Team profile by Brynne Townley, Jessica Sperling, Adrian Brown, Megan O'Sullivan and Goharik Tigranyan

The United States has a long history of race-based and economic inequity, particularly in the South. Despite the persistent economic and social challenges in the South, the region remains influential in civil rights and culture.

While there is a wealth of quantitative data available, less is known about the lived experience of those in the region to understand the history and current context of the data. More information is needed to identify and understand the region’s unique challenges, community strengths and systemic barriers and failures. This includes data from conventional sources like surveys and institutional documents, but also from the lived experience of those in the South, including art and personal narrative as valid sources of data.

In Fall 2022, MDC – a Durham-based, South-focused nonprofit – launched the State of the South convening series as a platform for exploring if and how Southerners are reckoning with contemporary economic, social and environmental challenges. It invited policymakers, academics, nonprofit leaders, artists and community members to discuss policy and pathways to create equity in the South.

Our Bass Connections team partnered with MDC on this initiative in Charleston, South Carolina, to develop and analyze data pertaining to the state of the South – also known as the “Snapshots on the South” component of this initiative.

Our processes were intended to address the following questions:

1. How do individuals respond to quantitative data profiles about the key social issues in the South? In particular, how do they respond with a critical lens and based on lived experience? 
2. Based on this response, what is needed for societal advancement or to provide a more comprehensive and holistic understanding of the world around us? 

Our work began with the development of quantitative data profiles that addressed economic disparity, family economic security, housing, educational attainment and philanthropic investment. Based on analyses using publicly available data, these presented visual depictions of trends in states across the South, and in the cities of Charleston and North Charleston, and the larger Tri-County area (including Berkeley, Charleston and Dorchester counties).

These "Snapshot" data visualizations were presented to participants in a convening of community members and leaders held in Charleston, South Carolina, in February 2024. These were presented in the form of a “data walk,” where visuals were placed on posters around a room and participants were asked to respond to them.

In the first phase, participants walked around the room and comments directly on the data visualizations through post-it notes. In the second phase, participants gathered in small groups to discuss these reflections as well as other broader questions, including how history may have affected present realities. After this small group discussion, participants were asked to individually reflect on and share, via an online form, three key takeaways from their discussion.

Our team analyzed the qualitative data collected during and after the data walk to determine the specific focus and content of community interpretation and response, with specific attention to dominant themes. The primary topics eliciting responses included wealth and income, housing and race and ethnicity. Participants also expressed questions about the issues reflected in the data.

One of the biggest challenges our team faced was uncertainty surrounding the data needed for the convening. This led to some difficulties with time management and resulted in our team needing to embrace change. Our team overcame these hurdles by implementing an effective accountability system and keeping open lines of communication when questions came up.

Our team excelled at setting specific goals despite uncertainty and staying engaged with our tasks. One of the most rewarding aspects of the project was traveling to Charleston, South Carolina, as a team and witnessing the participants experience the data walk.

State of the South: Advancing Equity Through Participatory Data

Poster by Jessica Sperling, Adrian Brown, Megan O’Sullivan, Goharik Tigranyan and Brynne Townley