Covid-19: What will we remember?

What will we care to remember about the era of Covid-19?

Some events become a generational marker, an experience shared by so many in such profound ways that the ripples last decades. The “Great Depression” of the 1930s and the US war in Vietnam are examples. The Covid-19 pandemic is one of these, but how these ripples shape the future depends on the stories that stick about the pandemic.

In a new blog post, program manager Eli Moore calls on us to tell and uplift the stories that matter, and to not shy away from the lessons that challenge deeply held misconceptions.

Want to tell your own pandemic story?

We invite you to write, tell, draw, or express in whatever form you’d like. Pick one of the questions in this blog, or another angle on your experience, and speak your truth. We’d love to hear it, so please send us an email (belonging@berkeley.edu) or post on social media using the hashtag #PandemicTruths.

Poem: A Love Supreme
By Gerald Lenoir

Across seven seas and barren borders, we are all connected and conjoined.
Through the pain and the pandemic, the exploitation and the expropriation,
Through the crisis of the changing climate and the desolate deserts without food,
Through the oil spills and the ill will of corporate con men and perverted politicians.

We are all in this together, like it or not, live it or not, believe or not.
We can either build bridges or barricades, create connection or conflict.
Kinship and relationship must triumph over disinformation and division.
We cannot escape our mutuality; we must embrace our commonality.

The health of the planet and the people must be brought before profits.
The wealth of the world must be for the providence and prosperity of us all.
Antiracism and collectivism must supplant fascism and individualism.
Meritocracy and autocracy must give way to share-it-ocracy and democracy.

The Universal Arc must be bent toward Black lives, toward indigenous birthrights.
It must transform us from surviving to thriving, from poverty to plenty.
It must shepherd us toward virtue and values, toward spirituality and hospitality.
It must return us to the Door of No Return, to the borderless regions of a New Frontier.

Eden is not a biblical garden frozen in antediluvian ages and pious parables.
It is a vision of a freedom future, the harmony of humanity with fauna and flora
When the air and the arbors, the lakes and the lands are respected and protected,
When peace and prosperity, love and solidarity uplift us to a state of Supreme Being.

Amen and Ashé!

Read this poem on our website.

Toward Belonging in the Inland Empire of Southern California

This new report chronicles the most significant findings from more than two years of research with the people of the Inland Empire — the two-county region of Southern California consisting of San Bernardino and Riverside counties, often identified as a periphery “at the margins” in relation to Los Angeles. This research, carried out as part of the Blueprint for Belonging (B4B) project, seeks to understand prevailing beliefs, opinions, and narratives across different demographic subgroups in the region on topics including intergroup relations, the idea of community, economic opportunity and inequality, the role of government, and civic participation. Read it here.

#RiseUp4Justice: Inside the Fight for Reproductive Justice

Since the start of 2021, legislators in 47 states have introduced over 561 anti-abortion provisions with 97 new restrictions already in effect, disproportionately affecting communities with barriers to health care. Join us next week to hear from leaders on the front lines of legal advocacy, political strategy and grassroots organizing who are mobilizing to defend attacks on reproductive rights. Register here.

Summer fellowship applications have opened!

The Othering & Belonging Institute Summer Fellowship is a paid research experience for individuals seeking to develop their research skills by engaging with the Institute’s multidisciplinary research, analysis, policy, and strategic narrative work. The purpose of the fellowship is to build the capacity and network of the next generation of researchers and community leaders who are committed to social and racial justice by providing mentorship and hands-on experience with social science research. Check our summer fellowship page for information on eligibility and the process to apply.

Application deadline: Jan. 14, 2022

Listen to our latest Bridging to Belonging podcast episodes!

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Check out some of our new podcast episodes released as part of our Bridging to Belonging Case series launched in October. In this fifth episode of a dozen podcasts associated with this series, Frances Lucerna, who is the founding principal of El Puente Academy for Peace and Justice, shares how she and other community leaders created and designed a school environment that fosters a true sense of belonging among all students and their families.

Podcast player image grab which includes a thumbnail of the guests

In the sixth episode of the series, we hear from Tamia Dantzler and Dashley Concepcion. Tamia is an alum and Dashley is a current student at El Puente Academy. The two share with us their personal experiences at the school and what it has meant to be students at a school that makes them feel seen and heard.

Check out more episodes and other work from our Bridging to Belonging case series.

Apply to the 2022 Atlantic Fellowship for Racial Equity

Our partners from the Atlantic Fellowship on Racial Equity (AFRE) have begun accepting applications for a new cohort of fellows. Each year, the program journeys with 20 change makers through an 18-month fellowship experience. Fellows deepen their personal leadership and hone their analysis of how structural racism shapes our lives. Importantly, they cultivate community with one another, within and beyond national borders, subject matter areas, and change strategies. Learn more about the fellowship.

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In the news

Global Justice program director Elsadig Elsheikh was interviewed on KALW about the recent Institute survey on Islamophobia.
Faculty scholar Rucker Johnson's work was cited in this New York Times article, titled, "Minneapolis' School Plan Asks White Families to Help Integrate."
Faculty scholar Ian Haney Lopez was cited in this article by The Hill, titled, “To counteract racial politics, Congress must protect federal voting rights for all.”
A letter by faculty scholar Hilary Hoynes was cited in this article by The Washington Post, titled, “The battle over Biden's child tax credit and its impact on poverty and workers.”
Faculty scholar Lisa Garcia-Bedolla wrote an opinion piece for The San Francisco Chronicle, titled, “My brother is a disabled Gulf War vet. That didn't stop the U.S. from deporting his wife.”
Faculty scholar Elena Conis was interviewed in this NPR podcast, titled, “What the history of student vaccination mandates means for school COVID vaccine rules.”