What's driving the backlash to Critical Race Theory?

What's with the sudden explosion of statehouse bills, angry parents protesting at school board meetings, and right-wing media attacks on Critical Race Theory? What even is CRT? Assistant Director Stephen Menendian examines these questions and offers context to the current backlash in a new blog post. He writes:

"The attacks on 'CRT' reveal that most of the critics have very little idea what they are even aiming at. ... These attacks are frustrating, because they are generally baseless in fact, but nonetheless prove to be rhetorically and symbolically potent."

Read the article here.

Segregation project captures national media attention

The media response to our "Roots of Structural Racism" project on racial residential segregation we launched last month has been stunning. The project has been featured in dozens of national, state and local reporting, in online, print, and broadcast media. Among the most recent coverage include reports in The Guardian, The Atlantic, The LA Times, The Hill, and many others. These are in addition to the coverage in CNN, Time, Forbes, the San Francisco Chronicle and others we shared in our previous newsletter. See our media tracker page for a full list of coverage.

We've also added an FAQ page to respond to common questions and inquiries about the Roots of Structural Racism project. For example, people often ask us about the causes of segregation and solutions to the problem. See our answers here.

Remember to bookmark our report's landing page from which you can access the various components of the project, including the interactive web map which allows you to view different levels of segregation in different parts of the country. The map was recently optimized to allow for increased web traffic and smooth browsing (after allowing some time to load).

Meet our new staff!

In the news

• Director john a. powell is quoted in this East Bay Times article in response to the sentencing of Derek Chauvin. powell said: “I’m not convinced as a country we’re ready to heal. I think too many people are benefiting from the hurt, from the division. It’s being both monetized and weaponized.”
•  Faculty scholar Jovan Scott Lewis was interviewed in this article by ABC7News, titled, “Bay Area activist reflects on decades-long fight as CA, SF explore reparations for slavery.” 
• Faculty scholar Hilary Hoynes was interviewed for this article in The New York Times, titled, “Coming Soon: $300 Checks for Parents.” 
• Faculty scholar Karen Chapple was interviewed in this article by NBC Bay Area, titled, “UC Berkeley Researchers Say Rebuilding After Wildfires Can Be Dangerous,” in this article by The Mercury News, titled, “As wildfire risks grow, so does push for California housing reform,” and in this article by CBS8, titled, “New study examines costs of future wildfires as communities build new housing.”  
• Faculty scholar Rachel Morello-Frosch’s study was mentioned in this article by Grist, titled, “From pollution to policing, this Asian-American group is expanding environmental justice in the Bay Area.” 
• Faculty scholar Kurt Organista was interviewed in this article by The New York Times, titled, “Many Unvaccinated Latinos in the US Want the Shot, New Survey Finds.”

Opportunities at OBI 

• Administrative Assistant (Full-time staff position in Berkeley)
• Data Scientist
• GIS and Visualization Analyst (Contract position)
• CRM Database and Web Student Assistant (For UC Berkeley undergraduate or graduate students)

Othering & Belonging Institute
University of California, Berkeley
460 Stephens Hall
Tel: 510-642-3326
Berkeley, CA 94720
United States

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