How Berkeley Law Worked to Uncover the Truth About Berta Cáceres
Berkeley law professor details her perspective on Cáceres’ assassination.
Power of Bridging in Action
The Bridging for Democracy project aims to reduce the social and political divide.
New Course Brings Harry Edwards’ Sociology of Sport to the Next Generation
A new course aims to engage students with sociologist and civil rights icon Harry Edwards.
Berkeley Talks: The Page Act and the US Immigration Control
A panel of Berkeley scholars analyze how a law helped institutionalize racially targeted exclusion.
Sixty Years After the Voting Rights Act
Berkeley Law professor explains how the Voting Rights Act could be at stake.
Top Biden Official Calls for Unity, ‘Moral Courage’ in Public Service
Deb Haaland discusses how policy — not politics — is the only path to real change.
Proposition 50 and California’s Redistricting Debate
Galen Sheely sits down to discuss the impact of California's Prop 50.
Stories Spur Passage of Two California Laws on Policing
California passes two laws to reform policing due to investigative stories
Watch a Berkeley Scholar Explain Structural Racism
Structural racism is a concept that is often “deeply misunderstood,” according to Stephen Menendian.
A New Database on Police Misconduct Makes Many Police Records Public
Built by UC Berkeley and Stanford University, the database will vastly expand public access to records that disclose how law enforcement agencies handle misconduct allegations.
This Scholar Explains What ‘Structural Racism’ Really Means
A Berkeley professor's new book explains how a complex web of systems perpetuates racism — and proposes policies to right these wrongs.
$6 Million Gift Establishes Thelton E. Henderson ’62 Chair in Civil Rights Law
A generous gift honors the distinguished Berkeley Law alumnus, his pioneering legal legacy and his passion for creating a fairer and more just society.
Berkeley Talks: Ezra Klein on Building the Future We Want
A New York Times columnist chats with a Berkeley political science professor about the difficulties liberal governments encounter when working to build real things in the real world.
Two-Thirds of Californians Believe US Democracy Is ‘Under Attack’
New research points to voter concern about the state government, with more than half saying special interests have too much influence in Sacramento.
‘We the People’ Is an Ideal of American Democracy. What’s Gone Wrong?
A report from the Democracy Policy Lab at UC Berkeley finds Americans are confused about the meaning and practices of democracy and deeply distrustful of public institutions.
New Research Says Framing Protests As Fights for Civil Rights ‘Backfires.'
Berkeley professor explains how appeals rooted in American values may be more effective today than those evoking memories of the Civil Rights Movement.
Experts React to U.S. Supreme Court Ruling on Medical Care for Trans Minors
Berkeley professors weigh in on the enormous significance the Supreme Court ruling could affect not only transgender youth, but possibly also reproductive policy on abortion.
“Punitive” Policies Target the Homeless in Wake of High Court Ruling
State leaders have emphasized urgency and humanity, but policies implemented recently have stressed tough law enforcement.
To Understand Immigration Today, 200 Stories Documented
A Berkeley sociology professor recalls the stories and lessons she has learned from years of interviewing undocumented young people.
Initiative Aims To Create a ‘Rightful Presence’ for the Ohlone Community at UC Berkeley
New university initiative aims to foster campus-wide awareness and appreciation of Ohlone culture and identity.
How Black Americans Worked to Reform America’s Legal System
UC Berkeley professor Dylan Penningroth's book "Before the Movement" reveals the many ways Black Americans navigated the law by asserting their civil rights of property.
UC Berkeley’s Aya De León: “I Wanted To Write the Spy Books of Girls of Color.”
Berkeley African American Studies lecturer speaks about her book, Untraceable.
Performance Spaces Still Struggle With ‘Soft Censorship’
From the U.S.’s first Black theater in New York to today's Broadway stages, there’s been “a kind of de facto censorship” of diverse stories throughout the country's history.
New Palestinian and Arab Studies Program Established at UC Berkeley
UC Berkeley's Division of Social Sciences has announced an endowed program and chair in Palestinian and Arab Studies to usher in a new era of research and scholarship,
Supreme Court Has ‘Greenlighted the Criminalization of Homelessness'
"This case will be a Rorschach test for elected officials," one expert said. "Will they redouble their efforts to provide shelter and housing, or fall back on laws that punish people for being homeless?"
In Tough Oakland Neighborhoods, a Bold Project Builds Public Safety — and Hope
The Possibility Lab at UC Berkeley is tapping the expertise of hundreds of residents to learn what helps them feel safe in their everyday lives.
Facing Legal Peril, Trump Stokes Racial, Gender Resentment in His Base
Berkeley scholars say that by attacking the prosecutors and judges in his cases, the former president is trying to discredit the charges, rall
Berkeley Voices: A Language Divided
Berkeley sociolinguist explains how language bias and divide can have devastating consequences, as it did in the trial of George Zimmerman.
No Longer Forgotten: Berkeley Researchers Innovate To Shine Light on Hidden Histories
Berkeley researchers and scholars aim to teach a new generation of students about individuals and groups left out of history books or misunderstood.
More Than 120 Protesters Blinded by Iranian Agents, Probe Confirms
UC Berkeley’s Human Rights Center says the victims, most aged 30 and under, suffered partial or full loss of sight in the government crackdown on protests demanding women’s rights.
Student Leaders of the Gun Violence Prevention Project Forge a New Strategic Path
Berkeley Law students Grace Geurin-Henley and Gwen Iannone, leaders of Berkeley Law's Gun Violence Prevention Project, are helping a nonprofit pursue international impact litigation claims.
Images of War Are Shocking. They Also Can Strengthen Our Humanity.
Two UC Berkeley authors explore the social power of unsettling images from war and conflict — and the psychic risks they pose to viewers.
Climate-Induced Displacement Is a Global Phenomenon, but Not Evenly Experienced
UC Berkeley policy analyst from the Othering and Belonging Institute shares recommendations to protect people displaced from the climate crisis.
For New Berkeley Professor, Solving Homelessness Requires Data, Direction — And Belief
A UC Berkeley professor, born and raised from the Bay Area, is actively pursuing solutions to the underlying factors contributing to homelessness.
Why We Must Look Beyond César Chávez To Understand United Farm Workers History
UC Berkeley Ethnic Studies Assistant Professor Christian Paiz delves into the experiences of lesser-known members of the 1960s UFW movement.
Why Are There So Many People From the Philippines in Hawaii? Colonialism.
UC Berkeley professor delves deeper into the reason behind the seemingly large populations of Filipinx families in Hawaii.
Cultural Racism Worsens Health Inequities Between Racial Groups
Racism expressed through cultural norms can perpetuate negative health outcomes for nonwhite groups, according to a study by UC Berkeley School of Public Health.
Building Better Protections for Climate Refugees
The Othering & Belonging Institute hosts panel to mark release of their research brief, “Climate Refugees: Facts and Findings, and Strategies for 'Loss and Damage'".
Chesa Boudin Brings a Lifetime of Experience to Lead New Criminal Law & Justice Center
The center will be a research and advocacy hub to boost Berkeley Law’s public mission in the criminal justice arena.
Study: Policies, Not ‘Bad Apples,’ are Behind Racial Disparities in Jail
New research shows that long-standing policies and deeply rooted inequity likely explain why Black defendants in certain parts of the country are more likely than others to be held in jail before trial.
Excessive Police Use of Force: Experts Push for Legal Solutions Focused on Training and Culture
A recent Berkeley Law symposium confronted excessive use of police force, identifying obstacles to victims’ access to the courts and officer accountability, and exploring potential solutions.
As Rising Seas Disrupt Toxic Sites, Communities of Color Are at Most Risk
The risk of flood-related contamination will fall disproportionately on the state’s most marginalized communities.
Berkeley Talks: Economists on What It’ll Take to Rebuild Ukraine
A panel discussion with four leading economists about what it’ll take to rebuild Ukraine’s infrastructure, education systems and institutions.
In Ukraine, Berkeley Experts are Shaping the Legal Fight Against War Crimes
Ukrainian law enforcement officials and NGOs are preparing for war crimes trials — and almost from the start of the war, their efforts to collect evidence have been guided by digital-age legal standards developed under the leadership of the Human Rights Center at the University of California, Berkeley, School of Law.
New Book by Professor Kathryn Abrams Explores the Activism of Arizona’s Undocumented Immigrants
Abrams tracks the efforts of organizers to fight anti-immigrant legislation and tackle related causes, including the ouster of Joe Arpaio.
UC Berkeley Investigation Reveals Birth Control Disinformation Campaign
A collaboration between Reveal from The Center for Investigative Reporting, Mother Jones, the UC Berkeley Human Rights Center, and Berkeley Journalism’s Investigative Reporting Program have published a two-part investigation showing a disturbing landscape of birth control disinformation that actively targets women searching for functional contraception options in the United States.
Berkeley Talks: U.S. Military Bases in World War II Latin America
In Berkeley Talks episode 152, UC Berkeley history professor Rebecca Herman discusses her new book, Cooperating with the Colossus: A Social and Political History of U.S. Military Bases in World War II Latin America. She’s joined by Margaret Chowning, professor and Sonne Chair in Latin American History at Berkeley, and Kyle Jackson, a Berkeley Ph.D. candidate in history and a transnational historian of the Americas.
A Legacy of Truth: Forty Years of Investigating the Forcibly Disappeared
Eric Stover has spent much of his life with communities searching for an answer to the agonizing question, Where is my child? From Argentina, Guatemala, and El Salvador to the former Yugoslavia, Rwanda, and Iraqi Kurdistan, Stover has sat with families in their deepest grief — often taking the first step in answering that harrowing question with a simple cheek swab, or a sample of blood or hair.
The Tortures of the Spanish Inquisition Hold Dark Lessons for Our Time
Professor Ron E. Hassner's Anatomy of Torture is a telling of how the Roman Catholic Church used physical and psychological torture systematically to crush communities of Jews, Muslims, Protestants and others seen as heretics. In probing the practices of the Spanish Inquisition, Hassner makes a devastating argument against America’s use of torture four centuries later. In distilling that story, though, he comes to an understanding that is deeply disquieting and likely to provoke both proponents of torture and human rights advocates.
High Court Abortion Move Threatens Contraception, LGBTQ+ Rights, Scholars Say
An apparent decision by the U.S. Supreme Court to strike down abortion rights could open broader threats to some types of contraception and to LGBTQ+ rights, including same-sex marriage, Berkeley legal scholars say.