Dear Atlas users,

In just seven days, California’s Emergency Rental Assistance Program will stop accepting new applications, and the Covid protections that had previously barred landlords from filing eviction notices on the basis of unpaid rent will end. As evidenced by our new analysis, the combined loss of resources and protections will expose families and communities to the cascading harms of eviction and homelessness. Through our data tools, research, and partnerships with grassroots organizations, the Atlas team is proud to support efforts to ensure an equitable recovery. Here are more updates:

New Analysis of California’s Rent Relief Program Underscores the Urgent Need for Policy Action

Our new analysis of California’s statewide rent relief program — released in partnership with Housing NOW! — reveals that more than 366,000 of the 534,666 applicants are still waiting for assistance. At the current rate of approvals, it would take until Thanksgiving for them all to receive a decision on their applications. These findings underscore that California needs permanent policy solutions, funding, and infrastructure to support the renters hardest hit by the pandemic. In addition to the report, we released a dashboard with real-time, in-depth data for counties, cities, and zip codes.

Meet the Inaugural Cohort of National Equity Atlas Fellows

We are proud to announce the inaugural cohort of the National Equity Atlas Fellowship. This new program provides intensive, hands-on data training and support to grassroots leaders of color working to advance racial and economic equity. The 12 visionary leaders we’ve selected come from a broad range of backgrounds and represent community-based organizations from across the country. Learn more about the fellows and their work at nationalequityatlas.org/fellowship.

Equity Data for Six Southern States

In partnership with E Pluribus Unum, we produced a series of data snapshots to support a cohort of Southern state legislators working to advance racial and economic equity. In addition to key Atlas indicators on demographics, economic vitality, readiness, connectedness, and the economic benefits of equity, the snapshots also include customized indicators related to priority equity issues in each of the states. You can download data decks for Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, and Tennessee.

Did You Hear? We’re Expanding Our Team!

We are looking for a dynamic Senior Associate to join our team. The person who fills this position will lead research engagements with community partners for the Bay Area Equity Atlas, including the development of reports, analyses, and local equity data tools. They will contribute research and data support to the National Equity Atlas and support the further development of the Atlas tool. The ideal candidate is passionate about producing data and research that is relevant and actionable for those working on the front lines to advance racial and economic equity. This position will remain open until it’s filled. Please help us spread the word!

In the News

The Atlas received broad media coverage this month, anchored by our latest analysis, which was covered by KGET, KABC, KPBS, Mercury News, KQED, and Los Angeles Times. For more, explore the archive of our news coverage.

- The National Equity Atlas team at PolicyLink and the USC Equity Research Institute (ERI)
 

Dear Atlas users,

As the Covid-19 pandemic dragged on into its second year, the communities most impacted by its economic fallout and systemic inequities advocated for emergency relief and long-term solutions for a more equitable and resilient economy. The Atlas team is proud to support these efforts through our data tools, research, and partnerships with grassroots organizations. In 2021, we published more than a dozen original analyses, and our user base doubled to more than 100,000 people. Here are a few highlights from the year.

Powering Advocacy for Eviction Protections and Rent Relief

Stabilizing renters experiencing housing insecurity is key to an equitable recovery. In April, we launched a regularly updated rent debt dashboard, in partnership with the Right to the City Alliance, that equips advocates and policymakers with timely, local data on the extent of rent debt in their communities to inform policies to prevent eviction and eliminate rent debt. Since its debut, the dashboard and our accompanying analysis have been accessed 19,000 times, and advocates in California, Indiana, Minnesota, and elsewhere used our data to make the case for equity-focused recovery policies at both local and state level. News outlets, including the Los Angeles Times, ABC Baltimore, Texas News Today, the New York Times, and CNN, produced over 150 articles using dashboard data.

Launching the Racial Equity Data Lab

This summer we launched the Racial Equity Data Lab, a new interactive space on the Atlas that helps you create custom displays to tell your community’s equity story, powered by Tableau software and Atlas data. Our Tableau-ready datasets for equity indicators like Poverty, Car Access, Working Poor, and Educational Attainment can be customized to build factsheets and dashboards at the local level. Learn how to use this new tool with this step-by-step guide and starter viz to create your own factsheet to show who in your community is able to access a $15/hour wage.

Activating Local Efforts to Advance Workforce Equity

Through our ongoing Advancing Workforce Equity project, in partnership with the National Fund for Workforce Solutions and Emsi Burning Glass, we worked with local leaders in nine regions across the country to catalyze cross-cutting strategies to build a more equitable economy. In addition to two national reports detailing the early labor-market impacts of the pandemic and laying out a forward-looking, data-driven framework for workforce equity, we published five tailored analyses and blueprints for local action in Boston (with SkillWorks), Chicago (with the Chicagoland Workforce Funder Alliance), Dallas and Collin Counties (with Pathways to Work), the San Francisco Bay Area (with ReWork the Bay), and Seattle (with the Workforce Development Council of Seattle-King County).

Supporting Gig Worker Rights, Equity in Federal Contracting, and Housing Security for All

Throughout 2021, the Atlas team partnered with leaders working to address structural racism and the inequitable impacts of the pandemic to provide actionable insights and analyses across a range of issue areas.

• Through a study with Rideshare Drivers United, we found that California rideshare drivers, particularly Latinx drivers, are struggling to access health insurance and a safe workplace following the passage of Prop 22. As the first study on rideshare health care access under this legislation, our work was lifted up in SF Examiner, KQED, and The American Prospect, among others.
• We analyzed small business access to federal contracting dollars, revealing that the number of small businesses contracting with the federal government shrank dramatically – by 40 percent – over the past decade. This analysis contributed to the Biden Administration’s new commitments to advance equity in federal procurement, including increasing federal contracting with businesses owned by entrepreneurs of color to 11 percent in 2022.
• We produced a series of fact sheets in partnership with For the Many, who used our data to advocate for Good Cause eviction protections across New York’s Mid-Hudson Valley. Our analysis showed that 54 percent of renter households in the region are rent-burdened, and Black and Latinx households are especially impacted. In October Newburg became the first city in the region to pass a law protecting renters from eviction without good cause, as other municipalities in the region consider similar legislation.

Bolstering Regional Equity Campaigns: News from the Bay Area Equity Atlas

Throughout 2021, 50,000 users turned to the Bay Area Equity Atlas to access equity data and policy tools, double the number of users in 2020. The team produced a landmark report on the diversity of high-level elected officials in the Bay Area, which revealed that while these leaders are becoming more representative of the communities they represent every year, significant inequities remain: people of color represent 60 percent of residents, but just 34 percent of top electeds.

Atlas In the News and On The Road

This year, our data and analyses informed 190 print and digital news articles in outlets including The New York Times, CNN, NPR, The Hill, and Buzzfeed News (see full list here). We also shared our work with a diverse set of audiences, conducting dozens of presentations and trainings to policymakers, government agencies, grantmakers, community leaders, and peer organizations, including the House Committee on Ways and Means, Aspen Institute Opportunity Youth Forum to Clear Impact’s Measurable Equity One Year Challenge, and Partnership on AI’s Partner Perspectives: The Next 5 Years in AI.

Join Our Team!

USC Equity Research Institute is hiring a one-year postdoctoral position to provide data analysis support to the Bay Area and National Equity Atlas team. The fellow will help the team design, organize, and conduct advanced quantitative analyses producing academic articles as well as popular reports. Please send experienced candidates our way!

- The National Equity Atlas team at PolicyLink and the USC Equity Research Institute (ERI)

Dear Atlas users,

The Bay Area Equity Atlas was developed to equip local leaders with data to advance racial and economic equity, which is especially important as the region and the nation continues to grapple with the Covid-19 pandemic. As a recent report by the Othering and Belonging Institute finds, the Bay Area remains highly segregated despite some improvement since 2000. In the context of entrenched racial inequities and the emerging challenges of the economic recovery, the Bay Area Equity Atlas team is looking for a senior associate to lead our work supporting efforts to foster an equitable Bay Area for all.

Join the Bay Area Equity Atlas Team

The Bay Area Equity Atlas team is actively recruiting for a senior associate to lead the strategic planning and day-to-day management of the Bay Area Equity Atlas as well as the development of high-impact quantitative and mixed-methods analyses and data tools. We are looking for candidates who are passionate about racial equity, skilled in data analysis, and have experience working in and with communities of color. This position will be based in the Bay Area, working closely with local grassroots organizations and equity campaigns.

The National Equity Atlas team is also expanding. We’re looking for a director to lead the team, a senior associate to conduct research and analysis, and a senior communications associate to lead all of our media and dissemination activities. Learn more about these positions here and please share with your networks.

The California Immigrant Data Portal: A Powerful Tool to Advance Immigrant Integration

For a great resource and progress tracker for immigrants and those serving immigrant communities in California, check out the California Immigrant Data Portal (CIDP) developed by our partners at the USC Equity Research Institute (ERI). CIDP provides data and case studies to better understand and promote the well-being of immigrants, their families, and their communities, including indicators and insights not available in the Atlas, like Recency of Arrival, Linguistic Isolation by race, and immigration status, including Mixed-status Families. Current and historical disaggregated data is available for counties, sub-county areas, cities, and the state. Learn more about the California Immigrant Data Portal here.

Updated Data for Native American Populations Now Available on the Bay Area Equity Atlas

The Bay Area Equity Atlas recently released updated data and trends for California’s Tribal Nations reflecting the latest available data. Native Americans are a relatively small share of the Bay Area population (less than ½ percent) and the population varies in size across counties and cities within the region. Because data on the Atlas is limited for smaller populations, we’ve included an analysis of key trends for Native Americans so you can easily find this data. You can also review an updated table detailing data availability for Native American communities.

The Atlas Team Presents at the Northern California Grantmakers 2021 Corporate Philanthropy Institute

On October 13, the Atlas team presented the Bay Area Equity Atlas and National Equity Atlas tools at the 2021 Corporate Philanthropy Institute, a conference to help companies use their voice, leadership, philanthropy, and power to address racial inequalities and other long-term societal challenges. Atlas team members Jamila Henderson and Abbie Langston shared how companies and funders can leverage the Atlas tools to drive investments in communities across the Bay Area and nationally.

In the News

San Francisco Public Press covered our recent analysis of the diversity of Bay Area elected officials and lifted up our data illustrating that district-based elections can improve representation for communities of color. The article features an interview with Atlas team member Michelle Huang that aired on KSFP.

Thank you,

Bay Area Equity Atlas team

 

Dear Atlas users,

We are excited to announce that the National Equity Atlas team is expanding! While the movement for racial equity continues to gain momentum across the nation, it is critical to center people and communities of color in our economy’s recovery and in our systems and policy change efforts. This additional staffing will allow us to take on more data requests from community leaders and organizers, conduct more original analyses, build more responsive data tools, and dedicate more time to supporting equity advocates and campaigns.

The National Equity Atlas Team Is Growing

The Atlas team is actively recruiting for three new positions: a director to lead the team, a senior associate to conduct research and analysis, and a senior communications associate to lead all of our media & dissemination activities. These are dream jobs for people who love data, use mixed-methods approaches, and want to produce innovative research and partner with grassroots organizations advancing racial and economic equity. We have a preference for Bay Area-based candidates, but encourage applicants from anywhere in the US who are passionate about racial equity and have experience working in and with communities of color. Learn more about the positions here and please share with your networks!

Atlas Featured in “How to Build an Inclusive Economy”

PolicyLink CEO Michael McAfee was included in Freethink’s recent video series on how to build an inclusive economy and lifted up the role of the Atlas in advancing the equity movement by highlighting key data insights that validate the experiences of communities of color and providing fuel to advance equity campaigns. “The National Equity Atlas,” he explained, “will give you a sense of how much a region, a city, a county, a state, would benefit by closing gaps in racial disparities.” Watch the video.

Racial Equity in Entrepreneurship Is Crucial for an Inclusive Recovery

At the recent Institute of Governmental Studies Research Symposium, Sarah Treuhaft joined a keynote panel to share key Atlas data and insights on the state of racial equity in entrepreneurship, noting that in the 10 most populous US cities African Americans remain underrepresented in business ownership. Removing barriers that prevent people of color from starting and growing successful businesses is a crucial inclusive growth strategy as entrepreneurship is an important pathway for building wealth and addressing the racial wealth gap and also creating jobs for workers of color.

In the News

This month, our Rent Debt Dashboard was covered by the Los Angeles Times, Cal Matters, Maryland Matters, CBS8, Mendocino Voice, and the Sahan Journal. Our study of California rideshare driver healthcare access under Prop 22 was covered by LawyersAndSettlements. You can find a complete list of news coverage here.

- The National Equity Atlas team at PolicyLink and the USC Equity Research Institute (ERI)
 

Dear Atlas users,

As evidenced by our most recent rent debt analysis, low-income people of color continue to suffer from the devastating impacts of the pandemic even as other aspects of the economy return to ‘normal.’ The majority of federal rental assistance has yet to reach those who need it, and a new report from The Housing Initiative at Penn found that other housing access programs like Housing Choice Vouchers reach just one in five low-income renter households who are eligible. With federal, state, and local governments working to pass policies to rebuild our economy, the Atlas team continues to equip advocates with necessary data and analysis to push for a just and equitable recovery. Here are some updates:

New Analysis Finds Fewer and Fewer Small Businesses Are Getting Federal Contracts

The federal government is the nation’s largest purchaser of goods and services, but our new analysis reveals that the number of small businesses doing business with the federal government has plummeted over the past decade: about 40 percent fewer small businesses fulfilled federal contracts in 2020 compared with 2010. We also found that while people of color own 29 percent of all American businesses, entrepreneurs of color receive less than 12 percent of federal government contracting dollars. Federal contracts are highly concentrated in just a few congressional districts, mostly in the DC metro area, that are home to less than 4 percent of the total population. A critical solution is within reach through the infrastructure package before Congress, but is at risk of being removed. Policymakers are negotiating the inclusion of a groundbreaking set of programs that would direct $2.4 billion to Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and other people-of-color-serving institutions to uplift the next generation of small businesses owners.

Updated Rent Debt Dashboard and Analysis Finds Mounting Debt for Low-Income Renters of Color

The share of renters with debt has not declined since April. Our updated Rent Debt Dashboard and analysis show that nearly 6 million renters remain in debt, and the majority of them are low-income people of color. Just 11 percent of federal rental relief funds have been distributed; our new map shows that many of the cities and counties with the lowest distribution of relief funds have large populations of low-income renters. Finally, we found that Black renters disproportionately expect to be evicted by October: 58 percent of Black tenants with rent debt say they are very or somewhat likely to be evicted, compared with 45 percent of their White counterparts. The dashboard continues to fuel community advocacy for debt cancellation and rent assistance. Recently, California-based Raise the Roof coalition cited our work in their presentation to the Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors, while Housing4Hoosiers provided recommendations to Indiana’s Emergency Rental Assistance program using our data.

You’re Invited! The Power of Place: Addressing Structural Racism in the Workforce and Economy

On September 29, Atlas team member Abbie Langston will speak on a panel on racial equity and the workforce system at the Aspen Institute Opportunity Youth Forum alongside our partners at the National Fund for Workforce Solutions and local partners on our Advancing Workforce Equity project. The conversation will touch on structural racism in the world of work and highlight solutions that workforce systems, communities, employers, and training providers are implementing to improve career outcomes for students and young workers of color. Join us by registering here.

Fact Sheets Reveal Continued Housing Insecurity in Mid-Hudson Valley

Earlier this month, we produced a series of fact sheets on renters in New York’s Mid-Hudson Valley in partnership with For the Many, to support their advocacy for policies to protect renters from unfair evictions and predatory landlords. We found that housing insecurity is a region-wide issue. More than half of renter households in the Mid-Hudson Valley are rent-burdened, and Black and Latinx renters are especially impacted. In New Paltz, for example, nearly all Black renter households are rent-burdened. You can download fact sheets here for the following places: Ulster County, Beacon, Kingston, Newburgh, New Paltz, and Poughkeepsie.

In the News

This month, our Rent Debt Dashboard work was featured in the New York Times, CBS News, Bloomberg, Oklahoma Watch, Minnesota Post, Tampa Bay Times, The Hill, and Law360. Our work on California rideshare driver benefits under Prop 22 was featured in Jacobin and Dissent Magazine. See a complete list of news coverage here.

- The National Equity Atlas team at PolicyLink and the USC Equity Research Institute (ERI)

Dear Atlas users,

The Supreme Court’s rejection of the federal eviction moratorium threatens to push millions of renters out of their homes. As our Rent Debt Dashboard shows, over 6 million renters —  overwhelmingly low-income households of color who have recently lost employment — owe more than $21 billion in back rent, putting them at immediate risk of eviction. Just 10 percent of state rental assistance funds have been distributed, while many who have applied wait in limbo. The Atlas team continues to equip local advocates with data and research to make the case for robust renter protections. We’re currently analyzing the newest rent debt data and will release our findings and analysis on Monday, August 30. Here are some more updates: 

New Report: Most California Rideshare Drivers Are Not Receiving Health-Care Benefits under Prop 22

Nearly a year after tech industry giants won passage of a law that exempted them from classifying millions of their drivers as full-time employees, we produced a study in partnership with Rideshare Drivers United to analyze the impact of Prop 22 on rideshare and delivery drivers’ access to health care. Our survey of drivers found that just 10 percent of respondents are receiving health insurance stipends from Uber or Lyft, and 16 percent have no insurance — double the national uninsurance rate. We also found stark racial inequities: Latinx respondents are less likely to know about the stipends and are also more likely to be uninsured. With Prop 22 ruled unconstitutional last week, our research underscores the need to overturn this harmful legislation and prevent its spread to other states where Uber and Lyft are already campaigning for identical legislation. 

New Analysis Finds that Bay Area Residents of Color Remain Underrepresented in Elected Positions

Centering the experiences of the people most impacted by structural racism is an essential component of equitable policymaking. The Bay Area Equity Atlas team and Bay Rising are excited to share our latest analysis on the diversity of elected officials in the region, which shows that the region has seen steady growth in electeds of color, but people of color remain highly underrepresented. Strategies like campaign finance reform, leadership development programs, district-based elections, and expanded voter education and voting options can also foster a fairer and more inclusive Bay Area. Join us on September 9 for a webinar to learn more about this research and hear local leaders — like Shanthi Gonzales of Oakland Unified School District and Kimi Lee of Bay Rising — discuss strategies to build political power among communities of color in the region. You can register here. 

In the News

This month, our report on the impacts of California’s Prop 22 were featured in the SF Examiner, KQED, The American Prospect, Bloomberg Law, and Law360. Our rent debt analysis were featured on KMOV4, Multi-Housing News, Catholic Herald, BollyInside, WOSU Public Media, Northern Nevada Business Weekly, ABC Baltimore, PolitiFact, NBC5, Maryland Matters, Texas News Today, The Current, Market Watch, the Nevada Independent, and News Nation, among others. See the complete list of media coverage here.

- The National Equity Atlas team at PolicyLink and the USC Equity Research Institute (ERI)