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The Power of Bridging: How to Build a World Where We All Belong
A research-backed guide for building bridges across difference in any area of our lives, from esteemed civil rights scholar john a. powell.We don’t want to live in a society in turmoil. In the US, 93 percent of people want to reduce divisiveness, and 86 percent believe it’s possible to disagree in a healthy way. Yet with increasing political and social fragmentation, many of us don’t know how to move past our differences. Civil rights scholar john a. powell presents an actionable path through “bridging” that helps us communicate, coexist, and imagine a new story for our shared future where we all belong.With inimitable warmth and vision, powell offers a framework for building cohesion and solidarity between disparate beliefs and groups. He defines key concepts such as “othering,” which primes us to see people as a threat; “breaking,” which excludes people or sees them as threatening our belonging; and finally “bridging,” which fosters acceptance both of those we might have othered and even aspects of ourselves. He shares personal reflections as well as practices to help you begin bridging wherever you are—in your community, friendships, family, workplace, and even those with whom you might never have imagined you could find common ground. He calls upon us not just to engage with bridging but to become bridgers.“Bridging is a salve for our fractured world,” powell says. “We can overcome the illusion of separateness by honoring our differences, transcending the notion that difference divides us, and instead co-create a world where everyone belongs.”
240 pages, Paperback
Published December 3, 2024
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
February 13, 2025
Othering. Breaking. Belonging. Bridging. I really enjoyed this read. I had read about confirmation bias before but this book really delved into how humanity can move forward by bridging the gaps.
notes:
- sometimes belonging to one group can make us shut others out. That’s why bridging is so important. When we choose to bridge, we actively reach across those divides and connect with people we’ve labeled as “other.”
- Yes, we naturally tend to favor people who seem similar to us. But the stories we tell about who belongs and who doesn’t are entirely made up.
- Look at how people sometimes believe stories that actually work against their own interests. Working-class voters might support policies that mainly benefit the wealthy, or women might defend sexist traditions. This shows us these dividing lines aren’t fixed.
- A teenager bullies a classmate to fit in with the popular crowd. A struggling community blames immigrants for their problems to feel more united. Religious groups might exclude others to strengthen their own sense of identity. But this kind of belonging through exclusion creates a false unity that ultimately makes genuine connection impossible.
- Othering isn’t only about individual prejudice.
- individual bias feeds into unfair systems, and those systems then reinforce and justify the bias
- we judge groups along two main lines: how competent we think they are and how warm we think they are. Groups that don’t score high on both scales get pushed aside or “broken” off from full participation in society.
- Breaking isn’t just about negative feelings. It’s about actively pushing people out through specific practices. Consider how Asian Americans often get labeled as competent but cold, leading to the “bamboo ceiling” where they’re given technical roles but kept out of leadership. Meanwhile, people with disabilities might be viewed as warm but not competent, resulting in patronizing treatment and exclusion from meaningful work.
- Soft breaking might look kind on the surface. Think about an elderly parent who’s loved and cared for, but never trusted to make their own decisions. “Mom shouldn’t worry her head about finances,” the family might say, or “Dad gets confused easily, better if we handle things.”
- Another form of soft breaking happens when people get included, but only if they follow the dominant group’s rules.
- Hard breaking shows itself more openly and brutally. It’s about total rejection – no relationship, no care, just fear and hatred. Think of the physical barriers from America’s past and present: segregated schools, pools, and neighborhoods under Jim Crow laws.
- Even when soft breaking feels almost like welcoming and inclusion, it still keeps people in their “proper place.” And that’s exactly what breaking is designed to do: maintain boundaries between “us” and “them,” whether through a smile or a shove.
- We talk about “including” them, which usually means they’re allowed in if they follow all our rules, speak our language perfectly, and basically become just like us. But that’s not true belonging.
- This is where bridging entrepreneurs come in. These are people who help others see that change doesn’t have to mean chaos. They find ways to talk about transformation that calm the fears of powerful groups while still being clear: we need a world where everyone truly belongs, not just some people.
- Bridging starts with something simple but powerful: sharing our stories in a way that leaves room for others’ stories too. When we’re stuck in breaking mode, we see others as having just one story – usually one that threatens our own. But when we bridge, we can share our own struggles while still acknowledging that others face challenges too.
- e.g. A working class white woman might connect with middle class women of color through shared experiences of workplace discrimination, while also acknowledging their different challenges.
notes:
- sometimes belonging to one group can make us shut others out. That’s why bridging is so important. When we choose to bridge, we actively reach across those divides and connect with people we’ve labeled as “other.”
- Yes, we naturally tend to favor people who seem similar to us. But the stories we tell about who belongs and who doesn’t are entirely made up.
- Look at how people sometimes believe stories that actually work against their own interests. Working-class voters might support policies that mainly benefit the wealthy, or women might defend sexist traditions. This shows us these dividing lines aren’t fixed.
- A teenager bullies a classmate to fit in with the popular crowd. A struggling community blames immigrants for their problems to feel more united. Religious groups might exclude others to strengthen their own sense of identity. But this kind of belonging through exclusion creates a false unity that ultimately makes genuine connection impossible.
- Othering isn’t only about individual prejudice.
- individual bias feeds into unfair systems, and those systems then reinforce and justify the bias
- we judge groups along two main lines: how competent we think they are and how warm we think they are. Groups that don’t score high on both scales get pushed aside or “broken” off from full participation in society.
- Breaking isn’t just about negative feelings. It’s about actively pushing people out through specific practices. Consider how Asian Americans often get labeled as competent but cold, leading to the “bamboo ceiling” where they’re given technical roles but kept out of leadership. Meanwhile, people with disabilities might be viewed as warm but not competent, resulting in patronizing treatment and exclusion from meaningful work.
- Soft breaking might look kind on the surface. Think about an elderly parent who’s loved and cared for, but never trusted to make their own decisions. “Mom shouldn’t worry her head about finances,” the family might say, or “Dad gets confused easily, better if we handle things.”
- Another form of soft breaking happens when people get included, but only if they follow the dominant group’s rules.
- Hard breaking shows itself more openly and brutally. It’s about total rejection – no relationship, no care, just fear and hatred. Think of the physical barriers from America’s past and present: segregated schools, pools, and neighborhoods under Jim Crow laws.
- Even when soft breaking feels almost like welcoming and inclusion, it still keeps people in their “proper place.” And that’s exactly what breaking is designed to do: maintain boundaries between “us” and “them,” whether through a smile or a shove.
- We talk about “including” them, which usually means they’re allowed in if they follow all our rules, speak our language perfectly, and basically become just like us. But that’s not true belonging.
- This is where bridging entrepreneurs come in. These are people who help others see that change doesn’t have to mean chaos. They find ways to talk about transformation that calm the fears of powerful groups while still being clear: we need a world where everyone truly belongs, not just some people.
- Bridging starts with something simple but powerful: sharing our stories in a way that leaves room for others’ stories too. When we’re stuck in breaking mode, we see others as having just one story – usually one that threatens our own. But when we bridge, we can share our own struggles while still acknowledging that others face challenges too.
- e.g. A working class white woman might connect with middle class women of color through shared experiences of workplace discrimination, while also acknowledging their different challenges.
June 27, 2025
What I appreciate most about powell's reflections in this book is that they are clearly the mature thoughts of someone who is both well-read with a keen understanding and equipped by decades of experience putting ideas into practice and allowing practice to generate ideas. I read this book about a chapter per week alongside several colleagues at a Midwest community college. Our aims included discovering whether powell might give us a new vocabulary or conceptual framework for better serving our diverse student population in this moment of political and regulatory tumult. Positively, this book came out in 2024, making many of its concrete or illustrative examples incredibly relevant to an audience reading it in 2025. More than a little disappointing, however, was the fact that the book's insights and direction are never as practical as administrators and educators in higher ed would prefer them to be. This is true even if the conclusion, which is ostensibly for readers who want to begin actually bridging right away.
Two or three meetings into our book club's conversation about this text, it became clear that powell's way of framing and explaining his ideas overlapped significantly with my own habits of mind as someone trained in philosophy and theology. As a result, my supervisor asked me to facilitate our discussions from that point forward. It is for this reason that I engaged the book very closely, especially the first 6 chapters. Rather than try to summarize his overall perspective and terminology here (the product description gives a sufficient overview for potential readers to make an informed decision about whether to pick up the book), I want to make just a few comments about my major takeaways.
For powell, bridging necessarily involves pragmatic decisions in each particular context about how to put his overarching values into action. The pursuit of belonging, therefore, is more about maintaining a certain orientation to the world and our fellow human beings than a body of doctrine or techniques. powell spends much time talking about human beings as meaning-making animals who do much of that creative activity in the form of storytelling. He perceives life as processes of constant change and knowledge as local, so even the most expansive and illuminating stories give us a limited outlook and provisional truth. powell finds in the concept of dignity a value and moral commitment widespread enough that it can be the starting point for bridging and building common stories that more effectively promote the flourishing of all persons involved. His view of what it means to be human is thoroughly relational, resisting modern notions of the sovereign self, and its flourishing requires that each person is empowered to co-create and co-construct the world in which they live. His characterization of bridging at its fullest being a fundamentally spiritual way of living in the world seems to equate the spiritual with this deep experience of belonging that ought to both transcend and inform the politics and other communal standards that govern life. While he recognizes that bridging, and its opposite breaking, clearly happens at the interpersonal level, he speaks mostly about how groups engage and perceive each other since it is ultimately states and institutions that possess the most power to promote and maintain certain modes of storytelling and social organization over others. This talk of spirituality was ultimately less instructive, even a bit alienating, for most the people in my reading group. Although reading the back matter let me know that his publisher specializes in resources on spirituality, even I never fully grasped why powell insisted on calling an orientation geared toward being "spiritual" (an uncertainty amplified 2 or 3 opaque references to "the divine).
What I ultimately get out of The Power of Bridging is some of the most salient insights from fields like education, philosophy, religious studies, natural science, psychology, civil rights discourse in the US, and others, articulated far more accessibly than the specialized literature of those discourses tend to state them. powell never serves up a how-to guide and, rhetorically speaking, he may be writing mostly for those who already share many of his fundamental convictions rather than skeptics. Nevertheless, I found engaging his book closely worth the time and energy required to do so. I suspect his descriptions of honoring dignity consistently in a pluralistic world will stick with me for the foreseeable future.
Two or three meetings into our book club's conversation about this text, it became clear that powell's way of framing and explaining his ideas overlapped significantly with my own habits of mind as someone trained in philosophy and theology. As a result, my supervisor asked me to facilitate our discussions from that point forward. It is for this reason that I engaged the book very closely, especially the first 6 chapters. Rather than try to summarize his overall perspective and terminology here (the product description gives a sufficient overview for potential readers to make an informed decision about whether to pick up the book), I want to make just a few comments about my major takeaways.
For powell, bridging necessarily involves pragmatic decisions in each particular context about how to put his overarching values into action. The pursuit of belonging, therefore, is more about maintaining a certain orientation to the world and our fellow human beings than a body of doctrine or techniques. powell spends much time talking about human beings as meaning-making animals who do much of that creative activity in the form of storytelling. He perceives life as processes of constant change and knowledge as local, so even the most expansive and illuminating stories give us a limited outlook and provisional truth. powell finds in the concept of dignity a value and moral commitment widespread enough that it can be the starting point for bridging and building common stories that more effectively promote the flourishing of all persons involved. His view of what it means to be human is thoroughly relational, resisting modern notions of the sovereign self, and its flourishing requires that each person is empowered to co-create and co-construct the world in which they live. His characterization of bridging at its fullest being a fundamentally spiritual way of living in the world seems to equate the spiritual with this deep experience of belonging that ought to both transcend and inform the politics and other communal standards that govern life. While he recognizes that bridging, and its opposite breaking, clearly happens at the interpersonal level, he speaks mostly about how groups engage and perceive each other since it is ultimately states and institutions that possess the most power to promote and maintain certain modes of storytelling and social organization over others. This talk of spirituality was ultimately less instructive, even a bit alienating, for most the people in my reading group. Although reading the back matter let me know that his publisher specializes in resources on spirituality, even I never fully grasped why powell insisted on calling an orientation geared toward being "spiritual" (an uncertainty amplified 2 or 3 opaque references to "the divine).
What I ultimately get out of The Power of Bridging is some of the most salient insights from fields like education, philosophy, religious studies, natural science, psychology, civil rights discourse in the US, and others, articulated far more accessibly than the specialized literature of those discourses tend to state them. powell never serves up a how-to guide and, rhetorically speaking, he may be writing mostly for those who already share many of his fundamental convictions rather than skeptics. Nevertheless, I found engaging his book closely worth the time and energy required to do so. I suspect his descriptions of honoring dignity consistently in a pluralistic world will stick with me for the foreseeable future.
Read
September 30, 2025Read for my ‘Congregational Care and Formation’ class
February 14, 2025
John A. Powell’s "The Power of Bridging: How to Build a World Where We All Belong" explores how societies create division and how we can foster true belonging. He introduces four key concepts—othering, breaking, belonging, and bridging—to explain social fractures and offer solutions for connection.
Othering happens when we see certain groups as fundamentally different and less worthy. Throughout history, societies have justified discrimination by constructing narratives that position some as “less human.” Edward Said’s "Orientalism" and Simone de Beauvoir’s work on gender reveal how cultures and institutions reinforce these divides. Racism, homophobia, and ableism function similarly, treating certain people as outsiders. What’s striking is that othering often stems from the need to belong—people exclude others to strengthen their own group’s unity, whether through scapegoating immigrants or enforcing social hierarchies. But this kind of belonging through exclusion is fragile and ultimately deepens division.
Othering leads to breaking, where individuals and entire groups are systematically excluded. Breaking works through both personal bias and institutional structures. Research shows people are primed to see what they expect—for example, a blurry object is more likely to be perceived as a gun if preceded by an image of a Black face. Systemic breaking reinforces these biases, as seen in hiring practices, school policies, and housing laws that subtly or overtly exclude certain groups. Breaking can be soft, disguised as care—like elderly parents being kept from making decisions—or hard, through outright rejection, such as segregationist policies or political rhetoric that frames immigrants as threats.
True belonging isn’t about fitting into a system designed by those in power; it’s about everyone shaping the world together. However, many forms of belonging today rely on exclusion—groups strengthening their identity by keeping others out. This approach ultimately limits both individual and societal potential. Bridging offers a way forward by creating real connections across divides. It begins with recognizing shared struggles without erasing differences. A Black parent advocating for better schools might initially focus solely on racial injustice, but bridging means acknowledging that poor white families also struggle with underfunded schools while still addressing unique barriers faced by Black students. Bridging is not about erasing identity but finding common ground to create collective solutions.
There are different types of bridges. Short bridges reconnect those with shared histories but differing values, while long bridges span deep ideological divides. Transactional bridging focuses on practical goals, such as civil rights activists working with business owners to end segregation. Transformational bridging reimagines systems entirely, as seen in the disability rights movement shifting perceptions of accessibility. Spiritual bridging changes individuals at a deeper level, such as a straight parent moving from mere acceptance of their gay child to active advocacy for LGBTQ+ rights.
Bridging requires effort and courage. It’s about listening, understanding complexity, and resisting the temptation to reduce people to simple categories. True change doesn’t come from merely tolerating others but from building relationships that transform perspectives and systems. By choosing to bridge rather than break, we move beyond exclusionary belonging and create a world where everyone has a voice, a place, and a shared future.
Othering happens when we see certain groups as fundamentally different and less worthy. Throughout history, societies have justified discrimination by constructing narratives that position some as “less human.” Edward Said’s "Orientalism" and Simone de Beauvoir’s work on gender reveal how cultures and institutions reinforce these divides. Racism, homophobia, and ableism function similarly, treating certain people as outsiders. What’s striking is that othering often stems from the need to belong—people exclude others to strengthen their own group’s unity, whether through scapegoating immigrants or enforcing social hierarchies. But this kind of belonging through exclusion is fragile and ultimately deepens division.
Othering leads to breaking, where individuals and entire groups are systematically excluded. Breaking works through both personal bias and institutional structures. Research shows people are primed to see what they expect—for example, a blurry object is more likely to be perceived as a gun if preceded by an image of a Black face. Systemic breaking reinforces these biases, as seen in hiring practices, school policies, and housing laws that subtly or overtly exclude certain groups. Breaking can be soft, disguised as care—like elderly parents being kept from making decisions—or hard, through outright rejection, such as segregationist policies or political rhetoric that frames immigrants as threats.
True belonging isn’t about fitting into a system designed by those in power; it’s about everyone shaping the world together. However, many forms of belonging today rely on exclusion—groups strengthening their identity by keeping others out. This approach ultimately limits both individual and societal potential. Bridging offers a way forward by creating real connections across divides. It begins with recognizing shared struggles without erasing differences. A Black parent advocating for better schools might initially focus solely on racial injustice, but bridging means acknowledging that poor white families also struggle with underfunded schools while still addressing unique barriers faced by Black students. Bridging is not about erasing identity but finding common ground to create collective solutions.
There are different types of bridges. Short bridges reconnect those with shared histories but differing values, while long bridges span deep ideological divides. Transactional bridging focuses on practical goals, such as civil rights activists working with business owners to end segregation. Transformational bridging reimagines systems entirely, as seen in the disability rights movement shifting perceptions of accessibility. Spiritual bridging changes individuals at a deeper level, such as a straight parent moving from mere acceptance of their gay child to active advocacy for LGBTQ+ rights.
Bridging requires effort and courage. It’s about listening, understanding complexity, and resisting the temptation to reduce people to simple categories. True change doesn’t come from merely tolerating others but from building relationships that transform perspectives and systems. By choosing to bridge rather than break, we move beyond exclusionary belonging and create a world where everyone has a voice, a place, and a shared future.
September 25, 2024
Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this eARC.
In “The Power of Bridging: How to Build a World Where We All Belong,” civil rights scholar John a. Powell offers a timely and transformative guide for fostering connection and understanding in an increasingly divided world. This book is a beacon of hope, providing actionable insights and a compassionate framework for bridging the gaps that separate us.
Powell’s work is not a traditional narrative but a profound exploration of the concept of “bridging”—the practice of connecting across differences to build a more inclusive and cohesive society.
The book introduces several key concepts essential to understanding and practicing bridging:
The process by which people are excluded or treated as outsiders due to differences in race, gender, political orientation, etc.
The moments when divisions deepen, and people are further alienated.
The fundamental human need to feel seen, valued, and appreciated for who we are.
Powell emphasizes that bridging is not just a set of actions but a mindset that requires commitment and grace. Hwell’s writing is both accessible and profound, blending scholarly insights with heartfelt anecdotes. His inimitable warmth and vision shine through, making complex social theories relatable and actionable. The book is structured to guide readers through a journey of understanding, reflection, and application, making it both an educational and transformative read.
At its core, “The Power of Bridging” is about the human need for connection and the power of empathy. powell explores how deeply ingrained biases can be overcome through intentional efforts to understand and embrace our differences. The book also touches on themes of social justice, equity, and the collective responsibility to create a world where everyone belongs.
“The Power of Bridging” is an essential read for anyone committed to building a more inclusive and harmonious society. john a. powell’s insights are both timely and timeless, offering a roadmap for navigating the complexities of human relationships in a divided world. This book is not just a call to action but also a call to transformation, urging us to move beyond our comfort zones and engage in the hard work of bridging.
In “The Power of Bridging: How to Build a World Where We All Belong,” civil rights scholar John a. Powell offers a timely and transformative guide for fostering connection and understanding in an increasingly divided world. This book is a beacon of hope, providing actionable insights and a compassionate framework for bridging the gaps that separate us.
Powell’s work is not a traditional narrative but a profound exploration of the concept of “bridging”—the practice of connecting across differences to build a more inclusive and cohesive society.
The book introduces several key concepts essential to understanding and practicing bridging:
The process by which people are excluded or treated as outsiders due to differences in race, gender, political orientation, etc.
The moments when divisions deepen, and people are further alienated.
The fundamental human need to feel seen, valued, and appreciated for who we are.
Powell emphasizes that bridging is not just a set of actions but a mindset that requires commitment and grace. Hwell’s writing is both accessible and profound, blending scholarly insights with heartfelt anecdotes. His inimitable warmth and vision shine through, making complex social theories relatable and actionable. The book is structured to guide readers through a journey of understanding, reflection, and application, making it both an educational and transformative read.
At its core, “The Power of Bridging” is about the human need for connection and the power of empathy. powell explores how deeply ingrained biases can be overcome through intentional efforts to understand and embrace our differences. The book also touches on themes of social justice, equity, and the collective responsibility to create a world where everyone belongs.
“The Power of Bridging” is an essential read for anyone committed to building a more inclusive and harmonious society. john a. powell’s insights are both timely and timeless, offering a roadmap for navigating the complexities of human relationships in a divided world. This book is not just a call to action but also a call to transformation, urging us to move beyond our comfort zones and engage in the hard work of bridging.
January 10, 2025
This book is prescient given how the polarized the United States is right now. powell states and reminds that the answer to moving forward in a polarized society isn't to ignore or defame someone, but to engage in the practice of bridging in order to recognize their humanity. Someone who disagrees with me, or whom I don't like as much right to exist in and cocreate the world as I do.
It's a dense read, and I felt better for having a friend I could process the chapters with, because there were things I didn't fully understand on the first read, but worthwhile if you want to work on a way forward to connect to humanity.
It's a dense read, and I felt better for having a friend I could process the chapters with, because there were things I didn't fully understand on the first read, but worthwhile if you want to work on a way forward to connect to humanity.
February 15, 2025
society divides through othering and breaking – where groups are seen as less worthy and kept apart through both subtle and obvious means.
Real belonging means everyone gets to help create the world, not just fit into existing structures. Bridging helps us get there by sharing stories and building connections, starting with people close to us before reaching across bigger divides.
Real belonging means everyone gets to help create the world, not just fit into existing structures. Bridging helps us get there by sharing stories and building connections, starting with people close to us before reaching across bigger divides.
December 29, 2025
For me, the way this book is written is bit too abstract, philosophical maybe. Many sentences, even whole chapters are full of sentences under which many things can be understood, depending on readers imagination. To me that is vague, especially because the author seems to be highly educated and is often quoting important works of excellent scholars and practitioners that have their own massive contribution to understanding and dealing with polarisation and fragmentation and what to do about it. I wish this book was filled with more practical examples, which I am sure the author has.
July 6, 2025
Appreciate the moment to slow down and think intentionally about the frameworks presented to help us work towards bridging and belonging. I was especially excited to see the resources listed to dig deeper into the learning!
October 30, 2025
I'm not a fan of self-help books and this was one written by an academic! However, I found both the introduction and the questions at the end of each chapter to be thoughtful and helped me get to a new resolve to better bridge with a Trump-loving relative.
August 9, 2025
This was a powerful work. In some sections the text was too dense to absorb on a first read, but other areas were very clear and so valuable that I still had to go with a 5 star rating.
August 10, 2025
Worthwhile read on a particular variety of inclusion (what powell calls "belonging").
November 2, 2025
powell makes a solid case for the importance of bridging. This book also defines terms and sets a conceptual framework for the discipline.
November 13, 2025
Read with colleagues at a work book group. It was a basis for great discussion.
December 1, 2025
Lovely book! Gives great insight to a goal I think we should all work for: Belonging
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews