Where you live can determine how quickly you reach a hospital, whether fresh food is within easy reach, and even the quality of the water coming from your tap. Now, the NAACP wants to make those disparities impossible to ignore.
The civil rights organization, in collaboration with global healthcare company Sanofi, has launched Black Communities’ Health: In Plain Sight, an interactive health equity map that translates data from nearly 23,000 residents about the conditions shaping their health across America. The data spans nearly 4,000 ZIP codes in 47 states, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico.
The map makes it possible for users to examine how race, gender, and geography intersect with access to healthy food, quality healthcare, culturally responsive providers, safe neighborhoods, clean air and water, and stable housing.
“Black communities have always known what they face,” Dr. Chris Pernell, director of the NAACP Center for Health Equity, said in a statement, according to AfroTech
. “Now, nearly 23,000 voices have made their insights undeniable.”The map is built from the ACE Your Health Community Wellness Survey, conducted between January and September 2025. Its findings illustrate the economic consequences of unequal infrastructure and access. While 63% of respondents reported living with at least one chronic condition, just 28% of respondents earning less than $20,000 lived within five to 10 minutes of a quality hospital. The survey also found that only 38% of lower-income respondents had a grocery store within five minutes, compared with 56% of households earning more than $100,000.
The data paints a picture Black communities have been living with for generations: proximity, affordability, and quality do not always travel together.
“ZIP codes
too often determine our health outcomes,” NAACP President Derrick Johnson said. “Those we elect to local and federal office have utterly failed to address this crisis, so we’re making it impossible to deny.”The NAACP plans to pair the map with its ACE Your Health Literacy Toolkit and community-based advocacy efforts, helping residents conduct neighborhood health audits and push institutions to respond.
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