Arizona ranked among top states in the nation for achieving most racial progress
Jan 18, 2016, 10:28 AM | Updated: 10:30 am
(AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)
(AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)
PHOENIX — Arizona has been ranked among the top states in the nation for achieving the most racial progress, according to WalletHub.com.
The Valley of the Sun has been ranked No. 11 in the nation for states who have achieved the most racial integration and No. 7 in the nation for states who have achieved the most racial progress.
The state ranked No. 8 for employment and wealth and No. 16 for education and civic engagement for racial integration but varied to No. 19 for employment and wealth and No. 2 for education and civic engagement for racial progress.
Arizona also ranked No. 5 for lowest gap in median annual income, tied for No. 1 in lowest gap in percentage of residents with at least a high school diploma and ranked No. 2 and 3 for change in gap of percentage of residents with at least a high school diploma and Bachelor’s Degree, respectively.
However, the state ranked No. 31 in highest gap of voter turnout at the 2012 presidential election, its lowest rating throughout the report.
In honor of Martin Luther King Jr. Day, the website measured data between residents who identify as Caucasian and residents who identify as African-American on the latest U.S. Census Bureau and through National Center for Education Statistics.
The website said recent events regarding police brutality against African-Americans have threatened to reverse more than four decades of racial progress since Martin Luther King Jr. dedicated his life to progressing race relations and ending segregation.
In December 2014, 13 percent of Americans identified race relations as the nations most important problem — the highest since May 1992, when the number sat at 15 percent, according to the latest Gallup poll.
The May 1992 data was collected shortly after the Los Angeles riots due to a jury acquitting four Los Angeles police officers of the use of excessive force in the taped beating of African-American resident Rodney King. The riots lasted six days and caused the deaths of at least 53 people.
