June 18, 2025

We are happy to announce that we have updated and expanded our Racial Disparities Dashboard from 15 indicators measuring Black-White disparities in American society to nearly 80. This resource is now the most comprehensive repository of existing racial inequalities available anywhere. We gauge disparities for education, criminal justice enforcement, employment, health, and much more. Each of them is rated as either high, moderate or low based upon a novel methodology. The Disparities Dashboard was originally launched two years ago and included "report cards" to show progress or regress over time for 15 issue areas. Those report cards are still available here. Find all our project resources using the links below:

How Targeted Universalism Is Bringing Equity to Chicago's Public Schools

In our latest impact story, Chicago Public Schools former equity chief Maurice Swinney writes about the transformative power of Targeted Universalism (TU) in education, and the importance of listening to our young people. He writes: "Teachers who used the TU framework saw both academic and social progress. Chicago has since regained academic ground, thanks to how schools and classrooms prioritized listening to build effective strategies to support young people." 

Blog: The Trump executive order that could gut civil rights

In April, Trump issued an executive order he called “Restoring Equality of Opportunity and Meritocracy,” which declared “the policy of the United States to eliminate the use of disparate-impact liability in all contexts to the maximum degree possible.” Assistant Director Stephen Menendian analyzed the order in a recent blog post. "This is not a small thing," Stephen wrote. "Disparate impact is built into a large chunk of civil rights laws."

john a. powell: Show them who we are 

Last week OBI Director john a. powell shared a reflection on the ICE raids and ensuing protests that took place in Los Angeles and spread throughout the country. "We're being tested politically, morally and spiritually. The question before us is whether we'll allow ourselves to be divided by manufactured fear, or whether we'll remember that our strength lies in our commitment to each other, to justice, and to the belief that everybody belongs, unconditionally," he wrote.

Apply to the 2025 Targeted Universalism Community of Practice

Enrollment is now open for the 3rd annual Targeted Universalism Community of Practice (TU COP)—a transformative 7-month journey led by Seed Collaborative, inspired by the pioneering work of john a. powell and the Othering & Belonging Institute. Over 150 changemakers from 25 states—across government, philanthropy, nonprofits, education, social impact, and beyond—have joined this growing movement to implement Targeted Universalism. What You’ll Learn in the TU COP:

• A step-by-step approach to implement Targeted Universalism
• Connect with a national learning community of peers, mentors and experts
• Deepen your practice with TU and data, evaluation, communications
• Practices of belonging, bridging, co-creation and embodiment
• Real-world examples and collective problem-solving

Enroll by July 30, 2025. Join an info session on July 15.

OBI submits civil rights report to UN body

The Othering & Belonging Institute, along with the Council on American-Islamic Relations, recently submitted a joint report to the United Nations Human Rights Council for the 4th Universal Periodic Review cycle of the United States government. The report, The Consequences of Islamophobia on Civil Liberties and Rights in the United States and Its Implications for Muslim Americans, is part of the OBI Global Justice Program’s Human Rights Agenda. 

Belonging Without Othering now available as Audio Book

You can now listen to Belonging Without Othering: How We Save Ourselves and the World on Audible. The book, co-authored by OBI Director john a. powell and Assistant Director Stephen Menendian, released last year, makes the case that belonging without othering is the necessary, but not the inevitable, next step in our long journey toward creating truly equitable and thriving societies. Read more about this book here, and purchase the audio version here.

OBI Director john a. powell was recently interviewed about his recent book, The Power of Bridging, by Glenn Siepert on his podcast, called, the "What If Project." The conversation delves into unity and what it looks like to create a world where everyone belongs amid the many divisions facing our societies. 

 + EVENTS 

We are co-sponsoring this in person event happening today, Wednesday, June 18 at 6pm in San Francisco hosted by the Mechanics' Institute!

Join authors john a. powell and Stephen Menendian in conversation on their recent book Belonging without Othering: How We Save Ourselves and the World, and powell’s companion book, The Power of Bridging: How To Build A World Where We All Belong. 

We are pleased to invite you to a virtual conversation happening on Monday, June 30, 10:30am-12pm PT to mark the launch of Structural Racism: The Dynamics of Opportunity and Race in America, by OBI Assistant Director Stephen Menendian. Stephen will be in conversation with OBI Director john a. powell and Michael Omi, who was the co-author of the groundbreaking book Racial Formation in the United States.

 + IN THE NEWS 

• OBI Director john a. powell was featured in a few recent interviews, including this KQED story, titled, "How a UC Berkeley Professor Confronts Division With a Vision for Belonging," and a KPFA interview about his recent book, The Power of Bridging. 

Join over 9,000 learners on OBI University (OBIU), where free, interactive courses cover key topics like othering and belonging, bridging, and structural racism. We’re excited to launch three new courses in the Targeted Universalism series! Following the foundational course What is Targeted Universalism?, the expanded series now includes:

Together, we can make belonging the norm, not the exception.

– The Othering & Belonging Institute

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