In purple are communities that are 75% or more non-white. This study hypothesizes that these communities may be excluded from access to quality schools, political power, infrastructure, and affordable housing and may be overburdened with environmental hazards.
The communities are clusters of contiguous census blocks, each of which is 75% or more non-white. A census block is the smallest geographic unit for which data is available. A census block is roughly equivalent to an urban city block, but is of no set area or population. Data in this report are based on every census block in North Carolina where at least 75% of the population self-identified as some race other than white only, or identified as Latino. Those census blocks were then grouped together into clusters comprising all immediately adjacent similar census blocks. Each cluster is shown in purple. These clusters ranged from a single census block to dozens of blocks and were the best approximation for communities that we hypothesized would show manifestations of exclusion. Nearly 3,200 clusters were studied and are displayed.
If you hover over the purple clusters, the map will display some basic information about the cluster, its population, area, and the majority or plurality race. Clicking on the purple cluster gives information about the demographics, housing conditions, environmental justice concerns, and county commissioner elections. Detailed information about how each of these statistics were calculated is in the full State of Exclusion report (). Housing and demographic data is from the 2010 US Census; environmental justice data is calculated from census data, EPA data, and data from the N.C. Department of the Environment and Natural Resources (DENR). Information on the election methods of the county commissioners comes from the NC Association of County Commissioners and Section 5 info from the U.S. Dep’t of Justice.
Zooming in on the map reveals further information. Orange dots are EPA registered pollution sources; clicking on them will take you to the EPA site for that facility. Yellow dots are open or closed solid waste facilities permitted by DENR, clicking on them will give more information about that facility. Schools are marked by graduation caps. All public schools, including charter schools are displayed. If you click on schools you will get the racial demographics of the student population, the grade levels, number of teachers, and the percent of the student body that is eligible for free or reduced lunch (FRL). All of this data is directly from North Carolina Department of Public Instruction.