Belonging without Othering: How We Save Ourselves and the World
with authors john a. powell and Stephen Menendian

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 all yearn for connection and community, but we live in a time when calls for further division along the well-wrought lines of religion, race, ethnicity, caste, and sexuality are pervasive. As the threat of authoritarianism grows across the globe, Belonging without Othering 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. The authors argue that we must build institutions, cultivate practices, and orient ourselves toward a shared future, not only to heal ourselves, but perhaps to save our planet as well. In The Power of Bridging, powell offers a framework for building cohesion and solidarity between disparate beliefs and groups, and personal reflections as well as practices to help you begin bridging wherever you are--in your community, friendships, family, workplace, and even those with whom you might never have imagined you could find common ground. 

Co-sponsored by Museum of the African Diaspora and the Othering & Belonging Institute at UC Berkeley.

About the Speakers

john a. powell is an internationally respected expert in the areas of civil rights, racial identity, fair housing, poverty, and democracy. He is director of the Othering & Belonging Institute at UC Berkeley, where he holds the Robert D. Haas Chancellor's Chair in Equity and Inclusion, and is a professor of law, African American studies, and ethnic studies. He is the author of Racing to Justice, coauthor of Belonging without Othering, and cofounder of the Poverty & Race Research Action Council. He is a former legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union. Photo credit: Nick Bruno

Stephen Menendian’s primary areas of expertise are structural racism, civil rights, fair housing, belonging, affirmative action, targeted universalism, and educational equity. He is Assistant Director at the Othering and Belonging Institute, where he manages many ongoing research projects, including the Inclusiveness Index and the California Zoning Atlas. Stephen is the author of many scholarly publications and journal articles, including the landmark book Structural Racism: The Dynamics of Opportunity and Race in America. Stephen developed and co-authored the Institute's Amicus brief in the United States Supreme Court case of Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs v. the Inclusive Communities Project, which was cited by the Supreme Court in its landmark decision recognizing disparate impact claims under the federal Fair Housing Act.