SAVI releases Racial Equity Report Card for Indianapolis, finds continued disparities

The Polis Center and its SAVI team recently released Indianapolis's full Racial Equity Report Card.

The analysis looked at racial disparities in Indianapolis across several categories, including housing, education and environment. It outlines continued gaps in areas of infant mortality, homicide rates and broadband access.

Marc McAleavey, community analysis program manager at the Polis Center, said the report helps increase awareness.

“It just gave this fuller picture, that there's racial inequities across the board,” McAleavey said. “There's some level of challenge that we're experiencing across all races.”

The report also compared data and ranked Indianapolis against 49 other U.S. cities with similar populations, demographics and economies.

Sharon Kandris is executive director of the Polis Center. She said the report should be used as a tool to provide insights into racial inequities in the city.

“I think this just provides a wealth of information to kind of figure out where those areas are that we need to focus, but also provide some pointers to where we might look to for potential solutions,” Kandris said.

The Polis Center plans to partner with the city in the future to host community events, to explain the report and discuss its findings.

Contact WFYI Morning Edition newscaster and reporter Abriana Herron at aherron@wfyi.org.