Fast Company, July 23, 2020: This tool shows where racial equity is lagging in 100 U.S. cities
Minneapolis-St. Paul, the center of the reigniting of the Black Lives Matter movement, has one of the highest rates of prosperity in the United States, ranked sixth among its 150 metropolitan-area peers. But it ranks 149th in terms of racial inclusion, indicating one of the worst racial wealth disparity gaps in the country.
This finding, and other granular details, have emerged as part of the Racial Equity Index, a new tool that allows users to view how 100 cities, 150 metro areas, and all 50 states, perform with respect to racial equity compared with their counterparts. Launched on July 23, it’s the latest iteration from the National Equity Atlas, “the nation’s most detailed report card on racial equity,” which provides evidence for the need to build “equitable, resilient, and prosperous” new economies. The hope is that this newest release of data can be harnessed by politicians to assess specific problems and craft policy that focuses more precisely on areas of need.
