Race and Ethnicity

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Race and Ethnicity	See also: Law/Civil Rights \| Supreme Court \| Immigration \| Crime

Polls listed chronologically. Data are from nationwide surveys of Americans 18 & older.

USA Today/Gallup Poll. Nov. 5, 2008. N=1,036 adults nationwide. MoE ą 3.
					.
"Do you think that relations between blacks and whites will always be a problem for the United States, or that a solution will eventually be worked out?"
					.
		Always a Problem	Eventually Worked Out	Unsure
		%	%	%
	11/5/08	30	67	3
	6/5 - 7/6/08	38	58	3
	5/1-3/08	42	54	4
	6/4-24/07	43	54	4
	6/8-25/06	42	54	4
	6/6-25/05	46	50	4
	6/9-30/04	45	51	4
					.
"How do you view Barack Obama's election as president in terms of progress for blacks in the United States: as the most important advance for blacks in the past one hundred years, as one of the two or three most important advances for blacks in the past one hundred years, but not the most important, important, but not among the most important advances, or not that important?"
					.
		Most Important	One of Most Important	Important, But Not Among Most Important	Not That Important	Unsure
		%	%	%	%	%
	11/5/08	33	38	15	10	4
					.
"As a result of Barack Obama's election, do you think race relations in this country will get a lot better, get a little better, not change, get a little worse, or get a lot worse?" Options rotated
					.
		Get a Lot Better	Get a Little Better	Not Change	Get a Little Worse	Get a Lot Worse
		%	%	%	%	%
	11/5/08	28	42	17	7	3

Pew Research Center for the People & the Press survey conducted by Princeton Survey Research Associates International. June 18-29, 2008. N=2,004 adults nationwide. MoE ą 2.5.
					.
"In your view, is the growing variety of ethnic and racial groups in the U.S. very good, good, bad or very bad for the country?"
					.
		Very Good	Good	Bad	Very Bad	Unsure
		%	%	%	%	%
	6/18-29/08	19	51	15	7	8

ABC News/Washington Post Poll. June 12-15, 2008. N=1,125 adults nationwide (MoE ą 3), including, with an oversample, 201 blacks. Fieldwork by TNS.
					.
"Generally speaking, do you think race relations in the United States are excellent, good, not so good or poor?"
					.
		Excellent	Good	Not So Good	Poor	Unsure
		%	%	%	%	%
	6/12-15/08	4	47	36	12	1
	3/92	2	30	45	21	2
					.
"Do you think Obama's candidacy will do more to help or more to hurt race relations in this country, or won't it make much of a difference?"
					.
		Help	Hurt	Not Much Difference	Unsure
		%	%	%	%
	ALL	42	15	40	3
	Whites	38	17	43	2
	Blacks	60	8	31	2
					.
"Do you yourself know any black person / white person whom you consider a fairly close personal friend?" Asked of non-blacks about blacks, asked of blacks about whites
					.
		Yes	No
		%	%
	6/12-15/08	81	18
	6/97	74	26
					.
"Do you think blacks who live in your community experience racial discrimination, or not?" Asked of those with blacks in their community
					.
		Yes	No	Unsure
		%	%	%
	ALL	51	47	3
	Whites	48	49	3
	Blacks	54	44	3
					.
"If you honestly assessed yourself, would you say that you have at least some feelings of racial prejudice?"
					.
		Yes	No	Unsure
		%	%	%
	ALL	30	69	2
	Whites	30	69	1
	Blacks	34	65	1

Newsweek Poll conducted by Princeton Survey Research Associates International. May 21-22, 2008. N=1,042 white registered voters nationwide. MoE ą 4.
					.
"In general, do you approve or disapprove of giving preferences to blacks and other minorities in things like hirings, promotions, and college admissions?"
					.
		Approve	Disapprove	Unsure
		%	%	%
	5/21-22/08	21	72	7
					.
"As a result of such preferences, do you think less qualified people get hired, promoted, or admitted often, sometimes, hardly ever, or never?"
					.
		Often	Sometimes	Hardly Ever	Never	Unsure
		%	%	%	%	%
	5/21-22/08	21	54	14	4	7
					.
"Which do you think is a bigger problem in this country today: blacks losing out because of racism, OR whites losing out because of racial preferences?"
					.
		Blacks Losing Out	Whites Losing Out	Neither (vol.)	Both Equally (vol.)	Unsure
		%	%	%	%	%
	5/21-22/08	30	26	14	16	14
					.
"Please tell me if you agree or disagree with each of the following statements. The first one is . . . ."
					.
		Agree	Disagree	Unsure
		%	%	%
	"We have gone too far in pushing equal rights in this country"
	5/21-22/08	39	57	4
					.
	"Poor people have become too dependent on government assistance programs"
	5/21-22/08	68	28	4
					.
"Which of these statements comes closer to your own views, even if neither is exactly right? Racial discrimination is the main reason why many black people can't get ahead these days. OR, Blacks who can't get ahead in this country are mostly responsible for their own condition."
					.
		Discrimination Is Main Reason	Responsible for Own Condition	Neither/Both Equally (vol.)	Unsure
		%	%	%	%
	5/21-22/08	18	67	9	6

CNN/Essence Magazine/Opinion Research Corporation Poll. March 26-April 2, 2008. N=2,184 adults nationwide (MoE ą 2), including 1,001 non-Hispanic whites (MoE ą 3) and, with an oversample, 1,014 blacks (MoE ą 3).
					.
"How serious a problem do you think racial discrimination against blacks is in this country: a very serious problem, a somewhat serious problem, not too serious, or not at all serious?"
					.
		Very Serious	Somewhat Serious	Not Too Serious	Not at All Serious	Unsure
		%	%	%	%	%
	ALL adults	17	46	27	9	1
	Whites	11	46	32	10	1
	Blacks	43	44	9	3	-
					.
"Martin Luther King gave his famous 'I Have a Dream Speech' at a civil rights march in Washington in 1963. In your view, do you think the U.S. has fulfilled the vision King outlined in that speech, or don't you think so?"
					.
		Has Fulfilled King's Vision	Hasn't Fulfilled King's Vision	Unfamiliar with Speech (vol.)	Unsure
		%	%	%	%
	ALL adults	34	59	4	3
	Whites	35	58	4	3
	Blacks	34	64	-	2
					.
"Do you think the 'I Have a Dream Speech' is still relevant today to people of your generation, or don't you think it matters much to people of your generation today?"
					.
		Still Relevant	Doesn't Matter Much	Unfamiliar with Speech (vol.)	Unsure
		%	%	%	%
	ALL adults	68	27	4	1
	Whites	67	27	5	1
	Blacks	76	23	-	-
					.
"Did the life of Martin Luther King influence you a great deal, somewhat, not very much, or not at all?"
					.
		A Great Deal	Somewhat	Not Very Much	Not at All	Unsure
		%	%	%	%	%
	ALL adults	25	40	19	16	1
	Whites	17	43	22	19	-
	Blacks	69	24	3	4	-
					.
"Do you think the assassination of Martin Luther King was the act of one individual or part of a larger conspiracy?"
					.
		One Individual	Larger Conspiracy	Unsure
		%	%	%
	ALL adults	33	58	9
	Whites	40	50	10
	Blacks	9	88	4

CNN/Opinion Research Corporation Poll. Jan. 14-17, 2008. N=1,393 adults nationwide (MoE ą 3), including 743 non-Hispanic whites (MoE ą 3.5) and 513 blacks (MoE ą 4.5).
					.
"Dr. Martin Luther King gave his famous 'I Have a Dream Speech' at a civil rights march in Washington in 1963. In your view, how much of Dr. King's 'dream' that he talked about has been fulfilled today . . . ?"
					.
		All of It	A Great Deal	A Moderate Amount	Not Very Much	None of It
		%	%	%	%	%
	ALL adults	6	37	45	10	1
	Whites	6	37	47	8	1
	Blacks	7	37	41	14	-
					.
"How serious a problem do you think racial discrimination against blacks is where you live: a very serious problem, a somewhat serious problem, not too serious, or not at all serious?"
					.
		Very Serious	Somewhat Serious	Not Too Serious	Not at All Serious	Unsure
		%	%	%	%	%
	ALL adults	8	22	41	29	1
	Whites	4	21	42	32	-
	Blacks	26	35	30	9	-
					.
"How serious a problem do you think racial discrimination against blacks is in this country: a very serious problem, a somewhat serious problem, not too serious, or not at all serious?"
					.
		Very Serious	Somewhat Serious	Not Too Serious	Not at All Serious	Unsure
		%	%	%	%	%
	ALL adults	19	44	29	7	1
	Whites	12	45	33	9	1
	Blacks	56	34	9	1	-
					.
"On the average, blacks have worse jobs, income and housing than white people. Do you think this is mostly due to discrimination against blacks, or is it mostly due to something else?"
					.
		Discrimination	Something Else	Unsure
		%	%	%
	ALL adults	18	80	2
	Whites	13	85	2
	Blacks	38	61	2
					.
"In general, do you think whites underestimate the amount of discrimination there is against blacks, or not?"
					.
		Underestimate	Do Not Underestimate	Unsure
		%	%	%
	ALL adults	62	37	1
	Whites	60	39	1
	Blacks	82	17	1
					.
"In general, do you think blacks overestimate the amount of discrimination against blacks, or not?"
					.
		Overestimate	Do Not Overestimate	Unsure
		%	%	%
	ALL adults	70	27	3
	Whites	72	25	3
	Blacks	59	41	-
					.
"Looking back over the last ten years, do you think the quality of life for blacks has gotten better, stayed about the same, or gotten worse?"
					.
		Better	Same	Worse	Unsure
		%	%	%	%
	ALL adults	60	29	9	2
	Whites	64	27	7	2
	Blacks	39	40	21	-
					.
"And looking back over the last forty years, do you think the quality of life for blacks has gotten better, stayed about the same, or gotten worse?"
					.
		Better	Same	Worse