Transforming Ourselves and Society to Achieve Belonging Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day – Unraveling Justice: Taking Action DATE: January 21, 2019 PRESENTER: john a. powell, Director, Haas Institute AUTHORIAL SUPPORT: Haas Institute

Dr. King’s Legacy is a Call for Belonging

“Othering,” defined… We define othering as a set of processes, structures, and dynamics that denies full humanity and belonging across any of the full range of human differences. Othering and marginality can occur on a group basis or at the individual level.

Dimensions of othering. Dimensions include but are not limited to, sex, religion, race, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, disability, sexual orientation, and skin tone. class race ethnicity ability religion skin tone sexuality age

Leadership, Meta- Narrative Empathy, belonging, inclusion As diversity grows, so does anxiety. Increase in diversity Breaking Fear, anger, othering Leadership, Meta- Narrative Empathy, belonging, inclusion Increase in Anxiety Increase in anxiety Bridging

Narratives of Othering and Belonging Breaking: When a group turns inwards and explicitly pushes away from other groups who are seen as dangerous or a threat Bonding: Connecting to people like you in some important way Bridging: Ties to people who are unlike you in some important way; stories, structure contact

Putnam’s types of social capital: BREAKING Social ties among an exclusive group who explicitly push away from other groups who are seen as dangerous or a threat. BRIDGING Social ties that link people together with others across a cleavage that typically divides society.  BONDING Social ties that link people together with others who are primarily like them along some key dimension. These are genuinely easier to build than bridging social capital.

Examples of breaking social capital: rwandan genocide, 1994 BREAKING Social ties among an exclusive group who explicitly push away from other groups who are seen as dangerous or a threat. white nationalism

Examples of bonding social capital: family BONDING Social ties that link people together with others who are primarily like them along some key dimension. These are genuinely easier to build than bridging social capital. neighborhood

Examples of bridging social capital: lgbtq Social ties that link people together with others across a cleavage that typically divides society. 

“I don’t see race. I am colorblind.” THE LEFT’S RESPONSE TO OTHERING — “I don’t see race. I am colorblind.” “All lives matter!” “You & I are human. We are the same.”

The opposite of Othering is not “saming.” Haas Institute for a Fair and Inclusive Society

It is belonging. Haas Institute for a Fair and Inclusive Society

Belonging – Moving towards structural inclusion The current circle of belonging is narrowed by structures. The “size” of the circle is dependent upon institutional arrangements, structures, and systems. We must build the circle, to have more people belonging and benefiting from collective concern and care: this is the vision of equity and this is the practice of equity. Belonging is a powerful force to dissolve barriers that defines in and out groups by recognizing shared goals, values and dependence on each other. Belonging connotes something fundamental about both how groups are structurally positioned within society as well as how they are perceived and regarded.

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