Atlas Data Helps Make the Case that Poverty Is More Than A “State of Mind”

Atlas Data Helps Make the Case that Poverty Is More Than A “State of Mind”

In a recent op-ed for Teen Vogue, writer Lincoln Blades disputes the perception that poverty is a mindset, responding to Ben Carson’s comment during a radio interview, “I think poverty to a large extent is also a state of mind. You take somebody that has the right mindset, you can take everything from them and put them on the street, and I guarantee in a little while they’ll be right back up there.”

Blades uses National Equity Atlas as a resource to outline the extent that Americans experience poverty as a tangible, lived reality, showing:

  • There are more than 100 million Americans living at or below 200 percent of the poverty line.

  • The share of Americans working full-time and landing in poverty increased between 2000 and 2012.

He writes, “Poverty in America is less about something that you do to yourself, and more about something that is done to you, either against your will or without your knowledge and consent. Poverty isn't about your state of mind as much as it is about policy and plunder.”

Read the full story in Teen Vogue.

National Equity Atlas Update

Dear Atlas Users,

It has been a busy month! We released new profiles in Buffalo and Grand Rapids, and are working to finalize several others while doing some strategic planning for the next few years of the Equity Atlas. We are also beginning to think about the equity data elements of the upcoming Equity Summit 2018 to be held in Chicago April 11-13. Mark your calendars now!

Data Driving Health Equity Action in Buffalo
With millions in public and private investments on the horizon, Buffalo is poised for resurgence. But the city’s long-term prosperity hinges on addressing its wide racial and economic inequities in health, wealth, and opportunity. On May 8, in partnership with Open Buffalo and through the support of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, we released a profile and policy brief showcasing health equity as the path to stronger and more inclusive growth in Buffalo. At the event, Atlas team member Ángel Ross shared data showing how Buffalo’s economy could have been over $4 billion stronger in 2014 absent its racial gaps in income, and community leaders discussed how strategies such as inclusionary zoning, community land trusts, and anchor investments in health and economic inclusion can move the city forward for all.

Grand Rapids Equity Profile Released at Facing Inclusion Event
On April 26, An Equity Profile of Grand Rapids was released during a panel discussion and community forum at 2017 FORUM: Facing Inclusion, a convening held by Partners for a Racism-Free Community focused on elevating issues of equity in the city. The profile lends new analyses to support important action already being lead by local advocates to create more equitable opportunities for all residents of the city. Since January, PolicyLink and PERE have been working with advocates in Grand Rapids to develop an equity profile of the city, with support from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation.

In the News…
Several local and national news outlets covered the Long Island and New Orleans profiles that were released last month:


Thank you!

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

National Equity Atlas Update

Dear Equity Atlas Users,

Happy April! It has been a busy month with the release of three new equity profiles for Fresno county, New Orleans city, and Long Island (Nassau and Suffolk counties). We have enjoyed working with many local partners to produce critical data to inform equitable growth strategies in these very different communities.

Kicking Things Off in Fresno
Since January, PolicyLink and PERE have been working with the Leadership Counsel for Justice and Accountability to develop an equity profile of Fresno County, with funding from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The profile and policy brief were released on April 11 at a forum and panel discussion focused on the implications for this research in health equity campaigns. In addition to the unique data analysis, the documents contain actionable solutions for residents, advocates, business leaders, and policymakers seeking to reduce racial inequalities and build a stronger Fresno. The Leadership Counsel intends to use the information in the profile to mobilize residents and advocates around California’s Transformative Climate Communities Program.

New Data Profile Supports City of New Orleans Equity Strategy
On April 20, the City of New Orleans officially launched its Equity Strategy, describing how local government will do its part to build a stronger, more inclusive city by advancing equity through its operations and decisionmaking. At the event, PolicyLink and PERE released an equity profile of New Orleans, the first of a series of ten new equity profiles produced with the support of the W. K. Kellogg Foundation. PolicyLink has been working with the Office of Mayor Landrieu to provide assistance with developing its equity strategy for the past year through its All-In Cities initiative, and Senior Director Sarah Treuhaft participated on the panel at the launch event and then held a session to share the findings of the equity profile.

Empowering Black Long Island
An Equity Profile of Long Island was released today in partnership with the Long Island Urban League and through the support of Citi Community Development, the Long Island Community Foundation, and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The profile and policy brief, Empowering Black Long Island: How Equity Is Key to the Future of Nassau and Suffolk Counties highlight how Long Island is rapidly growing more diverse, yet persistent racial inequities thwart inclusive prosperity in the region. Black Long Islanders in particular, who were largely excluded from the massive federally subsidized suburban development that characterizes Long Island, continue to face barriers to full social, economic, and political inclusion. These inequities put the region’s long-term economic future at risk: Long Island’s economy could have been nearly $24 billion stronger in 2014 alone if racial gaps in income were eliminated. Check out the conversation that took place on social media at #EquityLongIsland.

Atlas Data Supports Argument against State Preemption in Facing South
In a recent op-ed, Allie Yee of the Institute for Southern Studies details how Republican-controlled statehouses in the South have been pushing to undermine local authority in liberal-leaning cities. She uses National Equity Atlas data to prove that workers of color bear the brunt of the consequences of Georgia’s bans on local minimum wage increases and local requirements for paid leave. To learn more about the working poor in your state, explore the working poor indicator on the Atlas.

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

Atlas Data Supports Argument against State Preemption

In a recent op-ed published in Facing South, the online magazine of the Institute for Southern Studies, Allie Yee details how Republican-controlled statehouses in the South have been pushing to undermine local authority in liberal-leaning cities. Moreover, that, “the brunt of those consequences are borne disproportionately by women, people of color, LGBT people, low-income communities, immigrants and those at the intersection of these identities.”

 

She uses National Equity Atlas data to show who suffers the consequences of Georgia’s bans on local minimum wage increases and local requirements for paid leave, writing:

In 2014, according to the National Equity Atlas, 16.6 percent of women of color and 17.7 percent of men of color in the state were considered working poor, defined as those working full-time and living below 200 percent of the poverty level. That compares to only 7.8 percent of white men and 6.1 percent of white women.

To learn more about the working poor in your state, explore the working poor indicator on the Atlas.

National Equity Atlas Update

Dear Equity Atlas Users,

Spring is a busy time for equity data! Our team is hard at work producing 15 new equity profiles, most of which will be released in April and May. We also began digging into our new project focused on employment equity in southern states, and hosted a webinar sharing local jobs equity strategies in New Orleans and Minneapolis.

Employment Equity in Southern States Project Launched
Quality employment is the foundation of a thriving, shared prosperity economy, but even in today's nearly "full employment" economy, many workers of color remain jobless, underemployed, or struggling to get by in low-wage, precarious jobs. With support from the W. K. Kellogg Foundation, PolicyLink and PERE are working to build employment equity in five southern states: Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, and North Carolina. We will analyze the potential economic gains of realizing full employment for workers of every race and gender and work with local partners in each state to effectively frame the research, understand barriers to employment, and present policy solutions at the state and local level. Last week marked the official launch of the project in Alabama, where we are partnering with the Alabama Asset Building Coalition; and Georgia in with the Partnership for Southern Equity.

Webinar Recap: Targeted Strategies to Reduce Employment Inequality
U.S. unemployment rates have fallen across the board, but joblessness remains a pressing challenge for workers of color in many metros. Building on the analysis in our recent brief, Race, Place, and Jobs: Reducing Employment Inequality in America’s Metros, the National Equity Atlas team hosted a webinar on March 23 to lift up local approaches and strategies to close the employment gap in areas of racially concentrated unemployment. Our guest speakers were Asali Ecclesiastes, Claiborne Corridor program manager at the Network for Economic Opportunity (an initiative of the City of New Orleans), and Tawanna Black, executive director of the Neighborhood Funders Group in Minneapolis. You can view the webinar recording online and download the slides now.

#DayWithoutAWoman and St. Louis’s Minimum Wage Win
In the latest Chart of the Week posts, PolicyLink Research Associate Ángel Ross looked at two issues critical to advancing equitable growth locally.

  • For International Women’s Day and in solidarity with the #DayWithoutAWoman campaign, this analysis of the gender wage gap in Oakland highlights the racial and gender-based discrimination that continues to relegate women of color to the lower rungs of the economic system.
  • After the Missouri Supreme Court upheld the city of St. Louis’s authority to raise its minimum wage to $11/hour by 2018 earlier this month, this chart underscores the importance of this victory. Black and Latino full-time workers in the city are 2.5 to 3 times more likely than White full-time workers to live in poverty.


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

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