Armed with data, local activists are taking on environmental justice campaigns. In the absence of action on the part of the Federal Government, local organizations in Mississippi and across the South are working to increase transparency, generate data on public health issues, and mobilize action on climate change.

Historically there has been stigma and pushback to bilingual and immigrant programs, but some counties are starting to embrace diversity as key to economic development. Greater diversity spurs innovation, entrepreneurship, and population growth in rural areas, recognition of these benefits has eased the stigma and encouraged more immigrant programs.

The Migrant Education Program, which offers educational and social services to migrant worker families in Colorado’s San Luis Valley, is growing in popularity among the valley’s migrant worker population, and has recently begun to focus on getting migrant students geared up for college .

Ensuring that cases of missing and murdered indigenous women are counted requires collecting data. In US and Canada, many cases of missing and murdered indigenous women remain ignored by law enforcement. In response, members of indigenous communities have undertaken data collection campaigns, including the creation of the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women database.

With a shortage of women pursuing careers within the sciences, a program based out of University of Colorado, Boulder is looking to tip the scales. Implemented by two female graduate students, Girls of Rock is open to women and people of color nationwide and provides nearly two weeks of experiential and hands-on learning in the backcountry.