Data: Agent of Change or Perpetuating the Cycle? 

By Tiffany Grant, PhD, CDE® 

Data for Black Lives 

Data can be a powerful tool for informing decisions and effecting change. But, what happens when data is used to create and perpetuate discriminatory practices? Taken directly from the Data for Black Lives website:  

“History tells a different story, one in which data is too often wielded as an instrument of oppression, reinforcing inequality and perpetuating injustice. Redlining was a data-driven enterprise that resulted in the systematic exclusion of Black communities from key financial services. More recent trends like predictive policing, risk-based sentencing, and predatory lending are troubling variations on the same theme.” 

Data for Black Lives is a movement of activists, organizers, and scientists committed to the mission of using data to create concrete and measurable change in the lives of Black people. The organization is comprised of 20,000 scientists and activists who endeavor to change the narrative and create racial justice by challenging discriminatory uses of data and algorithms across systems. The D4BL movement works to use data and technology as instruments to foster good in the Black community.  

Fatal Force Washington Post Database (1)

Did you know that 1,112 people have been shot and killed by police in the past 12 months? The Washington Post has tracked 8,229 fatal police shootings since 2015, and the data are available here. Ongoing analysis by the Post has shown that police shoot and kill more than 1,000 people each year. In 2015, the post began to log data behind each shooting by an on duty police officer. The data tells striking and alarming stories.  

• Black Americans are killed at a much higher rate than White Americans (black Americans are killed at twice rate of white Americans). 
• Most victims are young (20-40 years old). 

The database can be mined using several filters. The filters include: 

• City and State 
• Age 
• Gender 
• Race 
• Year of shooting 
• Victims Name 
• Year of Shooting 
• Fleeing scene 
• Armed vs unarmed 

Why is this data significant? “The FBI and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention log fatal shootings by police, but officials acknowledge that their data is incomplete. Since 2015, The Post has documented more than twice as many fatal shootings by police as recorded on average annually by these agencies. The Post’s database is updated regularly as fatal shootings are reported and as facts emerge about individual cases. The Post seeks to make the database as comprehensive as possible (1)”. 

 References 

1. Police shootings database 2015-2023: Search by race, age, department. Washington Post https://www.washingtonpost.com/investigations/interactive/2022/police-shootings-database-2015-2022-search-by-race-age-department/.

The 2015 U.S. Transgender Survey 

By Tiffany Grant, PhD, CDE® 

Much of what is included in this post is taken from the Executive Summary (1), which is extremely revealing and detailed regarding the survey and its findings. 

 The U.S Transgender Survey (USTS) was conducted in the summer of 2015 by the National Center for Transgender Equality. It was an anonymous, online survey for transgender adults (18 and older) in the United States that was made available in English and Spanish. It is the largest survey examining the experiences of transgender people in the United States, with 27,715 respondents from all fifty states, the District of Columbia, American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico, and U.S. military bases overseas. The survey was a follow up to the 2008–09 National Transgender Discrimination Survey, which helped to shift how the public and policymakers view the lives of transgender people and the challenges they face. The USTS provided detailed evidence and experiences shared by transgender people from a range of categories including education, employment, family life, health, housing, and interactions with the criminal justice system.  

Survey findings reveal disturbing patterns of mistreatment and discrimination and startling disparities between transgender people in the survey and the U.S. population when it comes to the most basic elements of life, such as finding a job, having a place to live, accessing medical care, and enjoying the support of family and community. Respondents experienced harassment and violence at alarmingly high rates. The findings reveled that mistreatment, harassment, and violence were pervasive in the lives of transgender people and was present in every aspect of their lives. Over half the respondents had been verbally assaulted, nearly a quarter of them had been physically assaulted, and 13% reported sexual assaults all as result of being transgender1. Nearly 1/3 of individuals reported being fired, denied a promotion, or experiencing some other form of mistreatment in the workplace due to their gender identity or expression. This has led to poverty rates that are more than double than the US average among the transgender community. “Among the starkest findings is that 40% of respondents have attempted suicide in their lifetime—nearly nine times the attempted suicide rate in the U.S. population (4.6%) (1)”.  

The survey data also reveals disturbing higher disparities among transgender people who have disabilities, are of color, and who are disabled. These include higher rates of unemployment, poverty, discrimination, health disparities, violence and suicide. The reports also reveal some glimmers of hope. The survey found that 4x more people responded to the survey than the previous National Transgender Discrimination Survey, suggesting that more were willing to use their voices to impact potential changes. The survey also revealed more acceptance of transgender status among families and friends of those who identify in this way.  

ICPSR has the data collected from the survey and information regarding the survey instrument and topics incuded2. The following information was taken directly from the ICPSR site for the USTS.  

“The survey instrument had thirty-two sections that covered a broad array of topics, including questions related to the following topics (in alphabetical order): accessing restrooms; airport security; civic participation; counseling; family and peer support; health and health insurance; HIV; housing and homelessness; identity documents; immigration; intimate partner violence; military service; police and incarceration; policy priorities; public accommodations; sex work; sexual assault; substance use; suicidal thoughts and behaviors; unequal treatment, harassment, and physical attack; and voting. 

Demographic information includes age, racial and ethnic identity, sex assigned at birth, gender and preferred pronouns, sexual orientation, language(s) spoken at home, education, employment, income, religion/spirituality, and marital status (2).” 

For more information or to access the data, please refer to this link. 

References 

(1) 2015 U.S. Transgender Survey Report. 2022 U.S. Trans Survey. https://www.ustranssurvey.org/reports (accessed 2023-02-09). 

(2) James, S. E.; Herman, J.; Keisling, M.; Mottet, L.; Anafi, M. 2015 U.S. Transgender Survey (USTS): Version 1, 2019. https://doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR37229.V1. 

Using Geospatial Data to Inform Change

By Amy Koshoffer

When trying to understand the complexity of our modern society, looking through a geospatial lens can give more insight and lead to possible solutions for complicated challenges such as poverty, healthcare disparities, systemic racism and climate change.  This means we need to examine the “where” as an attribute when we want to bring about changes that matter. We can address questions that include where do people live in relation to industry, healthcare facilities, green spaces and other resources as well as where they live relative to risks such as sea level rise.  Combining location with population demographics can help us delve into these issues to understand if issues impact one group of our society more than another.

Esri is the industry leader for Geographic Information Software and has resources such as data with spatial attributes and tools that help us address our society’s most challenging issues.  Esri has made significant changes to their higher education support which greatly improves our ability to explore research questions through the geospatial lens. Below are some of the tools we have access to here at UC as well as information about the new updates: Continue reading →