Overview
Simeon Banister, President and CEO of Rochester Area Community Foundation, was born and raised in Rochester, NY. For him, the Community Foundation’s equity journey is interwoven with his own personal journey: “I went away and came back to town with some life experiences and skills, and a desire to do everything I could do to strengthen our region and make it as strong and equitable as possible. That is the journey we are on together.”
For Banister and the Community Foundation, data is an essential tool for understanding and combating inequities in the Rochester area. Through its ACT Rochester initiative, the Community Foundation hosts the local community indicators project and data resource that works to improve the culture of decision-making toward a more vital and equitable region. There is a deep focus on racial and ethnic disparities in ACT Rochester’s dashboard presentation and narrative. For example, the 2020 report, “Hard Facts: Race and Ethnicity in the Nine-County Greater Rochester Area,” found that African American children in the region were four times as likely to be living in poverty as White children, and that African American and Hispanic or Latino residents were less than half as likely as White residents to own their home. Furthermore, these disparities in the greater Rochester region were greater than in New York State or the U.S. as a whole.
According to Banister, having this data is essential to framing productive conversations on the issue of equity. “Data can be like an oven mitt for hot issues,” he said. “It can help people acknowledge that we have an issue with racial equity in this community.” Of course, this acknowledgement is just the beginning. Based on an understanding of the deep racial and ethnic disparities that exist in the Rochester area, the Community Foundation has dedicated itself to two goals: creating an equitable community and strengthening the region’s vitality.