Introducing our Bridging to Belonging case series

El Puente at the 2014 NYC Climate March with giant Madre Tierra puppet

Introducing a real-world case series on bridging, to belonging

We're happy to announce the release of our Bridging to Belonging Case series, which captures real-world examples of bridging and belonging through writings and podcast interviews. In this series, we analyze a range of breaking moments and bridging opportunities across different scales and contexts, such as schools, movements, governments and communities. They “show and hear” how these concepts play out on the ground. We hear from leaders implementing the work, and individuals who have experienced the transformation of bridging to create belonging. Check out our case series here.

Happy retirement, Professor Omi!

We'd like to congratulate Professor Michael Omi, our first associate director, on his retirement, and thank him for the countless contributions he's made to our institute over the years. Now-Professor Emeritus of Ethnic Studies, Michael Omi is best known for co-authoring the seminal book Racial Formation in the United States. UC Berkeley last week honored Professor Omi in day-long symposium. Watch a segment of his sendoff here.

Haitian migrants walking on a road in Mexico

'A history of Western intervention and exploitation'

OBI strategy analyst Gerald Lenoir published this new blog for our website about the appalling treatment of Haitian migrants in the United States, and the history of US interference in Haiti's politics and society that helped destabilize the country and contribute to the situation we're witnessing today. He writes:

"The first Haitian 'boat people' made the precarious journey across the Atlantic Ocean to the US in 1972. This was in response to the brutal dictatorships of François Duvalier (1957-1971) and then his son Jean-Claude Duvalier (1971-1986), both backed by the US government. From that time to now, Haitian refugees and asylum seekers fleeing repression are interdicted in the high seas and detained, denied entry, and summarily deported."

Read Gerald's article.

Basima Sisemore speaking at online event

ICYMI: Islamophobia a 'daily reality'

Last week we held a 90-minute-long live event to launch our new survey on the views of Muslims in the United States. The survey, authored by OBI's Global Justice Director Elsadig Elsheikh and research Basima Sisemore, revealed the ubiquity and far reaching impacts of Islamophobia on millions of Muslim Americans, more than two-thirds of whom reported encountering Islamophobia in their lives. But there were positive findings too. Learn more by visiting our new Islamophobia site to download the survey and watch a recording of this event.

Also, see media coverage of the survey in HuffPost, the San Francisco Chronicle, Religion News Service, and elsewhere.

Majority of Inland Empire residents rent burdened

Last week we published a new paper that describes current housing affordability dynamics across Los Angeles and the Inland Empire. Although rent burden metrics help identify households vulnerable to instability, it is the underlying housing and work conditions that shape residents’ lives and produce this indicator—particularly as people cope by working more and living in more crowded households. Download the paper here, and read the press release here.

Join this free course on Bridging!

Our friends at the Greater Good Science Center have just launched a new, free online course on... bridging! This course, which will feature some material that includes our director john a. powell, helps us connect across our differences which we encounter every day, whether they be differences in race, politics, gender, faith, and so on. The course teaches research-based principles and strategies for fostering positive relationships, dialogue, and understanding. It focuses on how such strategies can be applied to the divisions and conflicts that show up in our everyday relationships and in various sectors. Learn more and register here.

O&B Conference less than two weeks away!

Our 2021 Othering & Belonging Conference is just around the corner! Visit our conference page to register for the event or learn about the many speakers, performers, learning labs, and other activities we have lined up. The conference will include live Spanish interpretation for all sessions! Please share with your networks.

El congreso Othering & Belonging se celebrará los días 18 y 19 de octubre y se podrá acceder por internet. ¡Y todo el congreso tendrá interpretación simultánea al español! El tema de este año está centrado en la noción de riesgo. ¿Qué estaríamos dispuestos a arriesgar para tender un puente sobre las profundas grietas que caracterizan nuestro mundo a fin de unir nuestras fuerzas para siempre? Incluirá conferencistas especialmente seleccionados, sesiones de trabajo paralelas, laboratorios de aprendizaje y conversaciones con dinámica fishbowl que promueven estudios académicos, narrativas, movimientos, sistemas y políticas de vanguardia en apoyo a un nosotres enteramente inclusivo. Exploraremos el concepto de pertenencia en niveles interpersonales, intergrupales y sistémicos. Hay becas para asistir al congreso. Regístrese aquí.

Other OBI Updates

Director john a. powell last month presented testimony on reparations and political participation to the California Task Force to Study and Develop Reparations Proposals for African Americans. Faculty cluster member Jovan Scott Lewis is a member of the task force.
Last month the World Bank announced its decision to discontinue its Doing Business report, following a campaign to which OBI contributed calling for the World Bank to be held accountable for its deceptive ranking system, which hurts people of the Global South. Read this essay, "Examining the World Bank's Doing Business Report," by Global Justice Director Elsadig Elsheikh on the topic.
Samir Gambhir, one of our program managers and co-author of our Bay Area and national segregation reports, presented last month in an online panel on zoning organized by Ethnic Media Services, titled, "California's Zoning Laws at the Heart of Housing Crisis." The event was covered by the Richmond Pulse and SF Examiner.
A letter by faculty scholar Hilary Hoynes addressed to congressional leaders in support of an expansion of the child tax credit was signed by 450 economists.

Upcoming events

Oct. 18-19: 2021 Othering & Belonging Conference
Oct. 28: Justice for Black Farmers: A Conversation to Uproot Racist Policy and Plant Seeds of Redress
Nov. 5: Event featuring Sheryll Cashin and john a. powell (more info soon)

In the news

Faculty scholar Jovan Scott Lewis, who is a member of California's task force on reparations mentioned above, is featured in this KPIX5 CBS Bay Area television interview about his work on the task force, as well as the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre.
Assistant Director Stephen Menendian was interviewed for this CNN story, titled, "When a White-majority neighborhood wants to divorce its Black city," and this article by Grist, titled, “California seeks to make its low-carbon living more affordable.”
Researcher Hossein Ayazi was interviewed for this USA Today story, titled, "More Americans struggling to put food on the table after federal benefits end," and this article in The Independent, titled, "Why is Haiti so prone to natural disasters?"