To realize our promise of a democracy that works for all, we will need inclusive, humanistic approaches to gathering and using population data. Knowledge institutions have historically excluded people of color, women, LGBTQ+ people, and many others as legitimate producers of data, and have used data to displace, contain, and eliminate marginalized communities. Equity demands a radical departure from these flawed systems, toward data systems that advance community well-being, hold our public institutions accountable, and empower ordinary people as knowledge agents. In this fireside chat, we bring together leading experts to discuss three core tensions within the equity movement’s data systems and strategies. It is important that we embrace these tensions not as barriers, but as productive opportunities to strengthen our existing research and data practices:

• Data disaggregation in our fight for all: How do we strike a balance between data strategies that highlight individual communities’ needs, and analyses of the challenges that impact all residents
• Finding the soul in our data-driven strategies: How do we advance data strategies that strike a balance between robust quantitative data and vivid, humanistic storytelling?
• Data ownership and the challenge of “big data”: How do we build data-savvy institutions, while also recognizing the potential pitfalls and ethical challenges of the data tools at our disposal?

By leaning into these present challenges, we can radically reimagine how we can use data to tell community stories, address disparities that have long been overlooked, build policy solutions, and fight for the all.

• Manuel Pastor, Director, Equity Research Institute, University of Southern California (moderator)
• Meeta Anand, Senior Director, Census & Data Equity, The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights
• Erik Stegman, CEO, Native Americans in Philanthropy
• Abbie Langston, Vice President of Research, PolicyLink

This session will provide attendees with innovative and thoughtful data visualization principles and techniques that center communities, activate diverse audiences, and drive action. The session will begin with a presentation from Pilar Finuccio from the Center for Urban Pedagogy (CUP) to ground attendees in how CUP prioritizes design in the creation of their research products to create accessible, visually engaging tools that build community power. Following Pilar’s presentation, Cathy Garcia from Chainbreaker Collective and Pilar will discuss how to apply these design principles to a current development without displacement housing justice project in New Mexico. Finally, National Equity Atlas staff will lead attendees through a hands-on activity to apply these principles to their target audiences. Attendees will leave with a better understanding of how to center research justice and design principles in their work.

• Simone Robbennolt, Associate, National Equity Atlas (moderator)
• Pilar Finuccio, Executive Director, Center for Urban Pedagogy 
• Cathy Garcia, Communications Organizer, Chainbreaker Collective

• Worksheet
• Slide Deck

This interactive session provides a space for participants to push beyond conventional data indicators and explore what tangible and intangible assets we could and should be measuring to assess community cohesiveness, well-being, and value (i.e., resident connections, sacred spaces, third spaces, public art, and spaces that foster imagination). It will include a hands-on immersive experience where participants will think deeply about and share their ideas for what a loving and thriving community looks and feels like. Participants will be given guiding questions and instructions for what to look for as they navigate the virtual community, all coming together to help us imagine together: What does a thriving and loving community look and feel like? How would we measure it? Given what you’ve experienced today, what’s missing and what else should we be measuring? The session includes facilitated group discussions on the data, insights, and inputs (mainstream, cultural, and community knowledge) participants observed and what should be measured and understood to foster a loving and thriving community.

• Selena Tan, Senior Associate, National Equity Atlas (moderator)
• Suzanne Burnes, Director, Just Growth Portfolio, Partnership for Southern Equity
• Brennan Collins, Associate Director, Center for Excellence in Teaching, Learning, and Online Education, Georgia State University

• Just Communities Initiative
• Metro Atlanta Racial Equity Atlas
• ATLMaps
• Mapping Atlanta Lab
• National Equity Atlas Racial Equity Data Lab