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Race Counts – Tracking Racial Disparities in California

RACE COUNTS measures the overall performance, amount of racial disparity, and impact by population size of counties and cities in California. We found that the past still very much drives who has access to the promise of the Golden State. The COVID-19 crisis shows that one of the deadliest underlying conditions in America is systemic racism

Visit the Race Counts website here

California is at a TURNING POINT. As the state’s racial makeup and needs have completely transformed over the past 40 years, many of our public institutions and policies remain stuck in the past.

Despite our state’s reputation as the “Golden State”, generations of low-income communities of color have long been excluded from California’s promise. But California has a long history of reinventing itself to meet the moment. We are, once again, at a critical juncture between retreating from or seizing our mantle as America’s future.

Our history shows us that cross-racial coalitions and organized power have led the charge to push back against regressive forces and demand much needed improvements in our public safety, economy, health, and governance. This is why we are coming together to leverage our collective assets and shared commitment to justice to assert that RACE COUNTS. Now is the moment, to once again, reinvent our public institutions and policies to ensure that all Californians can thrive over the next 40 years.

To push California forward, we need effective ways to measure and address long-standing racial disparities and to center organizers and activists to lead those conversations.

For the first time, the RACE COUNTS project will maintain a comprehensive tracking tool of racial disparities across the state in seven key issue areas:

  • Democracy
  • Economic Opportunity
  • Crime & Justice
  • Access to Health Care
  • Healthy Built Environment
  • Education
  • Housing

Through cutting-edge, rigorous research and analysis, RACE COUNTS will rank all 58 counties by these issue areas and provide a roadmap of how we can unwind generations of racial oppression.