How the battle of identity politics threatens democracy

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Identity politics infighting distracts from the real battle

OBI faculty scholar Ian Haney Lopez recently published a long, in-depth essay about how he sees the social and political situation in the United States today. It revisits how the right decades ago adopted racism as a political strategy, and how today the left is failing to effectively respond, largely because of an internal tug-of-war over the role of identity politics. Meanwhile democracy itself hangs in the balance. But there is a solution, Haney Lopez shows us. Read this critical piece here.

Government action kept 200,000 people out of poverty

This new report from our Bay Area partner Tipping Point Community shows that government benefits and nonprofit groups prevented an increase in poverty following the economic downturn brought on by the Covid-19 pandemic last year. According to the report, about 200,000 people were kept from falling below the poverty line in the Bay Area as a result of these actions. The poverty rate remained steady at about 20 percent of the population.

The report was co-produced by OBI faculty scholar Irene Bloemraad and Harvard Public Policy scholar Daniel Schneider. Read the report here, the press release here, and local media coverage here.

#PandemicTruths

In our last newsletter we challenged you to share your Covid-19 stories in a format of your choosing, with the goal of uplifting stories of care and well-being. Here are some of the submissions:

A declaration of interdependence, by Ben Bear
Moving beyond our safe spaces, by Roseyn Hood
And this comic strip posted above, by Tera Johnson

If you'd like to contribute to this project pick one of the questions in this blog, or another angle on your experience, and speak your truth. You can get in touch with us at belonging@berkeley.edu or on social media using the hashtag #PandemicTruths.

Watch Gerald Lenoir read his new poem, A Love Supreme.

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Video: Inside the Fight for Reproductive Justice

Last week we held a livestream event as part of our #RiseUp4Justice series featuring leaders on the front lines of legal advocacy, political strategy and grassroots organizing who are mobilizing to defend attacks on reproductive rights. Watch a recording of the event here, and check out coverage in DailyCal here.

Apply to our Summer Fellowship program!

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 sixth episode of a dozen podcasts associated with this series, Roberto Bedoya, who is the Cultural Affairs Manager for the City of Oakland in California, talks about how he developed the City’s Cultural Plan. Called "Belonging in Oakland," the plan encourages city departments to rethink how Oakland residents interact with each other and with physical spaces around the city.

In the seventh episode of the series, we hear from Ashlin Malouf-Gashaw, who is the Chief Formation Officer at PICO California, about the intention and design behind the Belong Circles, and how anyone, including our listeners, can implement them in their own community.

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

California renews use of affordable housing site maps

For the fifth consecutive year, a California state agency has approved the use of an opportunity map developed by our institute and partners designed to guide the siting of affordable housing using a federal tax credit. The 2022 TCAC/HCD California Opportunity Map provides guidance to the California Tax Credit Allocation Committee, which administers housing funds through the Low Income Housing Tax Credit program, on where to direct resources for the construction of low-income housing. Read our announcement here.

john powell discusses challenges of housing equity

As part of a Dec. 9 panel focused on fair housing for Southern California Association of Nonprofit Housing, Director john powell presented research and insights on the challenges of housing equity, reflecting years of accumulated experience navigating this tricky issue. Watch his remarks here.

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We're hiring Graduate Student Researchers

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In the news

Faculty scholar Rachel Morello-Frosch was interviewed for this article in the San Francisco Chronicle, titled, “Sea level rise could flood toxic sites along the Bay Area's shore. This city has 21 facilities at risk.”
Faculty scholar Emmanuel Saez was featured in this article by CBS San Francisco, titled, “UC Berkeley Report Finds 2,750 People Have More Wealth Than Half the Planet” and in this article by The Daily Californian, titled, “World Inequality Report shows global trend of increasing wealth disparity - The Daily Californian.”
Faculty scholar Jovan Scott Lewis was featured in this article by KQED, titled, “How to Participate in California's Reparations Task Force Meetings.”
Equity Metrics director Samir Gambhir was interviewed for this article by The Daily Californian, titled, “‘Berkeley is very much in the crosshairs’: Reparations task force discusses housing, gentrification.”