The City of St. Louis, together with Forward Through Ferguson and United Way of Greater St. Louis, published its Equity Indicators report. This four-year effort by The Ferguson Commission conducts a “thorough, wide-ranging and unflinching study of the social and economic conditions that impede progress, equality and safety in the St. Louis region,” according to Governor Jay Nixon in 2014.
“What we’ve learned through this conversation is that real equity cannot be defined by any single metric,” writes Mayor Lyda Krewson. “Instead, it must be defined by the many indicators that affect the health, wealth and well-being of our residents.”
Infant mortality is one of those indicators. St. Louis received an infant mortality equity score of only 34/100, with Black babies three times more likely to die before their first birthday than White babies. Combined with 71 other indicators, St. Louis received an overall equity score of 45.57.
“But that score is a snapshot – a single data point at a single moment in time,” writes Nicole Hudson, former Deputy Mayor for Racial Equity and Priority Initiatives in the City of St. Louis. “It is a benchmark against which we can measure what truly matters: where we go from here.”
FLOURISH St. Louis is focused on achieving zero racial disparities in infant mortality by 2033. While it’s just one indicator out of many outlined in this report, many of the problems we’re addressing will lead the way for other disparities to be addressed and resolved.
You can find the report here to learn more about how infant mortality impacts overall equity, as well as explore other areas in which St. Louis can improve.
“Equity isn’t going to happen on its own. We’ve got to do the work,” says Hudson. “For many people, me included, we haven’t come nearly far enough, not yet. But in a movement that is working for generational change, this is what momentum feels like.”
