White People, Show Us

Over the past several days we have watched in disgust as the progeny from our nation’s despicable past terrorized a city, committed murder, and received tacit approval from the highest level of government. White supremacy has found a home in the White House. The President is determined to perpetuate and maintain the social, political, historical, and institutional domination by White people at the expense of people of color. And in so doing, he is creating an environment that is also too toxic for White America. The White supremacy movement will not vanish until people of good will succeed in atoning for our nation’s past, reconciling, and building a bridge to a just and fair society where ALL are prospering and reaching their full potential.

America is seeing in real-time what the fight for equity looks like. When cultures, structures, and institutions are forced to change, the responses by those comfortable with and benefiting from the status quo are too frequently ugly, distressing, and violent. Equity leaders should not expect anything less. We signed up for this. Consequently, when things are at their worst, we must be at our best – body, mind, and soul. PolicyLink remains optimistic and single-minded in our work. We are standing strong in the face of formidable opposition because equity leaders, especially those on the front lines, are making progress.

We also are standing strong because we are getting a sense that increasing numbers of White people are sick of other White people's racist conduct. We applaud the fact that from the streets, to corporate board rooms, to charitable giving, White people are taking up the work of equity. We hope we live in a country where most White people do not sympathize with White supremacists. If our perceptions are real, we have an opportunity to accelerate the advancement of equity, and we must seize it. While people of color are going to see this fight for equity through to victory, there is a powerful role that White people must play, and this role can no longer be eschewed for safer, transactional expressions of solidarity.

Show yourselves to be true patriots by joining with people of color, believing in the potency of inclusion, and building from a common bond to stamp out White supremacy and realize the transformative promise of equity – the imperfect and unrealized aspiration embodied in the Constitution. White America, you can perfect this aspiration! To do so requires that you honestly and forthrightly call out racism and oppression, both overt and systemic. And while this is a good start, it is insufficient. Your work is to lead the way in designing and implementing equity-centered public policies, institutional practices, cultural representations, and other norms that trump White supremacy and create a just and fair society. This must be your call to action. This is what people of color need from you.

The normalization of White supremacy must be stopped now before it irreversibly poisons the nation’s culture. Your leadership is critical in this moment. You are best equipped to defeat White supremacy. Here are actions you can take that are transformative.


Show us that our perceptions of a White majority opposed to White supremacy are real. Show us that we have a reason to believe that you will fight with more devotion to create a society that is just and fair for ALL, than White supremacists will in their pursuit to maintain their structural advantage, their racial privilege, their "whiteness." By accepting this invitation, you’re not doing anyone any favors. You’re doing the work necessary to make America all that it can be. History has its eyes on you. Show us. Fight for equity.

With gratitude,

Angela Glover Blackwell
CEO  

Michael McAfee
President

Tax Alliance for Economic Mobility Provides Feedback to the Senate Finance Committee on How to Improve Tax Reform

In response to Senate Finance Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch’s (R-Utah) call for input and feedback from tax stakeholders across the country on how to improve the American tax system through tax reform, The Tax Alliance for Economic Mobility submitted the following letter to the Finance Committee that focuses on reform that outs low and moderate income people first, and fuels upward economic mobility instead of exacerbating an already-growing wealth divide.

The letter hones in on four sets of principles for reform of tax-based aid that can lead to more equitable programs that will expand opportunity throughout the country:

  1. Increasing Financial Security for Working Families;
  2. Making Higher Education Tax Expenditures Work for Everyone;
  3. Using the Tax Code to Encourage Savings and Investment for Retirement
  4. Reduce Subsidies for Mortagage Debt and Larger Homes Owned by High-Income Households

Read the full letter here and sign up for the Tax Alliance newsletter for updates on our work.

April 2005

Market Creek Plaza: Toward Resident Ownership of Neighborhood Change

Overview

Details Market Creek's planning, design, and implementation process, and highlights the importance of resident involvement in this groundbreaking community development project where Market Creek Plaza, is among the nation's first real estate development projects to be designed, built, and ultimately owned by community residents.

July 2025

State of Water, Climate, and Justice in New Mexico

Overview

This document shares the themes Water Equity & Climate Resilience Caucus members explored during the 2025 in-person convening in New Mexico. Read to learn about history, present, and future of Indigneous communities in New Mexico, the state of water and climate justice in the state, and how covening site visits connect to the Caucus' work.

Who Breathes the Bay Area’s Most Polluted Air?

Everyone deserves to breathe clean air and live in a healthy community. But across the Bay Area, residents are exposed to toxic emissions every day from nearby oil refineries, power plants, and industrial facilities—pollution that increases the risk of asthma, cancer, and other serious health issues. Just last week, smoke billowed over Richmond after a flaring event at the Chevron refinery, releasing harmful pollutants that pose health risks even with brief exposure.

The burden of this pollution is not evenly shared. Decades of discriminatory policies like redlining have allowed corporations to concentrate toxic sites in low-income neighborhoods and communities of color. These frontline neighborhoods—vibrant communities that are organizing for change—continue to face disproportionate exposure to harmful pollutants that threaten their health and future. 

Our new analysis, Inequity in the Air, provides a detailed look at where these emitting facilities are located across the nine-county Bay Area, and who lives closest to them. Featuring interactive maps, firsthand stories from Richmond residents living near the Chevron Refinery, and data from the California Air Resources Board, the report presents urgent, actionable policy solutions to create a healthier and more equitable region. 

Key Findings 
  1. Communities of color are closer to more toxic facilities: Neighborhoods with predominantly Black residents have twice as many emitting facilities within five miles compared to predominantly white areas. Overall, two out of three people living near these facilities are people of color.

  2. Lower-income neighborhoods face higher pollution levels: Very low-income households are exposed to nearly three times more greenhouse gas emissions than high-income ones. Polluters typically target areas where they believe residents will present the least amount of opposition—although, as Richmond’s example shows, these assumptions have often been proven wrong.

  3. Pollution exposure is tied to language and education: Neighborhoods where more residents have college degrees experience 60% less greenhouse gas pollution from nearby facilities. Communities with fewer language barriers see 6% lower emissions than those with high levels of linguistic isolation.

​​​​Frontline Communities are Leading the Way

The communities that have been hit hardest by decades of pollution are working to hold wealthy corporations and oil companies accountable, protect our health, and win policies that create a sustainable future. 



Last year, a coalition of environmental justice organizations and city workers’ unions won a landmark $550 million settlement from Chevron to begin addressing the harms of pollution in Richmond communities, and transition the city away from its dependence on fossil fuels.  

But without more action from lawmakers, these inequities will only worsen. Some refineries are threatening to shut down without cleanup plans, or to convert to other polluting fuels—leaving communities to deal with the toxic aftermath. These strategies can help policymakers, regulators, and advocates address pollution: 

  • Plan for a Just Transition: As long as refineries operate in the Bay Area, residents will continue to suffer from asthma, cancer, and high medical bills. Advocates and policymakers should pursue a multiyear ‘just transition’ strategy to responsibly decommission refineries, protect workers, and invest in regenerative, community-led economies.

  • Invest in Real Climate Solutions: California’s climate dollars will go furthest on both climate and environmental justice by investing in truly renewable energy, including solar and wind production, paired with electrification, mass transit, and cheaper electric cars for working people. California Climate Investments should invest in real climate solutions for people living at the frontline of poverty and pollution, not hydrogen, biofuels, or other refining schemes that sustain pollution for nearby communities.

  • Make Local Polluters Pay: Cities and counties can pass polluter tax ballot measures to bring in millions for clean air initiatives and climate investments. Thanks to local organizers and progressive city council members, Richmond’s 2024 ballot initiative forced Chevron to pay $550 million to fund essential services and a just transition fund—providing a blueprint for other communities to follow.

Find the full list of findings and recommendations at bayareaequityatlas.org/research/projects/inequity-in-the-air

Black in the Bay Area: Join the Conversation on July 29

What’s New This Month

Upcoming Webinar:
Black in the Bay Area: Data Trends and Community Insights
Tuesday, July 29, 2025, 1–2 p.m. PT

Over the past year, the Bay Area Equity Atlas has published the "Black in the Bay Area" research series, exploring population changes and socioeconomic trends in Black communities across the nine-county region. To conclude this series, we are convening leading advocates and experts to discuss our recent analyses of Black homeownership, workforce equity, and occupational segregation across the region. 

The webinar will feature our key findings and a panel discussion connecting the data to the lived experiences of local community members, including both Black Americans and Black immigrants. Join us to learn more about local programs and policies that improve housing and economic equity for the Bay Area's Black communities.

Panelists include: 

Moderator:
Ezinne Nwankwo, PhD, Postdoctoral Fellow, USC Equity Research Institute

Register for the conversation here.

New Analysis: Exclusive Regional Data on Air Pollution

Our newest analysis reveals stark disparities in exposure to air pollution across Bay Area neighborhoods. Inequity in the Air provides a detailed look at where emitting facilities are located across the nine-county Bay Area, and who lives closest to them. 

Key findings include: 

  • Lower-income neighborhoods face nearly 3x more toxic emissions
  • Black communities are near twice as many polluting facilities as white communities
  • Areas with lower education levels are exposed to 60% more gas pollution

Featuring exclusive data, interactive maps and firsthand stories from Richmond residents living near the Chevron Refinery, the report presents actionable policy solutions to create a healthier and more equitable region.

Read the report and hear from the communities organizing for change.

Until next time,
– The Bay Area Equity Atlas team

February 2019

Rent Control Myths Versus Realty: The Evidence of Unintended Consequences

July 2025

OUR HOMES, OUR FUTURE: Building the Power to Win Rent Control for Stable Communities

Overview

Written by a team of tenant organizers, policy advocates, lawyers, and researchers, this report serves as a toolkit for any group of organizers or advocates who are starting—or continuing— campaigns for rent control. It affirms what the housing justice movement has argued for decades: that reliance on the private market alone—and, more importantly, deregulation—will not solve our growing affordable housing needs or even help replace the rapid loss of lower-rent housing. Furthermore, it offers robust data, policy guidance, strategic thinking, and on-the-ground learnings to support campaigns seeking pathways to build power for rent control and beyond. The report consists of five sections:

  • What is Rent Control?
  • Understanding the Battleground
  • Why Rent Control
  • Inoculation Toolkit: Responses to Common Arguments Against Rent Control
  • Guide to Winning Rent Control

New Data Tool: Policing in Schools

New Indicator: Policing in Schools

Explore the data now

All young people should feel safe and welcomed in schools. But our new data shows that Black, Native, and Pacific Islander students are consistently overrepresented in school arrests and referrals to law enforcement. These disparities fuel the school-to-prison pipeline and undermine efforts to create safe, supportive learning environments.

The Atlas’s new Policing in Schools indicator provides the most comprehensive look at disparities in school discipline. Atlas users can now explore school-based arrest and referral data by race/ethnicity, gender, grade level, and class size—across geographies in all 50 states. 

Key insights include:

  • Black and Pacific Islander male high school students had the highest rates of arrests in the nation, while Black and Native American male students were disproportionately referred to law enforcement.
  • Hawaiʻi had the highest school arrest rate in the nation: 36.3 per 10,000 students, nearly 10x higher than California, despite the latter’s far larger student population as the most populous state.
  • In Alabama, Black female high school students experienced the highest arrest and referral rates across most grade levels and school types.
  • Disparities persist across classroom sizes: Black students faced the most referrals regardless of class size; Pacific Islander students experienced the highest arrest rates in larger classrooms, whereas Native American students faced the highest arrest rates in smaller classrooms.

Creating Dignity in Schools

Communities across the country are organizing to replace harmful policies with restorative practices that keep students—especially Black and Latinx youth—learning in the classroom with dignity. 



In Los Angeles, the local chapter of the Dignity in Schools Campaign mobilized students, families, educators, and community organizations against disruptive, punitive suspensions. Their advocacy led the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD)—the nation’s second-largest district—to adopt the landmark 2013 School Climate Bill of Rights, banning suspensions and expulsions for vague “willful defiance” infractions.

The results were substantial: expulsions and suspensions dropped across all offenses including fights, weapons, and drugs. Citing these years of success, statewide coalitions secured Senate Bill 419 (2024), extending the ban on “willful defiance” suspensions to every K-12 classroom in California. Advocates now call on districts across the country to adopt similar, evidence-based reforms to keep students safe and in class.

Explore the data and solutions here, and learn more about how you can use this tool to advocate for young people at the local, state, and national level.

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