Most Black Americans believe US racism will get worse in their lifetime: poll
Most Black Americans believe racism in the United States will get worse during their lifetime, according to a new poll.
A Washington Post-Ipsos poll released Friday showed that 51 percent of Black respondents said they expect racism will get worse, while 37 percent said they expect it will stay about the same. Only 11 percent said it will get better.
This was mostly consistent across age groups of Black respondents. Those 50 to 64 were the most likely to say they expect racism to get worse, with 57 percent saying so, while those 30 to 39 were the least likely, with 43 percent saying so.
But no more than 13 percent of any age group said they expect racism to get better.
The results contrast somewhat with respondents overall. Almost 40 percent each of all respondents said they expect racism to get worse and they expect it to remain about the same. About a fifth said they expect it to improve.
Nearly 70 percent of Black Americans said now is a more dangerous time to be a Black teenager than when they were teens, including almost 80 percent of those 50 to 64 and 65 and older. Almost 60 percent of Black adults said they are very or somewhat worried they or someone they love will be attacked because they are Black.
Pollsters also found that the expected level of trust between Black and white Americans seems to be low. Eight in 10 Black respondents said they believe white people trust Black people not too much or not at all, while only 17 percent said they believe they trust Black individuals a great deal or good amount.
White respondents were much more likely to say they believe white people trust Black people, with 44 percent saying they think white people trust Black people a great deal or good amount.
White and Black respondents overwhelmingly agreed that Black people do not trust white people much or at all, with 78 percent of Black respondents and 70 percent of white respondents saying so.
But Black respondents did report that they are experiencing fewer instances of poor treatment in daily life than in 2006. Pollsters found notable drops in the percentage who said others act as if they are not smart, are afraid of them and provide them with poorer service in restaurants and stores than other customers receive.
The poll was conducted from April 28 to May 12 among 1,225 non-Hispanic Black adults and a partially overlapping sample of 1,018 U.S. adults. The margin of error was 3.5 percentage points for Black adults and 3 points for all U.S. adults.
Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed..