ABC NEWS/WASHINGTON POST POLL: RACE RELATIONS – 1/20/03 EMBARGOED FOR RELEASED AFTER 11 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2003
Despite a Chasm in Perceptions of Racism, Public Views of Race Relations Improve
Blacks and whites are breaking bread in record numbers, and public views of race relations have improved markedly in recent years. But there’s still a huge disconnect between the races in perceptions of how blacks are treated in local communities.
For most white Americans, the view is one of equality: At least eight in 10 whites think blacks in their communities have an equal chance to get jobs for which they’re qualified, housing they can afford, fair treatment from merchants and quality schools for their kids. Two-thirds of whites also think blacks get equal treatment from the police.
But black Americans differ – and by huge margins. Fewer than half of blacks think they have an equal shot at housing in their community, or get equal treatment from local merchants. Fewer still – 39 percent – think blacks have an equal chance at jobs. And just 28 percent think blacks receive equal treatment from the police in their community.
100% Think Blacks in Your Community… ABC News/Washington Post poll 92% 90% Whites Blacks 82% 81% 80% 80%
70% 66%
60% 58% 58%
50% 46% 45% 40% 39% 40%
30% 28%
20%
10%
0% Experience Have as good a Have as good a Receive equal Receive equal Have as good a discrimination chance as chance as treatments as treatments as chance as white whites to get whites to get a whites from the whites at local kids to go to a affordable job they're police businesses good public housing qualified for school
In one area, public education, majorities of whites and blacks alike see equal opportunity, but here, too, the gap is vast. Ninety-two percent of whites think black children in their communities have an equal chance to attend a good public school; 58 percent of blacks agree.
Think blacks in your community have... Whites Blacks Gap An equal chance at jobs 80% 39 41 points Equal treatments from the police 66 28 38 Equal treatments from merchants 82 45 37 An equal chance in housing 81 46 35 Equal chance at good public schools 92 58 34 “
This ABC News/Washington Post poll was conducted to accompany a special Nightline Town Meeting, “Two Towns of Jasper,” in Jasper, Texas, where a black man was chained to a pickup truck and dragged to his death in a 1998 hate crime. The program airs Thursday at 11:35 p.m. Eastern time.
Despite these differing perceptions, the poll includes positive results on the state of race relations, on personal, local and national levels. Most broadly, 54 percent of whites think race relations in this country are good, and 44 percent of blacks agree. While surely these could be better, each is up by about 20 points from a 1997 ABC/Post poll.
60% Rate Race Relations in the U.S. Positively: 1997 v. Today ABC News/Washington Post poll 54% 52% 1997 50% 2003 44%
40%
33% 31% 30%
24%
20%
10%
0% All Whites Blacks
Race relations in the U.S. “good” or “excellent” 2003 1997 Change All 52% 31 +21 points Whites 54 33 +21 Blacks 44 24 +20 Others 49 28 +21
Ratings are more positive locally: Eighty percent of whites, and 73 percent of blacks, say race relations in their own communities are good (or even “excellent.”) (Sixty-eight percent of Americans describe their community as mixed racially; 29 percent say it’s mostly white.)
Race relations in your community “good” or “excellent” 2003 All 80% Whites 80 Blacks 73 Others 80
Another promising sign is the continued gain in social contact between the races. The number of whites who say they have a fairly close friend who’s black has grown from 54 percent in 1981 to 75 percent now. And 83 percent of blacks say they have a white friend, stable in recent years but up from 69 percent 22 years ago.
Moreover, for the first time in polls since 1973, a majority of Americans, 54 percent, now say they’ve brought someone of the opposite race home for dinner in recent years – a number that’s also grown steadily, from just 20 percent 30 years ago.
Have Brought a Friend of Opposite Race Home For Dinner 60% ABC News/Washington Post poll
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0% 1973 1974 1976 1977 1980 1982 1984 1985 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1993 1994 1996 1997 2003
Have a fairly close friend of the opposite race 2003 1997 1996 1989 1981 Whites 75% 71 69 66 54 Blacks 83 83 77 80 69
Had a friend of the opposite race home for dinner 2003 1997 1994 1980 1973 54% 44 37* 29 20 (1994 and previous by National Opinion Research Center)
But clearly, this increased social contact hasn’t erased perceptions – or experience – of racial tolerance. Broadly, 40 percent of whites think blacks in their community experience racial discrimination; but among blacks, 58 percent say so. Even more blacks, 64 percent, personally have felt at some time they were being discriminated against because of their race. And 63 percent of other nonwhites say the same. Just about a third as many whites, 22 percent, have experienced racial discrimination.
This poll also measures personal experience of discrimination among blacks. Most prevalent is being made to feel unwelcome by a sales clerk or shopkeeper because of your race: Sixty-one percent of blacks say they’ve personally experienced this. Four in 10 say they’ve been stopped by the police just because of their race; one-third, denied a job; a quarter, denied housing. Add in the experience of close friends or family members, and these numbers jump.
Because of your race, Among blacks: were you ever: Yes, me Yes, family/friend No Denied housing you could afford 27% 16 57 Denied a job you were qualified for 34 16 49 Stopped by the police 41 17 43 Made to feel unwelcome in a store 61 7 32
BLACK MEN – There’s one very striking difference in these experiences between black men and black women – being stopped by the police “just because of your race.” Sixty- five percent of black men say it’s happened to them, compared to 22 percent of black women.
Not surprisingly, given that experience, black men are 18 points more likely than black women to say that blacks don’t get equal treatment as whites from the police in their community. However, majorities of both groups – 61 percent of black women, and 79 percent of black men – say this is the case. Black men also are 14 points less likely to rate race relations in the nation positively – 50 percent of black women do so, compared to 36 percent of black men.
METHODOLOGY – This ABC News/Washington Post poll was conducted by telephone Jan. 16-20, 2003, among a random national sample of 1,133 adults, including an oversample of 211 blacks. The results have a three-point error margin for the full sample, 6.5 points for blacks. Fieldwork by TNS Intersearch of Horsham, PA.
Analysis by Gary Langer.
ABC News polls can be found at ABCNEWS.com on the Internet at: http://abcnews.go.com/sections/us/PollVault/PollVault.html
Media contact: Cathie Levine, (212) 456-4934
Results follow.
33. Is your community made up mostly of people of one racial group, or would you say your community is racially mixed?
One group Mixed No opinion 1/20/03 All 32 68 * Whites 36 64 0 Blacks 17 82 * Others 25 75 0
34. (IF ONE GROUP) Which group is that?
White Black Hispanic Asian Indian Other No opin. 1/20/03 All 91 6 4 0 0 0 0 Whites 97 2 1 0 0 0 0 Blacks 43 54 3 0 0 0 0 Others 63 11 26 0 0 0 0
35. Generally speaking, do you think race relations in the United States are excellent, good, not so good or poor?
----Positive------Negative------NET Ex. Good NET Not good Poor No opin
1/20/03 All 52 3 49 45 35 10 3 Whites 54 2 52 43 36 7 3 Blacks 44 4 40 55 37 18 1 Others 49 5 44 47 32 15 4
6/8/97 All 31 1 30 68 46 22 2 Whites 33 1 31 66 46 19 2 Blacks 24 2 23 75 42 34 1
5/7/96 All 28 4 24 69 44 25 3 Whites 28 4 24 70 47 23 2 Blacks 20 1 20 76 38 38 4
4/30/92 All 21 1 20 77 45 32 2 Whites 24 1 23 75 47 28 1 Blacks 11 1 10 88 29 59 1
3/3/92 All 32 2 30 66 45 21 2 Whites 34 2 32 64 44 20 2 Blacks 21 2 19 78 48 30 2
36. Would you describe race relations in the community where you live as excellent, good, not so good or poor?
----Positive------Negative------No No NET Ex. Good NET Not good Poor minority opin.
1/20/03 All 80 16 63 18 14 4 1 1 Whites 80 16 64 17 13 3 1 1 Blacks 73 15 58 25 17 8 * 2 Others 80 16 64 17 13 4 2 1
37. Do you think blacks who live in your community experience racial discrimination, or not? IF YES: Do you think it happens often, occasionally, or rarely?
------Yes------No blacks No NET Often Occas. Rarely No (vol.) opin. 1/20/03 All 43 11 25 6 50 4 2 Whites 40 9 25 6 52 5 3 Blacks 58 23 28 7 40 1 1 Others 45 14 26 5 50 2 3
38. Have you personally ever felt that you were being discriminated against because of your race? IF YES: Has that happened often, occasionally or rarely?
------Yes------No NET Often Occas. Rarely No opin. 1/20/03 All 32 6 13 13 68 * Whites 22 3 8 11 78 * Blacks 64 20 32 12 36 0 Others 63 8 30 25 37 0
39. (IF BLACKS IN COMMUNITY) Do you think that blacks who live in your community DO or DO NOT:
1/20/03 – Summary Table
Yes No No opinion a. have as good a chance as whites to get housing they can afford All 76 21 3 Whites 81 15 4 Blacks 46 54 1 Others 68 30 3 b. have as good a chance as whites to get a job for which they're qualified All 73 24 3 Whites 80 16 3 Blacks 39 60 1 Others 60 39 1 c. receive equal treatments as whites from the police All 57 35 7 Whites 66 26 8 Blacks 28 69 3 Others 36 58 7 d. receive equal treatments as whites when they visit local businesses, such as stores, restaurants or banks All 76 21 3 Whites 82 15 3 Blacks 45 53 2 Others 69 27 4
40. (IF BLACKS IN COMMUNITY) Do you think that black children in your community DO or DO NOT have as good a chance as white children to attend a good public school?
Yes No No opinion 1/20/03 All 86 13 1 Whites 92 7 2 Blacks 58 40 1 Others 76 23 *
41. (ASKED OF BLACKS) Have you personally ever felt that (READ ITEM) just because of your race, or not? IF NOT: As far as you’re aware, has that ever happened to a close friend or someone in your immediate family?
1/20/03 – Summary Table Friend/ No NET Yes family No opin. a. you were denied housing you could afford 43 27 16 57 0 b. you were denied a job you were qualified for 50 34 16 49 * c. you were stopped by the police 57 41 17 43 0 d. a shopkeeper or sales clerk was trying to make you feel unwelcome 68 61 7 32 0
42. Do you yourself know any (black/white) person whom you consider a fairly close personal friend? (Asked of non-blacks about blacks, asked of blacks about whites)
Yes No No opinion 1/20/03 All 77 23 * Whites 75 25 0 Blacks 83 17 0 Others 87 13 1
6/8/97 Whites 71 29 * Blacks 83 17 0
5/7/96 Whites 69 31 * Blacks 77 22 1
10/3/89 Whites 66 34 * Blacks 80 20 *
1/14/86 Blacks 69 30 1
3/6/81 Whites 54 46 * Blacks 69 31 *
43. During the last few years has anyone in your family brought a friend who was (black/white) home for dinner? (Asked of non-blacks about blacks, asked of blacks about whites)
Yes No No opinion 1/20/03 All 54 45 * Whites 49 51 * Blacks 70 30 * Others 72 28 1
6/8/97 All 44 56 * Whites 40 59 * Blacks 59 41 0
5/25/96* All 41 59 * 5/31/94 37 63 * 4/26/93 37 63 * 4/91 31 69 1 4/90 29 70 * 4/89 30 70 * 4/88 32 67 1 4/87 31 69 * 4/85 29 70 * 4/84 31 69 * 4/82 30 70 * 4/80 29 71 1 4/77 23 77 * 4/76 23 77 * 4/74 23 77 * 4/73 20 80 * *5/96 and previous: National Opinion Research Center
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