Dear Atlas Users,

Greetings from the National Equity Atlas team! We are busy at work crunching data for forthcoming analyses and tools that we will be rolled out in the next couple of months. In the meantime, we are happy to share news about our most recent equity profile release in Cincinnati.

Advancing Health Equity and Inclusive Growth in Cincinnati

On October 19, over 200 people gathered at the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center for the release event for the new equity profile; its accompanying policy brief, All-In Cincinnati: Equity is the Path to Inclusive Prosperity; and one-page fact sheet which were written in partnership with the Greater Cincinnati Foundation, United Way of Greater Cincinnati, and Interact for Health.

PolicyLink President and CEO Michael McAfee gave a keynote speech about how the city is poised to lead the nation on equity, and Senior Associate James Crowder presented data findings and potential policy solutions to the audience. These data and accompanying policy recommendations will help to inform the work of the All-In Cincinnati coalition. That coalition is using the PolicyLink All-In Cities policy framework as they move towards policy and systems change.

Local news station WCPO Cincinnati covered the report in a TV segment and accompanying article that highlight key data points that have informed the coalition to work towards removing barriers for women of color to participate more fully in, and benefit from the region's economy. Reporter Lucy May writes, "All-In Cincinnati's policy recommendations aim to help black women, who often feel the region's racial and economic inequities most acutely." Nick Swartsell from CityBeat also wrote about the release, lifting up, "the cascading effect economic and racial inequality have on Hamilton County residents."

Thank you!

The National Equity Atlas team at PolicyLink and the USC Program for Environmental and Regional Equity (PERE)

Dear Atlas Users,

Happy fall! This month, the Atlas team hit the road, with presentations and equity profile community engagements from Orange County, California to Pinellas County, Florida and many more stops in between. In all of the places we are working, we are impressed by our community partners who are bringing together diverse leaders to effect policy changes to reduce racial and economic inequities.

#EquityData at Mile High Data Day

On September 20, about 180 Coloradan community leaders gathered for the third annual Mile High Data Day, held by Shift Research Lab, to gain new ideas, insights, and connections for using data to power their community change efforts. Sarah Treuhaft, managing director at PolicyLink, gave the keynote address, lifting up how the Equity Atlas team weaves story, data, and community partnerships together to drive equitable growth policy changes and sharing the Denver Renter Fact Sheet created in partnership with the Right to the City Alliance. At the conference, we were happy to learn that the Colorado Office of Health Equity used our data in its new Equity Action Guide.

Equity Profiles Underway for Long Beach, Orange County, and Pinellas County

We are busy gathering data and speaking with community leaders about key equitable growth challenges and opportunities in three very different coastal communities: the port city of Long Beach, California, located in Los Angeles County; Orange County, just to the east of Long Beach; and Pinellas County, Florida, home to St. Petersburg and Clearwater. The Long Beach profile will be released later this year with the others scheduled for release in early 2019.

Milwaukee Renter Data In Action

In July, the YWCA of Southeast Wisconsin requested a renter fact sheet to support its economic opportunity work. The data revealed that Milwaukee renters already spend $2.8 billion to the local economy every year, but could contribute an additional $352 million per year if six in 10 renters were not rent burdened. The YWCA has been using the data to make the case that better job opportunities and wage increases for disenfranchised communities of color would have broad benefits for the city, to push for quality homeownership opportunities for renters, and to counter the myth that renters are not concerned about their neighborhoods and do not contribute to the Milwaukee economy.

Atlas Team on the Road

The theme of this year's Community Indicators Consortium conference, held in Minneapolis, was "Community Indicators in Action" and we were happy to host a workshop on leveraging data and narrative to advance equity locally at the event. Sarah Treuhaft also delivered the Impact Award to the MAP Dashboard Project in Southern Arizona, whose data on teacher wages helped Tucson for Teachers win higher teacher pay as a part of the #RedforEd movement. This month, our team is looking forward to the EARN Conference in Chicago and the National Neighborhood Indicators meeting in Los Angeles.

The National Equity Atlas team at PolicyLink and the USC Program for Environmental and Regional Equity (PERE)

New Community Data Projects
Over the next year and a half, the National Equity Atlas team will be working with five community organizations and coalitions in New Mexico and Mississippi on data projects to advance equitable growth locally. The partners and their projects include: the New Mexico Center on Law and Poverty (predatory storefront lending), the New Mexico Worker Organizing Collaborative (wage theft), Doña Ana Communities United (equity policies in Las Cruces), San Juan College (equitable economic development in Farmington), and East Biloxi Community Collaborative (equitable opportunity zones). We are grateful to the W. K. Kellogg Foundation for supporting this project and excited to get started!

Join Us at the 2018 CIC Impact Summit in Minneapolis!
From September 17-19, the Community Indicators Consortium (CIC) will host its annual impact summit in Minneapolis, with the theme of "Community Indicators in Action." One of our longtime collaborators, Dr. Chris Benner of the University of California, Santa Cruz, will deliver the keynote, and Sarah Treuhaft will lead a workshop on leveraging data and narrative to advance equity locally on September 19. Register here.

Seeking a Communications Strategist in Oakland
Are you a communications expert passionate about racial and economic equity and empowering community changemakers with data? PolicyLink is looking for a part-time strategist in our Oakland office to implement our communications and outreach strategy for the National Equity Atlas and the forthcoming Bay Area Equity Atlas. Apply here.

In the News
Kevin Alin and Peter Truog of The Fund for Our Economic Future cited our data estimating that Cleveland's regional economy could be $15 billion stronger each year with racial equity in income in their blog post encouraging cities to advance racial equity through their opportunity zone investments.

Thank you!

The National Equity Atlas team at PolicyLink and the USC Program for Environmental and Regional Equity (PERE)

Seeking a Communications Strategist
Are you a communications expert passionate about racial and economic equity and empowering community changemakers with data? PolicyLink is looking for a part-time strategist in our Oakland office to implement our communications and outreach strategy for the National Equity Atlas and the forthcoming Bay Area Equity Atlas. Apply here.

Advancing the Conversation on Employment Equity
James Crowder recently participated in a radio interview with NC Policy Watch to describe the findings and recommendations of our report, "Advancing Employment Equity in Rural North Carolina." And he and Sarah Treuhaft penned an op-ed for the News & Observer lifting up the challenges posed by the proliferation of temporary employment in the state’s rural areas.

Charts of the Week: #EquityABQ and Health Equity in Michigan
Following up on the Equity Profile of Albuquerque released last month, summer intern Maryjane Bermudez took a closer look at the gender wage gap in the Albuquerque metro, where just 45 percent of Native American women earn at least $15 per hour compared with 56 percent of Native American men and 80 percent of White men. Last week, Maryjane explored how the expansion of Michigan’s 10 cents a meal program could advance health equity.

Better Data for Better Health
We are honored to be among several tools featured in the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation's on its “Better Data for Better Health” web collection, which is also summarized in this handy brief. Check it out to explore other data tools for health equity!

In the News
As a part of the Bay Area Equity Atlas project, the Atlas team provided data to EBASE to incorporate into its report about the growing housing crisis in Concord, California. The data revealed how the majority of Concord renters have annual incomes below $50,000 yet in the vast majority of Concord neighborhoods, renters need an income of at least $75,000 to find affordable housing. Our data was included in articles about the report printed in the San Francisco Chronicle and The Mercury News.

Thank you!

The National Equity Atlas team at PolicyLink and the USC Program for Environmental and Regional Equity (PERE)

For decades community leaders and environmental justice advocates have worked to bring attention to the water problems impacting low-income communities and communities of color across California. Together they have secured significant water equity wins. In 2012, California became the first state to establish the human right to water.  Substantial new investments have been made to expand access to safe and affordable drinking water. And new requirements have been established to ensure that local planning processes identify water infrastructure deficits in disadvantaged communities and develop strategies to address these deficits.

Despite these important wins, our work is far from done. Over one million Californians live in communities that do not have reliable access to safe drinking water. Many live in places where the cost of water is so high that residents are forced to forgo spending on other critical household needs in order to pay their water bill.  Children attend schools where their drinking water is contaminated with lead.  The availability and quality of our drinking water resources are increasingly impacted by the changing climate.

And drinking water is not the only water challenge low-income communities and communities of color are facing. Dams, water management practices, changing water temperatures due to climate change, and a host of other factors are decimating California’s fisheries—impacting the livelihoods, food sources, and cultural traditions of Native American communities who have managed these natural resources for thousands of years. Climate change induced flooding and sea level rise threaten people’s homes and their lives. Failing or completely absent wastewater treatment systems are causing public health and economic impacts for households and communities.

We have a lot to take care of and investing in our water infrastructure now is critical to begin tackling these problems. While California has a history of leading the nation on protecting its’ natural resources, applying this leadership is more important than ever. The Trump administration has demonstrated over and over their desire to unravel the national Clean Water Act, promote privatization of our water resources and management systems, reopen our coastline to offshore oil drilling, and defund key programs that fund water infrastructure.

To protect what we have already accomplished and secure water equity for all Californian’s it is critical that Californians, and our elected leaders, step up. Fortunately, there are some important things California can do now to secure our water future.  

• State legislators are considering a variety of important proposals that would address critical water infrastructure challenges for low-income communities and communities of color.
  • SB 623 (Monning) would establish the Safe and Affordable Drinking Water Fund, a permanent source of funding for safe and affordable drinking water. Water justice advocates and state water agencies have been calling for this for years. The fund would provide grants to address critical operations and maintenance needs, fund repair and replacement of failing drinking water infrastructure, provide technical assistance, conduct lead pipe replacement, consolidate water systems, and other projects designed to secure long-term safe drinking water for all.
  • AB 1215 (Hertzberg) would bring much needed sewer service to communities that do not have adequate service by facilitating service extension and consolidation of service providers where it makes sense.
  • Advocates are asking for a $23.5 million budget allocation to address emergency drinking water needs.
     
• Voters can support proposition 68, a bond proposal that is on the June ballot. If passed, $4 billion dollars in bond revenues would be invested in water, parks, and natural resources. Unlike many bonds of the past, proposition 68 includes a significant focus on investing in our most disadvantaged communities.
   
• California voters and California leaders can also support Rep Keith Ellison’s federal Clean Water Act of 2018, H.R. 5609. The bill would invest $35 billion each year in water infrastructure and clean water programs, and target important resources to communities with clean water violations.

Six years ago, California set a national precedent by recognizing the Human Right to Water.  It’s time to deliver on that promise by addressing the water infrastructure needs of low-income people and people of color across our state.

Additional Resources:

• “The Struggle for Water Justice in California’s San Joaquin Valley: A Focus on Disadvantaged Unincorporated Communities,” UC Davis Center for Regional Change, February 2018
• “The Fight for water health and equity in California’s Central Valley and beyond,” Toxic Taps
• Learn more about the Water Equity and Climate Resilience Caucus by signing up for email updates

Over the past several days we have watched in disgust as the progeny from our nation’s despicable past terrorized a city, committed murder, and received tacit approval from the highest level of government. White supremacy has found a home in the White House. The President is determined to perpetuate and maintain the social, political, historical, and institutional domination by White people at the expense of people of color. And in so doing, he is creating an environment that is also too toxic for White America. The White supremacy movement will not vanish until people of good will succeed in atoning for our nation’s past, reconciling, and building a bridge to a just and fair society where ALL are prospering and reaching their full potential.

America is seeing in real-time what the fight for equity looks like. When cultures, structures, and institutions are forced to change, the responses by those comfortable with and benefiting from the status quo are too frequently ugly, distressing, and violent. Equity leaders should not expect anything less. We signed up for this. Consequently, when things are at their worst, we must be at our best – body, mind, and soul. PolicyLink remains optimistic and single-minded in our work. We are standing strong in the face of formidable opposition because equity leaders, especially those on the front lines, are making progress.

We also are standing strong because we are getting a sense that increasing numbers of White people are sick of other White people's racist conduct. We applaud the fact that from the streets, to corporate board rooms, to charitable giving, White people are taking up the work of equity. We hope we live in a country where most White people do not sympathize with White supremacists. If our perceptions are real, we have an opportunity to accelerate the advancement of equity, and we must seize it. While people of color are going to see this fight for equity through to victory, there is a powerful role that White people must play, and this role can no longer be eschewed for safer, transactional expressions of solidarity.

Show yourselves to be true patriots by joining with people of color, believing in the potency of inclusion, and building from a common bond to stamp out White supremacy and realize the transformative promise of equity – the imperfect and unrealized aspiration embodied in the Constitution. White America, you can perfect this aspiration! To do so requires that you honestly and forthrightly call out racism and oppression, both overt and systemic. And while this is a good start, it is insufficient. Your work is to lead the way in designing and implementing equity-centered public policies, institutional practices, cultural representations, and other norms that trump White supremacy and create a just and fair society. This must be your call to action. This is what people of color need from you.

The normalization of White supremacy must be stopped now before it irreversibly poisons the nation’s culture. Your leadership is critical in this moment. You are best equipped to defeat White supremacy. Here are actions you can take that are transformative.

• Get Informed – Read the New York Times reading list entitled "A History of Race and Racism in America in 24 Chapters".
   
• Fight Online – Join Color of Change and participate in these campaigns.
  • Demand corporate funders cut off White supremacist hate groups. #NoBloodMoney
  • Call for the removal of ALL Confederate symbols from places of honor in America
  • Stop legislation in North Carolina that protects drivers who hit protesters with cars
  • Tell Congress to refuse to side with White supremacists and force Trump to #FireBannon
     
• Show Up for Justice – Visit the Indivisible website to find and join a solidarity event near you.
   
• Lead for Equity at Work – Use your power and influence to transform your organization into a national model of equitable practice. The Annie E. Casey Foundation’s Race Equity and Inclusion Action Guide provides practical ways to start.
   
• Vote for Justice and Fairness – Vote for elected officials with a demonstrated track record of introducing and voting for equity-centered policies that improve the quality of life for people who are not wealthy.

Show us that our perceptions of a White majority opposed to White supremacy are real. Show us that we have a reason to believe that you will fight with more devotion to create a society that is just and fair for ALL, than White supremacists will in their pursuit to maintain their structural advantage, their racial privilege, their "whiteness." By accepting this invitation, you’re not doing anyone any favors. You’re doing the work necessary to make America all that it can be. History has its eyes on you. Show us. Fight for equity.

With gratitude,

Angela Glover Blackwell
CEO  

Michael McAfee
President