• A collective of organizations united in a common mission to increase income and race equity through county-wide systems change.

• UNITE Pinellas will focus on policy solutions as a part of a continuum of many people and organizations who have a long history of working for fairness and justice.
  

Please take a look below at the logos for the many organizations that are members of the UNITE Pinellas Collective.

• The aftermath of the disparity data from the Failure Factory articles moved a group of organizations to consider the question of equity.

• Careful listening and analysis led to 3-prong approach aimed at changes to:
  
  • Policy – laws that allocate resources and influence access to opportunity
    
  • Social and Institutional Practices – operating procedures that generate biased outcomes
    
  • Traditional narratives of blame – language, images, frames and cognitive cues that form the public’s conventional wisdom about race and poverty
    
    

Systemic change that generates income and racial fairness and equity.

• Inequity is historically rooted in public policy and bias and is not based on personal failings.
  

• Equity is the superior economic model - the cost of inequity is borne by the entire community.
  

• There is a path forward. By learning more about local dynamics and conditions and exposing the root causes that underlie disparities, our community can influence changes that can create a more just, fair and equitable Pinellas County.
  

• The levers that are most likely to generate change are policy, institutional practices and changing the traditional narrative.

• A lack of community awareness of inequity exists nationally and in Pinellas County.
  

• Over the next 12 to 24 months, the Equity Profile will be used to help pinpoint some areas that deserve more detailed examination related to the policies, institutional practices, and narratives. People most impacted by those issues, in concert with policy and practice specialists, will develop solutions and influence their adoption.
  

• The Nonprofit, Philanthropic and Governmental sectors will be encouraged to increase the level of diversity and inclusion within their organizations codified by specific policies.
  

The transformation of policy, practice, and cultural change driven by equity is a long-term effort. Over time, the very measures that are a part of the Equity Profile will change and evolve to better reflect our progress.

• Foundation for a Healthy St. Petersburg
  

• Juvenile Welfare Board
  

• United Way Suncoast
  

• In-kind support
  

Since the Equity Profile will be used to help pinpoint some areas that deserve more detailed examination, people most impacted by those issues, in concert with policy and practice specialists, will be engaged to develop solutions and influence their adoption.

One can learn more about equity in Pinellas County on this website as it expands over the coming months and in a forthcoming Equity Resource Guide.

If the community is unable to generate lasting systemic changes total community potential will be unrealized. Inequities will continue to cost everyone. Fairness and justice will be unrealized.

The current patterns of racial inequity are a legacy of the nation's past when federal and local laws made the participation and prosperity of people of color nearly impossible. Federally sanctioned housing discrimination maintained neighborhood whiteness by restricting where people of color could live. Laws like the Social Security Act of 1935 helped millions of workers enter the middle class, but excluded many people of color, and thus the ability to accumulate wealth. These government practices were bolstered by local laws and customs that extended segregation to schools, parks, hospitals, restaurants, and other public and private spaces. The residual effects are still in force.

• Redlining
  

• GI Bill
  

• Social Security Act 1935 and the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938
  

• Jim Crow state & local laws
  

Aside from the deep desire we each hold as citizens for justice and fairness, there are concrete impacts that can be measured and seen. PolicyLink, the national leader around equity efforts, has identified equity as the “superior economic model.” PolicyLink estimates that the Pinellas County economy would be $3.6 billion larger if there were no racial gaps in income. Furthermore, there is research that shows that if additional income is generated by families who have low incomes there are five areas of well being that are positively impacted: health, academic success of children, quality of housing, likelihood of living in a more safe and secure environment, civic engagement.