Satisfaction with treatment of Black Americans lowest since first measured in 2001: Gallup

Satisfaction with the treatment of Black Americans fell to its lowest point since 2001 in a poll released Wednesday.

The Gallup poll found 35 percent of respondents said they are satisfied with the treatment of Black people in the country, a 9-percentage-point drop since the question was last asked in 2018. The percentage is also the lowest since Gallup began measuring the trend in 2001.

The satisfaction levels differed between white and Black respondents, with 41 percent of white participants and 21 percent of Black participants reporting satisfaction with the treatment of Black Americans. 

The percentage of white Americans who said in the new poll that they are satisfied with the treatment of Black people fell by 10 percentage points since 2018. Black respondents’ satisfaction held steady.

In addition, pollsters found that more people in the U.S. said they believed Black people are treated unfairly in six everyday situations than in previous poll records dating back to 1997. 

A majority of respondents — 55 percent — said Black Americans are treated less fairly when dealing with the police such as during traffic incidents. 

More Americans than in the past also reported that Black residents are treated more unfairly in stores or at the mall, at work, in receiving health care, in neighborhood shops and when visiting restaurants, bars, theaters or other entertainment venues. 

Black Americans are more likely to say Black people are treated less fairly in these situations, with majorities seeing inequality in police dealings, when shopping at a mall, while working and when receiving health care. 

Almost half of Black Americans surveyed — 45 percent — said they were personally treated unfairly in one of these situations in the past month.

The Gallup poll was conducted between June 8 and July 24 and surveyed 1,226 U.S. adults, with an oversample of Black adults. The margin of error amounted to 4 percentage points.

The poll results come as the racial justice movement has rejuvenated after the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis police custody in May, which sparked protests nationwide.