California: Transformations and a path towards progress
As victors celebrate their wins in Tuesday's primaries and voters prepare for general elections in November, one of the things we've been examining at the Haas Institute is how California underwent a transformation over the past 25 years from its reputation for exclusionary, anti-immigrant and brutal mass incarceration policies to becoming more welcoming and inclusive with the more recent passing of a number of progressive laws, such as the Sanctuary State law, the Domestic Workers Bill of Rights, and key criminal justice reforms. To understand how this transformation occurred watch our new 8-minute film that documents the successes of social movements in California in creating a more progressive political atmosphere, and pushing for policies that challenge dog-whistle politics, xenophobia, and structural racialization.
 But the picture is not all rosy: California has also gone from being among one of the most equal states in terms of wealth, to the state with the widest income gap and highest level of poverty; and from having affordable homes, to witnessing the most severe housing equity crisis in the country. To understand the problems California still faces and how to ensure the path forward addresses these injustices, the Haas Institute's Eli Moore and Gerald Lenoir recently published this critical analysis.
Both the video and the analysis are part of the Institute's Blueprint for Belonging (B4B) project, which undertakes collaborative initiatives with movement organizations working across issues, policies, and campaigns.
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