As racial reckoning and critical race theory continue to dominate headlines across the US, a new report by the Pew Research Center found that many Americans remain deeply divided over the nation’s progress in addressing racial inequality.
In its latest report, released on Thursday, the Pew Research Center surveyed 10,221 US adults in July in attempts to understand how the American public views the country’s progress towards ensuring equal rights for all Americans, regardless of their ethnic or racial backgrounds.
Among American adults overall, 53% believe increased attention to the history of slavery and racism is beneficial for society, while 26% believe it is detrimental and another 21% say it is neither good or bad.
In the survey, 75% of Black adults said increased public attention to the US’s racism is a good thing. Majorities of Asian American and Hispanic adults also view this positively, with 64% of Asian Americans and 59% of Hispanics believing so. However, only 46% of white adults believe in the need for greater attention to the country’s history of slavery and racism.
The partisan divide is even greater, with only 25% of Republicans and Republican-leaners agreeing that greater attention to the topic is a good thing. Meanwhile, 78% of Democrats and Democratic-leaners say increased attention is beneficial.
The survey also found stark differences about how to ensure equal rights for all Americans. Half of those surveyed believe that “a lot” more needs to be done, while 34% and 15% believe just a little or nothing at all needs to be done.
Among the 50% that say a lot more needs to be done to ensure equal rights across the country, there remain deep divides over how to do so: 24% believe that this can be achieved by making changes within existing institutions and systems and 25% argue for a complete overhaul of most laws and major institutions.
Along party lines, Democrats and Republicans remain divided over the amount of racial progress that has been achieved, with Republicans much more likely to believe that the US has made significant strides towards racial equality.
According to Pew, there has been little change in opinions since 2016 about whether white people benefit from certain advantages that Black people do not have. Nevertheless, there has been an increase among Democrats who argue that white people benefit significantly from their race, rising from 38% in 2016 to 53% in 2021.
Just 6% of Republicans, however, believe in white privilege. Nearly three-quarters of Republicans believe that white people receive little benefit from advantages that Black people do not have.
In a statement made earlier this year on the anniversary of the murder of George Floyd, who died in the hands of Minneapolis police, the American Civil Liberties Union urged the public to acknowledge the country’s history of racism. “Racism still exists in America, because racism is structurally ingrained in American society,” it said.
“Americans cannot accept the continued repression of our fellow citizens,” the ACLU added. “The mantle has passed to a new generation of Americans who have the responsibility to protect access to liberty for all people”
