender got to do with Authoritarianism? Theory: (En)Gendering Authoritarianism belonging.berkeley.edu/engendering-... Practice: Texas Professor Fired After Accusations of Teaching 'Gender Ideology' www.nytimes.com/2025/09/10/u... @obi-belonging.bsky.social

We are hiring for three positions: Development Director, Research Associate, and Climate Agrarian Justice Student Research Assistant. You can find full details about each position, including pay and benefits, here: belonging.berkeley.edu/positions-ot...

Research director of UC Berkeley’s @obi-belonging.bsky.social Stephen Menendian explains how a complex web of systems perpetuates racism — and proposes policies to right these wrongs in his new book. news.berkeley.edu/2025/07/28/f...

We, the undersigned, are writing to express our horror and outrage at Israel's forced starvation and ceaseless bombings of Gaza. We invite people from all institutions to sign onto this letter, or use it to create your own. Sign #StopStarvingGaza Letter now: belonging.berkeley.edu/letter-stop-...

🧵1/4 This Resource Guide for Belonging-Builders by the @obi-belonging.bsky.social (OBI) is just what I needed to read this week. 🌟Download their free guide acrobat.adobe.com/id/urn:aaid:...

We’re excited to share our Resource Guide for Belonging-Builders, a helpful tool that summarizes these frameworks and assists you in applying them within your communities. Your involvement is not just appreciated; it's vital. Read the guide today: belonging.berkeley.edu/resource-gui...

ICYMI: Preparing for AI + Foundations Fight Back + Asking for Help is Good + Jobs — Read our June Newsletter here: mailchi.mp/comnetwork/j... Special shoutouts to @apnews.com, @obi-belonging.bsky.social, @propublica.org, @kff.org, @easibey.bsky.social, @gailfuller.bsky.social, and more!

I'm listening to webinar introducing a book titled "Structural Racism" hosted by @obi-belonging.bsky.social. I encourage others to watch when you get time. belonging.berkeley.edu/structural-r...

From @obi-belonging.bsky.social's book talk conversation about @smenendian.bsky.social's new book

ooooh watching the premiere of the book launch for “structural racism” by the author (steven menendian (sp?)) and creator of the concept (john a powell) from the othering and belonging institute!!! @obi-belonging.bsky.social

This is really useful, by Miriam Juan-Torres González at the Othering and Belonging Institute @obi-belonging.bsky.social #Authoritarianism #Resources belonging.berkeley.edu/authoritaria...

Crisis reveals who we are. #OBI director, john a. powell, cuts through the noise: the "immigrant crime wave" is a manufactured lie designed to divide + dehumanize. Our strength is in our shared humanity. Read john's powerful take: belonging.berkeley.edu/john-powell-...

🎙️ON AIR: We're speaking w/ @ucberkeley.bsky.social's @owasow.bsky.social and @wired.com's @couts.bsky.social to look back at times when protests have been successful instigators of change, and times when protests may have hurt a movement. ❓How do protests persuade audiences? 📻 Listen:

Si te preocupa la deriva autoritaria que vivimos, esto te interesa: Míriam Juan-Torres (@obi-belonging.bsky.social‬) explicará cómo los ataques de la derecha reaccionaria a los movimientos feministas y LGTBIQ+ son una avanzadilla de su estrategia antidemocracia. ✍️ us6.list-manage.com/survey?u=8d0...

5/12 6pm @kalwradio.bsky.social Lew Stringer shares efforts to support rare butterfly return to SF @presidiosf.bsky.social Stephen Menendian @ucberkeleyofficial.bsky.social @obi-belonging.bsky.social institute joins us to discuss fair housing. Travel tips from Matt Kepnes @nomadicmatt.bsky.social

Join us at ComNet25 Denver for a Learning Lab from @obi-belonging.bsky.social! Attendees will: - Join a exploration of how well-intentioned efforts may be causing harm - Reimagine the frontline role comms plays - Learn tools and framing strategies - Hear research about zero sum thinking

New research on racial segregation in the San Francisco Bay Area from @smenendian.bsky.social @obi-belonging.bsky.social finds a strong correlation between restrictive zoning & racial segregation: belonging.berkeley.edu/race-racial-...

Anyone else tuning in later today?

Our North American Equity Data Convening begins tomorrow! This free, day-long event will feature researchers, activists, journalists, and practitioners from across North America to explore how data can advance social equity and belonging. Register for #naed25 belonging.berkeley.edu/north-americ...

"I think we are in a crisis of imagination, and so I feel like the more we imagine and we ping pong to each other ideas that are out of what we are, programmed to think, the better we can raise our own liberation as a collective." -Siouar Douss from our Rights, Equity, Dignity & Social justice

#OBI Impact Story: How Libraries Can Be Places of Belonging Author and public space advocate Shamichael Hallman discusses how the frameworks of belonging inspired him to rethink the role of libraries as vital spaces for connection and community. Read more: belonging.berkeley.edu/impact-story...

You don’t have to “poet” alone. You can join @ageedubb.bsky.social for a free Inclusion Poetry Workshop at today's OBI Book Club. Time: 11:30 to 1:00 PM PT. Full details are on OBIU.org.

CGS and @obi-belonging.bsky.social are co-sponsoring a conversation with Diane Tober @dianetober.bsky.social on her new book, Eggonomics: The Global Market in Human Eggs and the Donors Who Supply Them on Friday, April 18 from 12-1:30 pm PT. Register here: belonging.berkeley.e...

Five years after COVID-19, Berkeley researchers are documenting the human story of its global toll on specific communities within the Asian American diaspora. news.berkeley.edu/2025/03/21/t...

Ramadan is a month of belonging. Omar Salha, speaking at our 2024 Othering and Belonging Conference, shares his insights on this. We invite you to watch the short video and share your thoughts in the comments below.

Just completed the @obi-belonging.bsky.social Levels of Bridging course. There is SO much to ponder, but these words from john a. powell struck me this morning. "Belonging is stronger than facts. People's desire to belong is not based on some carefully thought out rational thing..."

New report from @ucberkeleyofficial.bsky.social @obi-belonging.bsky.social on Meaningful Measurements of Mobility: belonging.berkeley.edu/meaningful-m... #Mobility #EquitableTransportation #RoadSafety

Feeling grounded and ready for action w/ @obi-belonging.bsky.social's john a. powell's antidotes to separation and “othering,” and call to support belonging and collective wellbeing. "The opposite of othering is not saming but belonging." #ForwardGlobalSummit #ForwardGlobal #ShapingOurStory

**Zoning Reform Tracker Update** The Zoning Reform Tracker highlights significant progress in cities across the United States. Since our last update, eight cities, including Sacramento, Salt Lake City, and Cincinnati, have approved new zoning reforms. Explore the latest changes here:

Join @obi-belonging.bsky.social, @capolicylab.bsky.social and the Terner Center next Wednesday, March 12, at 4:30pm for "Rebuilding after Disaster." Experts will discuss the housing and equity implications of catastrophic events, disaster reconstruction and community resilience: lnkd.in/gpyZUVwW

"While having a diverse coalition disburse targeted messages to distinct audiences can be powerful when vying for popular support, the diversity of interests represented in this coalition may present difficulties when actually governing." from Míriam Juan-Torres González @obi-belonging.bsky.social

"When we talk here about the value of maximizing the inclusion of many types of information, knowledge, and perspectives, we mean to suggest something deeper than many community participation strategies entail." @obi-belonging.bsky.social

Have you got new legal landscape questions? Our updated FAQ has answers! We’re improving—what should we add? Submit suggestions to [email protected]! belonging.berkeley.edu/racial-equit...

"I believe the dance floor is a representation for belonging. And dancing a symbolic act to bridge with whomever is willing to dance with you." - Jose Richard Aviles Check out our latest blog: belonging.berkeley.edu/happy-end-wi...

🌍🤝 Announcing the "Bridgers Roundtable: Strategies for Peace in Divided Societies" - a new series by @obi-belonging.bsky.social & ICAN, uniting bridgers & women #peacebuilders to share strategies for conflict transformation & #peacebuilding. www.democracyandbelongingforum.org/bridgers-rou...

Please join @capolicylab.bsky.social, @obi-belonging.bsky.social & the Terner Center for "Rebuilding after Disaster," in person on March 12 at 4:30pm. Experts will discuss the housing and equity implications of catastrophic events, disaster reconstruction and community resilience: lnkd.in/gpyZUVwW

East Bay Rep. Lateefah Simon and Los Angeles Rep. Ted Lieu recently paid a visit to the University of California, Berkeley’s Innovative Genomics Institute to hear about the importance of NIH-funded basic research. news.berkeley.edu/2025/02/24/d...

Are you or your organization seeking clarity on race-conscious policies, DEI initiatives, or racial equity efforts? #OBI has released a concise Racial Equity Legal Guidance FAQ to help navigate these complex issues. Full details here: belonging.berkeley.edu/racial-equit...

"The only way to beat ignorance is through education," says one of the students in the Robinson International Scholars Program, which supports students from sub-Saharan Africa. After life as refugees, the current cohort strives to tackle global problems. news.berkeley.edu/2025/02/20/a...

How to defeat Demagogues? Are you curious about what a demagogue is? Check out this excerpt from #OBI's assistant director, @smenendian.bsky.social answering the question and what we can do about them.

Interested in Belonging without Othering by john a. powell and Stephen Menendian? You can read an excerpt from the first chapter right now!

☕️ Do you know the origins of your cup of coffee? 🤔💭 When UC Berkeley professor Noah Whiteman opens a cabinet, he sees not just ingredients but the products of a four-billion-year-long coevolutionary war between plants and animals. 🔗 youtu.be/qf1WoW35BeQ?...