“The problem’s not simply
who dominates, the problem is
domination. We’re not trying to
just get rid of that dominator,
we’re trying to end domination.”
am in awe of john a. powell before we even exchange a word. Not just
because he is an esteemed law professor at the University of California,
Berkeley, the head of Berkeley’s Haas Institute for a Fair and Inclusive
Society, the lauded author of Racing Towards Justice: Transforming Our
Conceptions of Self and Other to Build an Inclusive Society, and a renowned
thought leader on the concepts of othering and belonging, but also because
he does not seek to define himself by any of these accomplishments. In
fact, john powell does not even capitalise his name because he believes
we should be “part of the universe, not over it, as capitals signify.”
We speak on an early summer morning in California: john in the Northern
part and me in the Southern, connected via computers and good will.
He is as warm and familiar as the relation you don’t often see but are elated
to when you do, with a generosity of spirit and genuine curiosity about
ideas and people that are infectious. I immediately understand how he has
been able to sustain his lifelong dedication to the difficult and sometimes
dispiriting work of social justice. He understands the foundation to any
meaningful change is human connection and a willingness to be open and
influenced by new models and deep solutions to age-old problems.
john not only possesses academic brilliance, but also the rare facility
to harness esoteric ideas and present them as functional realities.
He tells stories that can make anyone understand complex concepts
in the amount of time it takes for him to share them. And when he
draws from popular culture to illustrate his points (I couldn’t have
been more thrilled to chat out the motivations of the lead characters
in Marvel’s Black Panther and how they poignantly echo othering and
belonging) my nerd heart soared proud. A conversation with john
powell leaves you feeling like you want to be a card-carrying member
of his tribe. Which, ironically, is the biggest tribe of all: humankind.