Wyoming Ranks High For Racial Equality In Civic Engagement In America
Racial equality has been one of the most prominent topics of the year, arguably right on pair with the upcoming presidential election and COVID-19 pandemic. All around the country, their have been several protests about police brutality, which in turn gave way to broader discussions about race relations.
A new study conducted by WalletHub focuses on the racial equality in civil engagement. The study states:
While it’s easy to see racial discrepancies in areas like employment and education, it’s also important to highlight differences in civic engagement.
To better understand the study, here is detailed explanation of civil engagement gleened from Wikipedia:
Any individual or group activity addressing issues of public concern. Citizens acting alone or together to protect public values or make a change or difference in the community are common types of civic engagement.
Wyoming scored the #2 spot overall, while coming in first in two separate metrics: "lowest gap in share of single-parent households" and also "lowest gap in share of veterans". Only New Mexico scored higher coming in at first place overall.
To determine the best states for racial equality in civic engagement, WalletHub compared 48 states (excluding Alaska and Hawaii), and the District of Columbia across five key metrics, which include:
- Share of Single-Parent Households
- Share of Adult Population on Parole
- Share of Veterans
- Volunteer Rate
- Voter-Turnout Rate
It is worth noting, in some states black people scored as high as or better than white people on a given metric, all such states were awarded the maximum number of points.