Dear Atlas Users,

Over a decade ago, we launched the National Equity Atlas based on a simple belief: data is knowledge, and knowledge is power. And that by putting the power of accurate and deeply disaggregated data into the hands of community leaders and policymakers, we could build an economy and democracy that works for all people. We knew that we could only solve problems if we’re equipped to understand and measure them.

We’re proud of what the Atlas has helped achieve across the country, and the last few months have underscored just how important this work is.

Since the new administration took office, it has unleashed a wave of attacks on data — scrubbing websites, eliminating entire datasets, and removing publications that detail economic, social, and health disparities. As Manuel Pastor has noted, this data represents real people and their experiences, making them visible in policymaking spaces where decisions are made about their lives. These rollbacks are about denying the reality of entire communities and giving those in power a pass when it comes to addressing inequities.

As the country’s most detailed report card on racial and economic equity, the Equity Atlas remains committed to our mission. We have always believed that data is as powerful as what you do with it, and we won’t ever back down from telling the truth — especially now.

Here’s what we’ve been up to this year.

Protect Public Data Access by Submitting Your Data Stories

As crucial federal data continues to be removed, our national partners are working to protect public data access. You can support these efforts by submitting your own data stories:

• The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights' 'We Are The Data' portal is collecting stories regarding how you use race and ethnicity data in your work.
• America's Essential Data is collecting stories regarding the importance of all federal datasets.

New Data Snapshot: Workforce Equity Dashboard

This tool offers insights into key workforce indicators, such as job growth, occupational segregation, future-ready jobs, and automation risk, illuminating the unequal ways that labor is valued in our current economic framework.

Check out this short video that details the key features of the data snapshot.

Whether you are a policymaker, community advocate, or a leader in the economic justice movement, this tool offers valuable insights that can inform decisions and strategies to shape a new economic system in which all jobs are good jobs. Please share it with your networks.

Coming Soon: Environmental Justice Indicators

The National Equity Atlas is currently in the process of adding new environmental justice indicators to the tool, including a measure of urban heat islands, flood risk to industrial sites, and tree canopies.

How could environmental justice data support your work? We'd love to hear from you!

In the News

• PolicyLink VP of Research, Abbie Langston, joined Michelle Wilson of the National Fund for Workforce Solutions on the State of Our Workforce podcast to discuss the power of disaggregated data in understanding deeply rooted inequities in the workforce.
• Our report on the state of equity on Long Island was featured in Newsday, highlighting that amid gains, income gap persists for Black Long Islanders.
• The Guardian covered a recent rally held by rideshare drivers across the state, citing our report that found that pay for rideshare and delivery apps remains significantly low after the passage of Prop 22.
• The Long Beach Department of Health and Human Services announced a new online Racial and Health Equity Data Hub, designed to provide an overview of the health status of residents across different racial and ethnic groups. The Atlas is proud to be a data source for this project.

Until next time,

— The National Equity Atlas Team at PolicyLink and the USC Equity Research Institute (ERI)