Survey: NM 12th in ‘racial integration’

Local NAACP boss still not impressed

New Mexico is 12th best in the nation in “racial integration” between blacks and whites, and sixth best in the level of racial progress achieved over time, according to a just released analysis by the personal finance website WalletHub.

In order to determine the most racially integrated and progressive states, WalletHub’s analysts compared the 50 states and the District of Columbia across three key dimensions: Employment and wealth, education and civic engagement, and health.

Those key dimensions were then analyzed using 16 relevant metrics, each of which was graded on a 100-point scale, with 100 representing the highest level of racial integration and progress, according to the company.

Among the key indicators measured were median annual income; labor force participation rate; unemployment rate; home ownership rate; poverty rate; share of residents with a high school diploma or undergraduate degree; share of preterm births; infant mortality rate; and suicide rate.

New Mexico’s total score in racial integration was 63.83; the total score in racial progress was 63.78.

The state with the highest ranking in racial integration was Hawaii, with a total score of 73.59. The District of Columbia was dead last, with a total score of 30.37.

Leading the nation in the rankings of racial progress was Georgia, with a total score of 67.56. Maine was last in this category, with a total score of 33.12.

The WalletHub analysis is especially timely in view of the upcoming national holiday honoring Martin Luther King Jr., and a recent Pew Research Center survey it pointed to con-

cluded, “Nearly half of U.S. voters (46 percent) expect Trump’s election to lead to worse race relations . ... By contrast, after Obama’s election eight years ago, 52 percent of voters expected race relations to improve.”

Harold Bailey, president of the NAACP of Albuquerque was unimpressed with the WalletHub survey.

That New Mexico may be doing better than three quarters of the other states is hardly an endorsement, he said. “That still doesn’t mean we’re doing good, particularly in the hiring of African-Americans, Native Americans and Asian Americans” in state government and in educational institutions.

“In my opinion, in working with African-American and other minority groups who have been historically disenfranchised, New Mexico does not score well in race relations, progress or in the employment of ethnic minorities or women of color,” Bailey said.