How should we approach the history of slavery and racism in the United States? Here is what Americans think.

[ad_1]

Discussions of racial issues have intensified in recent years, with vigorous debates emerging at national and local levels over once obscure academic arguments such as critical race theory. At the heart of much of the discussion is how we should confront the history of slavery and racism in America. As this debate continues, a recently released report from the Pew Research Center sheds new light on the issue.

Here are the key findings: While 48% of Americans think the country has made real progress in race in the past 50 years, 50% say there is still a long way to go, 57% think whites benefit benefits that black Americans and 53% consider the increased attention to slavery and racism to be positive for society.

Beneath these overall statistics, there are significant differences between different groups of the population, mainly according to racial, partisan, age and educational criteria. For example, 46% of whites think paying increased attention to slavery and racism is a good thing, compared to 75% of blacks, 59% of Hispanics and 64% of Asians. The partisan gap is large: 78% of Democrats favor highlighting slavery and racism, against only 25% of Republicans. Young adults are 19 percentage points more likely to approve than seniors, which no doubt reflects the fact that, as we know from recent census results, young Americans are more diverse than Americans. older. The same gap separates the most and the least educated Americans.

Racial and partisan differences profoundly affect perceptions of history and the present. Fifty-six percent of whites say America has made a lot of progress on race issues, compared to just 19% of blacks. Conversely, 78% of blacks say that much more needs to be done, compared to 42% of whites. Likewise, 71% of Republicans say we’ve made a lot of progress, and only 22% think there’s still a lot to do. The corresponding figures for Democrats are 29% and 74% respectively.

On the question of white privilege, the models are more or less the same. Virtually all black Americans believe that whites have advantages that blacks lack; only 47% of whites agree.

Three results help us understand what is likely to cause changes over time.

Education has a great impact on the racial attitudes of white Americans. For example, 59% of white college graduates think that increased attention to slavery and racism is a good thing, compared to 40% of non-college whites. Likewise, 49% of whites with a college education, compared to 38% of non-college whites, say much remains to be done to ensure equal rights for all Americans. And 58% of college-educated whites say whites have advantages that blacks lack; only 39% of whites without a college degree agree. In contrast, education has almost no impact on racial perceptions among black and Hispanic respondents. Demographic shifts among Republicans may affect the racial outlook of parties over the next generation. The 2020 election showed Republicans making big gains among Hispanics, especially those with no college education. But Hispanic Republicans differ from white Republicans on racial issues. For example, they are twice as likely as white Republicans to believe that increased attention to racial issues is good for our society. And 46% of Hispanic Republicans say white privilege exists, compared to just 20% of white Republicans. Likewise, 42% of young Republican adults approve of the new emphasis on slavery and racism; only 18% of senior Republicans agree. Radical changes aimed at improving the situation of racial and ethnic minorities do not enjoy the support of the majority. Although 50% of Americans say much remains to be done to ensure equal rights for all, only 25% believe that American laws and institutions need to be completely rebuilt because they are structurally biased against racial and ethnic minorities. . An equal number of Americans and a quarter of the population believe the changes we need can be made in the existing system.

In summary, despite multiple divisions among the American people, the current state of public opinion will support reforms aimed at improving the status of racial and ethnic groups, and demographic changes may increase support for such measures during this period. the next generation. That said, reform groups need to be aware of the limited public support for changes that people see as going too far, such as funding the police.

[ad_2]