US blacks increasingly optimistic, says poll
Source: Agencies |
January 13, 2010, Wednesday
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ONE year after the election of President Barack Obama, black optimism about the United States has surged, while Hispanics have become more skeptical about race relations, according to a Pew Research Center poll released yesterday.
Thirty-nine percent of blacks say African-Americans are better off now than five years ago, according to the poll. In 2007, just 20 percent of blacks felt that way.
Fifty-three percent of African-Americans say the future will be better for blacks, and 10 percent say it will be worse. Three years ago, 44 percent of blacks said the future would be better, and 21 percent said it would be worse.
Obama's election is the obvious explanation for this optimism, especially considering the recent recession, said Andrew Kohut, president of the Pew Research Center.
"The poll shows a whole list of ways in which black attitudes are more positive than they were prior to President Obama's election," Kohut said. "When you have a big event like that, and all of the indicators are pointing in one direction, I think the conclusion is inescapable."
Even though the median black household income has declined relative to whites since 2000, 56 percent of blacks and 65 percent of whites say the difference in standard of living between the two races has narrowed, the poll found.
"Blacks are saying the income gap has narrowed, when in fact that is not the case," Kohut said. "It has something to do with the perception and the sense of things as more positive."
A majority of both blacks and whites say the core values of each group have grown more alike in the past decade.
Still, 81 percent of blacks say more changes are needed to ensure equality, compared with 36 percent of whites and 47 percent of Hispanics. The groups also continue to have divergent opinions on how much discrimination exists.
The poll found that Hispanics, not blacks, now are seen as the ethnic group facing the most discrimination. Twenty-three percent of all respondents say Hispanics are discriminated against "a lot," compared with 18 percent for blacks, 10 percent for whites and 8 percent for Asians.
Hispanics also are less optimistic about interracial relations. When whites and blacks were asked how well their group gets along with Hispanics, more than 70 percent say "very" or "pretty" well. Only about 50 percent of Hispanics feel the same way.
There have been a number of recent attacks on Latinos that advocates say are hate crimes fueled by anti-immigration rhetoric.
Thirty-nine percent of blacks say African-Americans are better off now than five years ago, according to the poll. In 2007, just 20 percent of blacks felt that way.
Fifty-three percent of African-Americans say the future will be better for blacks, and 10 percent say it will be worse. Three years ago, 44 percent of blacks said the future would be better, and 21 percent said it would be worse.
Obama's election is the obvious explanation for this optimism, especially considering the recent recession, said Andrew Kohut, president of the Pew Research Center.
"The poll shows a whole list of ways in which black attitudes are more positive than they were prior to President Obama's election," Kohut said. "When you have a big event like that, and all of the indicators are pointing in one direction, I think the conclusion is inescapable."
Even though the median black household income has declined relative to whites since 2000, 56 percent of blacks and 65 percent of whites say the difference in standard of living between the two races has narrowed, the poll found.
"Blacks are saying the income gap has narrowed, when in fact that is not the case," Kohut said. "It has something to do with the perception and the sense of things as more positive."
A majority of both blacks and whites say the core values of each group have grown more alike in the past decade.
Still, 81 percent of blacks say more changes are needed to ensure equality, compared with 36 percent of whites and 47 percent of Hispanics. The groups also continue to have divergent opinions on how much discrimination exists.
The poll found that Hispanics, not blacks, now are seen as the ethnic group facing the most discrimination. Twenty-three percent of all respondents say Hispanics are discriminated against "a lot," compared with 18 percent for blacks, 10 percent for whites and 8 percent for Asians.
Hispanics also are less optimistic about interracial relations. When whites and blacks were asked how well their group gets along with Hispanics, more than 70 percent say "very" or "pretty" well. Only about 50 percent of Hispanics feel the same way.
There have been a number of recent attacks on Latinos that advocates say are hate crimes fueled by anti-immigration rhetoric.
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