john a. powell - Creating the Conditions for Belonging and Breathing in a Toxic Environment

Bridging or breaking? That is the sharp choice we face today as a society and as individual citizens. john a. powell, Director of the Othering and Belonging Institute at UC Berkeley, has long been one of our nation’s leading and most original thought leaders. He has delved deeply into the complexities of civil rights and liberties, structural racism, poverty, housing, racial and ethnic identity, inclusivity, spirituality and social justice, as well as the needs of citizens in a democratic society. john goes beyond the personal and interpersonal to consider some of the cultural systems that push us to break and polarize. He illuminates how instead we can bridge to transform and heal these destructive impulses and the current toxic political atmosphere by cultivating new ways of thinking and by building social structures conducive to Belonging and Breathing.
john a. powell delivered this talk at the Bioneers 2020 Conference, introduced by Kenny Ausubel. Watch more keynote videos at bioneers.org/2020talks/
john a. powell, Director of the Othering and Belonging Institute and Professor of Law, African American, and Ethnic Studies at UC Berkeley; previously Executive Director at the Kirwan Institute for the Study of Race and Ethnicity at Ohio State, and prior to that, founder/Director of the Institute for Race and Poverty at the University of Minnesota, has also taught at numerous law schools, including Harvard and Columbia. A former National Legal Director of the ACLU, he co-founded the Poverty & Race Research Action Council and serves on the boards of several national and international organizations. His latest book is: Racing to Justice: Transforming our Concepts of Self and Other to Build an Inclusive Society.
To learn more about john's work, visit the Othering and Belonging Institute: belonging.berkeley.edu/

[@DennisEnglishREHS]

Thanks for sharing!

[@tecihila7539]

I see you.

[@CharlotteFairchild]

Coretta Scott King has no statue at her birthplace and Lucille Ball has 5 statues in Jamestown, NY with a comedy museum. Coretta was born 15 miles from Selma. Judson College was closed by pastors in Alabama in 2021. I have 2 crystal panthers. They can be any color. When I go to churches of color, it is always a surprise. I am ordained and Southern Baptist. Scholarships and jobs with high sexism and a death threat. 1% of the Bible are spoken words of women. (Freeman) I write.

[@LastBastian]

I wonder if you realize how much the things you are saying also apply to yourself?
All the examples you put forth portray white people negatively, as ignorant or wrong.
Do you realize that compared to many white people today, *you* are the wealthy and privileged one?
Do you understand that much like your examples given, that in today's social and political environment, it's often white people who are lacking in "power" who are demonized, ignored, told to shut up, unable to have open and honest conversations?
Again, like your examples, I believe you have good intentions, but I'm not sure you are fully aware of your own bias.