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Elections present a myriad of challenges — the proliferation of misinformation, the widening gulfs of affective polarization and fragmentation, the rise of conflict entrepreneurs, and the weaponizing of difference all contribute to an atmosphere of deep discomfort and uncertainty. The stakes are high, and the path to victory often seems strewn with the wreckage of ethical compromise. The temptation to reduce people and groups to caricatures and strip away their humanity, to punish or humiliate those who try to bridge across differences, and to let ourselves get caught up in the win-at-all-costs mentality is real. Worse, it has long-term consequences for our democracy. But here’s the thing: we’re better than that. We truly believe that even in the heat of a campaign, we can stay true to our values, stand stronger for democracy, and lift each other up instead of tearing each other down.
Please join a conversation between The Othering and Belonging Institute’s john a. powell and M+R Win’s Christian LoBue as they explore how political strategists, communication leaders, and organizers can tackle this election year head-on, guided by both our short-term goals for the cycle and the long-term health of our democracy. Register here.
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john a. powell is an internationally recognized expert in the areas of civil rights and civil liberties and a wide range of issues including race, structural racism, ethnicity, housing, poverty, and democracy. He is the Director of the Othering & Belonging Institute (formerly Haas Institute for a Fair and Inclusive Society), which supports research to generate specific prescriptions for changes in policy and practice that address disparities related to race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, disability, and socioeconomics in California and nationwide. john a. powell is the co-author, with Stephen Menendian, of the forthcoming book, Belonging without Othering, How We Save Ourselves and the World, with Stanford University Press.
Christian LoBue is the Executive Vice President of M+R Win, a campaigner and strategist who has spent the last two decades working across progressive movements to build power, shape public opinion, and mobilize folks to WIN.