The 2014 Equality Index of Black America stands at 71.2 percent compared to a revised 2013 index of 71.0 percent. Relative to last year’s Equality Index, there was little change in 2014 because improvements in the civic engagement index, which is weighted at only ten percent of the over all index were offset by a loss of ground or no change in the other more heavily weighted areas:

• Civic engagement index improved from 99.9% to 104.7%
• Economics took a slight dip from 56.3% to 55.5%
• Social justice also declined slightly from 56.9% to 56.8%
• Neither health (76.8%) nor education (76.8%) show any change

There was a slight increase in the 2014 Equality Index of Hispanic America to 75.8% compared to a revised 2013 index of 74.6%. The increase in the Hispanic-white index was driven by improvements in all categories, except for economics, which declined modestly from 60.8% to 60.6%.

The greatest gains were found in:

• Civic engagement from 68% to 71.2%
• Social justice from 63.4% to 66.1%
• Education from 71.8% to 73.2%
• Health from 101.1% to 102.3%

Gains in both civic engagement indices came from increased registration and voter participation by African Americans and Latinos in the 2012 election. The growing racial and ethnic divide in employment, homeownership and mortgage and home improvement loan denials drove losses in the economics index for both groups.