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About Six-In-Ten Black Adults Say Racism
And Police Brutality Are Extremely Big Problems For Black People In The U S
Today
 More than a year
after the murder of George Floyd and the national protests, debate and
political promises that ensued, 65% of Black Americans say the increased
national attention on racial inequality has not led to changes that
improved their lives.1 And
44% say equality for Black people in the United States is not likely to be
achieved, according to newly released findings from an October 2021 survey
of Black Americans by Pew Research Center.
This is somewhat of
a reversal in views from September 2020, when half of Black adults said the
increased national focus on issues of race would lead to major policy changes to address
racial inequality in the country and 56% expected changes that would make
their lives better.
At the same time,
many Black Americans are concerned about racial discrimination and its
impact. Roughly eight-in-ten say they have personally experienced
discrimination because of their race or ethnicity (79%), and most also say
discrimination is the main reason many Black people cannot get ahead
(68%).
Even so, Black
Americans have a clear vision for how to achieve change when it comes to
racial inequality. This includes support for significant reforms to or
complete overhauls of several U.S. institutions to ensure fair treatment,
particularly the criminal justice system; political engagement, primarily
in the form of voting; support for Black businesses to advance Black
communities; and reparations in the forms of educational, business and
homeownership assistance. Yet alongside their assessments of inequality and
ideas about progress exists pessimism about whether U.S. society and its
institutions will change in ways that would reduce racism.
These findings
emerge from an extensive Pew Research Center survey of 3,912 Black
Americans conducted online Oct. 4-17, 2021. The survey explores how Black
Americans assess their position in U.S. society and their ideas about
social change. Overall, Black Americans are clear on what they think the
problems are facing the country and how to remedy them. However, they are
skeptical that meaningful changes will take place in their lifetime.
Black
Americans see racism in our laws as a big problem and discrimination as a
roadblock to progress
Black adults were
asked in the survey to assess the current nature of racism in the United
States and whether structural or individual sources of this racism are a
bigger problem for Black people. About half of Black adults (52%) say
racism in our laws is a bigger problem than racism by individual people,
while four-in-ten (43%) say acts of racism committed by individual people
is the bigger problem. Only 3% of Black adults say that Black people do not
experience discrimination in the U.S. today.
In assessing the
magnitude of problems that they face, the majority of Black Americans say
racism (63%), police brutality (60%) and economic inequality (54%) are
extremely or very big problems for Black people living in the U.S. Slightly
smaller shares say the same about the affordability of health care (47%),
limitations on voting (46%), and the quality of K-12 schools (40%).
Aside from their
critiques of U.S. institutions, Black adults also feel the impact of racial
inequality personally. Most Black adults say they occasionally or
frequently experience unfair treatment because of their race or ethnicity
(79%), and two-thirds (68%) cite racial discrimination as the main reason
many Black people cannot get ahead today.
Black
Americans’ views on reducing racial inequality
Black Americans are
clear on the challenges they face because of racism. They are also clear on
the solutions. These range from overhauls of policing practices and the
criminal justice system to civic engagement and reparations to descendants
of people enslaved in the United States.
Changing
U.S. institutions such as policing, courts and prison systems
About nine-in-ten
Black adults say multiple aspects of the criminal justice system need some
kind of change (minor, major or a complete overhaul) to ensure fair
treatment, with nearly all saying so about policing (95%), the courts and
judicial process (95%), and the prison system (94%).
Roughly half of
Black adults say policing (49%), the courts and judicial process (48%), and
the prison system (54%) need to be completely rebuilt for Black people to
be treated fairly. Smaller shares say the same about the political system
(42%), the economic system (37%) and the health care system (34%),
according to the October survey.
While Black
Americans are in favor of significant changes to policing, most want
spending on police departments in their communities to stay the same (39%)
or increase (35%). A little more than one-in-five (23%) think spending on
police departments in their area should be decreased.
Black adults who
favor decreases in police spending are most likely to name medical, mental
health and social services (40%) as the top priority for those
reappropriated funds. Smaller shares say K-12 schools (25%), roads, water
systems and other infrastructure (12%), and reducing taxes (13%) should be
the top priority.
Voting
and ‘buying Black’ viewed as important strategies for Black community
advancement
Black Americans also
have clear views on the types of political and civic engagement they
believe will move Black communities forward. About six-in-ten Black adults
say voting (63%) and supporting Black businesses or “buying Black” (58%)
are extremely or very effective strategies for moving Black people toward
equality in the U.S. Smaller though still significant shares say the same
about volunteering with organizations dedicated to Black equality (48%),
protesting (42%) and contacting elected officials (40%).
Black adults were
also asked about the effectiveness of Black
economic and political independence in
moving them toward equality. About four-in-ten (39%) say Black ownership of
all businesses in Black neighborhoods would be an extremely or very
effective strategy for moving toward racial equality, while roughly
three-in-ten (31%) say the same about establishing a national Black
political party. And about a quarter of Black adults (27%) say having Black
neighborhoods governed entirely by Black elected officials would be
extremely or very effective in moving Black people toward equality.
Most
Black Americans support repayment for slavery
Discussions about
atonement for slavery predate the founding of the United States. As
early as 1672, Quaker
abolitionists advocated for enslaved people to be paid for their labor once
they were free. And in recent years, some U.S.
cities and institutions have
implemented reparations policies to do just that.
Most Black Americans
say the legacy of slavery affects the position of Black people in the U.S.
either a great deal (55%) or a fair amount (30%), according to the survey.
And roughly three-quarters (77%) say descendants of people enslaved in the
U.S. should be repaid in some way.
Black adults who say
descendants of the enslaved should be repaid support doing so in different
ways. About eight-in-ten say repayment in the forms of educational
scholarships (80%), financial assistance for starting or improving a
business (77%), and financial assistance for buying or remodeling a home
(76%) would be extremely or very helpful. A slightly smaller share (69%)
say cash payments would be extremely or very helpful forms of repayment for
the descendants of enslaved people.
Where the
responsibility for repayment lies is also clear for Black Americans. Among
those who say the descendants of enslaved people should be repaid, 81% say
the U.S. federal government should have all or most of the responsibility
for repayment. About three-quarters (76%) say businesses and banks that
profited from slavery should bear all or most of the responsibility for
repayment. And roughly six-in-ten say the same about colleges and
universities that benefited from slavery (63%) and descendants of families
who engaged in the slave trade (60%).
Black
Americans are skeptical change will happen
Even though Black
Americans’ visions for social change are clear, very few expect them to be
implemented. Overall, 44% of Black adults say equality for Black people in
the U.S. is a little or not at all likely. A little over a third (38%) say
it is somewhat likely and only 13% say it is extremely or very likely.
They also do not
think specific institutions will change. Two-thirds of Black adults say
changes to the prison system (67%) and the courts and judicial process
(65%) that would ensure fair treatment for Black people are a little or not
at all likely in their lifetime. About six-in-ten (58%) say the same about
policing. Only about one-in-ten say changes to policing (13%), the courts
and judicial process (12%), and the prison system (11%) are extremely or
very likely.
This pessimism is
not only about the criminal justice system. The majority of Black adults
say the political (63%), economic (62%) and health care (51%) systems are
also unlikely to change in their lifetime.
Black Americans’
vision for social change includes reparations. However, much like their pessimism
about institutional change, very few think they will see reparations in
their lifetime. Among Black adults who say the descendants of people
enslaved in the U.S. should be repaid, 82% say reparations for slavery are
unlikely to occur in their lifetime. About one-in-ten (11%) say repayment
is somewhat likely, while only 7% say repayment is extremely or very likely
to happen in their lifetime.
Black
Democrats, Republicans differ on assessments of inequality and visions for
social change
Party affiliation is
one key point of difference among Black Americans in their assessments of
racial inequality and their visions for social change. Black Republicans
and Republican leaners are more likely than Black Democrats and Democratic
leaners to focus on the acts of individuals. For example, when summarizing
the nature of racism against Black people in the U.S., the majority of
Black Republicans (59%) say racist acts committed by individual people is a
bigger problem for Black people than racism in our laws. Black Democrats
(41%) are less likely to hold this view.
Black Republicans
(45%) are also more likely than Black Democrats (21%) to say that Black
people who cannot get ahead in the U.S. are mostly responsible for their
own condition. And while similar shares of Black Republicans (79%) and
Democrats (80%) say they experience racial discrimination on a regular
basis, Republicans (64%) are more likely than Democrats (36%) to say that
most Black people who want to get ahead can make it if they are willing to work
hard.
On the other hand,
Black Democrats are more likely than Black Republicans to focus on the
impact that racial inequality has on Black Americans. Seven-in-ten Black
Democrats (73%) say racial discrimination is the main reason many Black
people cannot get ahead in the U.S, while about four-in-ten Black
Republicans (44%) say the same. And Black Democrats are more likely than
Black Republicans to say racism (67% vs. 46%) and police brutality (65% vs.
44%) are extremely big problems for Black people today.
Black Democrats are
also more critical of U.S. institutions than Black Republicans are. For
example, Black Democrats are more likely than Black Republicans to say the
prison system (57% vs. 35%), policing (52% vs. 29%) and the courts and
judicial process (50% vs. 35%) should be completely rebuilt for Black
people to be treated fairly.
While the share of
Black Democrats who want to see large-scale changes to the criminal justice
system exceeds that of Black Republicans, they share similar views on
police funding. Four-in-ten each of Black Democrats and Black Republicans
say funding for police departments in their communities should remain the
same, while around a third of each partisan coalition (36% and 37%,
respectively) says funding should increase. Only about one-in-four Black
Democrats (24%) and one-in-five Black Republicans (21%) say funding for
police departments in their communities should decrease.
Among the survey’s
other findings:
Black
adults differ by age in their views on political strategies. Black
adults ages 65 and older (77%) are most likely to say voting is an
extremely or very effective strategy for moving Black people toward
equality. They are significantly more likely than Black adults ages 18 to
29 (48%) and 30 to 49 (60%) to say this. Black adults 65 and older (48%)
are also more likely than those ages 30 to 49 (38%) and 50 to 64 (42%) to
say protesting is an extremely or very effective strategy. Roughly
four-in-ten Black adults ages 18 to 29 say this (44%).
Gender
plays a role in how Black adults view policing. Though
majorities of Black women (65%) and men (56%) say police brutality is an
extremely big problem for Black people living in the U.S. today, Black
women are more likely than Black men to hold this view. When it comes to
criminal justice, Black women (56%) and men (51%) are about equally likely
to share the view that the prison system should be completely rebuilt to
ensure fair treatment of Black people. However, Black women (52%) are
slightly more likely than Black men (45%) to say this about policing. On
the matter of police funding, Black women (39%) are slightly more likely
than Black men (31%) to say police funding in their communities should be
increased. On the other hand, Black men are more likely than Black women to
prefer that funding stay the same (44% vs. 36%). Smaller shares of both
Black men (23%) and women (22%) would like to see police funding decreased.
Income
impacts Black adults’ views on reparations. Roughly
eight-in-ten Black adults with lower (78%), middle (77%) and upper incomes
(79%) say the descendants of people enslaved in the U.S. should receive
reparations. Among those who support reparations, Black adults with upper
and middle incomes (both 84%) are more likely than those with lower incomes
(75%) to say educational scholarships would be an extremely or very helpful
form of repayment. However, of those who support reparations, Black adults
with lower (72%) and middle incomes (68%) are more likely than those with
higher incomes (57%) to say cash payments would be an extremely or very
helpful form of repayment for slavery.
(PEW)
AUGUST 30, 2022
Source:
https://www.pewresearch.org/race-ethnicity/2022/08/30/black-americans-have-a-clear-vision-for-reducing-racism-but-little-hope-it-will-happen/
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