Rooted in the great human rights struggles for equality and justice, we exist to fulfill America's promise of a caring, inclusive and just democracy. Our National programs focus on tackling inequity with innovative strategies and strong community alliance. We combine law, communications, policy, and technology to create workable solutions and achieve systemic change on issues of democracy, voting rights, and access to justice. Our California programs engineer large-scale systems change to remedy inequality, expand opportunity and open paths to upward mobility with the goal that members of all communities have the safety, opportunity and health they need to thrive.
RESEARCH & DATA ANALYSIS Our Research & Data Analysis team employs a wide range of methods to reveal and visualize data on issues affecting communities most impacted by racial inequities. Described below are some of our research capabilities that are be used by community organizations, foundations, and governments in their community planning and initiative building. https://www. healthycity. org/ https://www. racecounts. org/ https://www. advancementprojectca. org/tools-we-use/maps-and-data GOVERNMENTAL RELATIONS With over a decade of advocacy in Sacramento and a wealth of knowledge about California’s legislative process, our organization is uniquely positioned to move the needle on public policy. We possess the knowledge, relationships and drive to effectively navigate the Capitol and achieve meaningful wins to advance racial equity. Our legislative advocacy is grounded in data and research that reveals how racial equity is vital to California’s economy and future. We convene coalitions, practitioners and policymakers in pursuit of win-win solutions that are both socially just and economically viable. Our Sacramento office interfaces with the state legislature, various state departments, statewide organizations, and the Governor’s office to pursue equitable policy and funding opportunities alongside our community partners. BUILDING POWER We fundamentally believe that community stakeholders possess the knowledge, agency and power to move a social justice policy agenda. We encourage systems to shift how they view community to an assets-based approach and to create space for community members to be integrated in creating policy change. Above all, we advocate for a community-center approach to policymaking that builds on the cultural, social and linguistic strengths of our diverse state.
For the California offices, progress means movement toward racial equity in these areas and indicators: ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY - Employment, median household income, below federal poverty level, workforce in professional and managerial positions, internet access, denied mortgage applications, commute time to work, and business ownership. People of color are at a significant disadvantage compared to White families, who have accumulated wealth over generations due to racial discrimination in employment, housing discrimination and government services. HEALTH CARE ACCESS - Life expectancy, health insurance, access to federally qualified health centers, preventable hospitalizations, low birthweight, and usual source of care. A majority of uninsured Californians are people of color, who are denied access to basic health care services due to affordability, employment and/or citizenship status, resulting in racial and ethnic disparities in health outcomes. EDUCATION - High school graduation, math proficiency, English proficiency, school discipline, diverse effective teachers, and access to early childhood education programs. Education has historically been used as a tool to suppress Blacks from voting, achieving social mobility and access to basic human rights and resources. After Brown V. Board of Education, federal courts desegregated local school districts with hopes of ending racial discrimination in schools. Decades later, students of color still attend de facto segregated schools that are under-resourced and over-policed. HOUSING - Income left after housing costs (owner), income left after housing costs (renter), foreclosure rate, loan types/subprime, housing quality, and homeownership. For most families, their house is their biggest asset, providing stability and a means for building wealth. The exclusionary discrimination practices in the housing market have generated a volatile cycle for people of color. DEMOCRACY - Voter participation in national and local elections, voter registration, census participation, and descriptive representation of elected officials. Prior to the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, many states used policies such as poll taxes and literacy tests to prevent Blacks from voting. Even after the voting barriers of the Jim Crow era were removed, lawmakers today continue to pursue policies that would discriminate and discourage people of color from voting. CRIME & JUSTICE - Truancy arrests, curfew arrests, perception of safety, fatalities from police encounters, incarceration, and access to reentry services. U. S. policing has been a historical tool used to maintain and control Blacks from its roots in slavery and Jim Crow, to contemporary racial profiling, stop-search-frisk policies and gang injunctions. In response to the Civil Rights Movement, the white opposition launched the War on Drugs and zero-tolerance policies, which led to an explosion in the prison population, disproportionately affecting Black men.
Please visit https://www. advancementprojectca. org/in-the-news for highlights about our California offices' progress and impact. Because of Advancement Project's National Work: · Elections are more fair and barriers facing voters of color have been reduced. · Harsh and unfair school discipline practices, such as zero tolerance, that push children off an academic track and onto a track to prison have been reduced. · Laws that exploit and criminalize immigrants have been reformed. · Rights of survivors of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita have been protected. In past years, Advancement Project's government relations work has helped achieve the following: · Securing over a quarter of billion dollars for state-funded early care and education programs since the Great Recession. · Creating the Local Control Funding Formula, as well as the Local Control and Accountability Plans, that guarantees more funding for low-income students, English learners, and Foster Youth. · Establishing Transitional Kindergarten, which gives California a two-year public school kindergarten experience that will ensure that our youngest children will be prepared to succeed in school. · Establishing the California DREAM Act, which allows children who were brought into the US under the age of 16 without proper visas/immigration documentation meet in-state tuition and GPA requirements to have access to financial aid benefits at public universities and colleges. · Ensuring that Foster Youth get credit for school coursework they take in case they have to transfer between schools due to placement issues and also giving Foster Youth priority enrollment into college courses. · Providing $90 million in facility lease money reimbursement to charter schools serving low-income students and $400 million in facility eligibility to the state's overcrowded classrooms. · Ensuring that the state streamline funding for early childhood education and care so that more resources can be spent on services to children. To learn more about Advancement Project's work in voter protection, access and equity in educational opportunity, immigrant rights and more, please visit the website at www. advancementprojectca. org/.
