Public Opinion | Research & Encyclopedia Articles

The Gallup Organization takes polls on a regular basis to determine public opinion on discrimination, affirmative action, civil rights, and the progress that has been made by minorities in American society. Polls consistently reveal differences in the way various groups perceive many issues and in their respective levels of satisfaction.

In a June 2003 Gallup poll, just 37 percent of African-Americans maintained they were "very satisfied" with their lives, as opposed to 55 percent of non-Hispanic whites. Another 45 percent of African-Americans were "somewhat satisfied" with their lives, but the total satisfaction level of 82 percent for African-Americans still trailed that of non-Hispanic whites (92 percent). (See Figure 10.1.) African-Americans were particularly less optimistic than whites regarding their housing, physical safety, finances, and opportunities for success.

Hispanics polled by Gallup in July 2003 were more positive than African-Americans about the quality of life improving for Hispanics, with 70 percent saying that Hispanics' quality of life had improved in the past ten years. Another 24 percent of Hispanics thought that their lives were about the same, and only 5 percent thought their situations had become worse. (See Figure 10.2.) Hispanics' optimism was likely due to the large number of immigrants in the group who have established a higher quality of life in the United States than was possible in their native countries. Many Hispanics took advantage of a strong economy in the 1990s to enter the ranks of the middle class.

In a Gallup poll taken in May 2003, 68 percent of Americans believed that African-Americans in their own communities are treated as well as whites. This figure, however, masked a distinct divide, with only 39 percent of blacks reporting that African-Americans are treated as well as whites, as opposed to 73 percent of whites who felt this way.

When asked about treatment in particular situations, the divide was most evident in answers about the way African-Americans are treated by the police. Sixty-nine percent of African-Americans felt that blacks are treated unfairly, while only 35 percent of whites held that opinion. African-Americans consistently report the pernicious practice of racial profiling—that is, unfair scrutiny (if not outright harrassment) of minority groups by law enforcement officers. Eighty-five percent of African-Americansbelieved that racial profiling is widespread, while only 54 percent of whites held that opinion. According to Gallup, Hispanics feel significantly less discrimination than African-Americans. While 26 percent of African-Americans said they are discriminated against on a daily or weekly basis, only 10 percent of Hispanics said the same.

African-Americans are less likely than whites to say that their children have the same opportunity as white children to get a good education. According to Gallup, between 1962 and 2003 the number of African-Americans reporting that their children had a "good chance" of receiving a comparable education ranged from 53 percent (in 1962) to a high of 68 percent in 1990. (See Figure 10.3.) In 1995 this figure began a steady decline, and in a Gallup survey conducted in May 2003 it stood at 50 percent, the lowest point recorded in the last four decades.

African-Americans also report being less satisfied with the quality of their housing than their white counterparts. In a Gallup survey of June 2004, only 44 percent of African-Americans reported being "very satisfied" with their housing, as opposed to 69 percent of whites. The number of African-Americans who have reported thatblacks have the same opportunity as whites to secure affordable housing rose from 51 percent in 1989 (the first year the question was asked) to 58 percent in 1997. (See Figure 10.4) Since that time, the figure has declined steadily, to a low of 48 percent in 2003.

When asked in a Gallup poll of June 2004 about relations between African-Americans and whites, 68 percent of Americans maintained that relations were "somewhat" or "very" good. While whites are more likely than African-Americans to perceive relations as satisfactory, only 13 percent of blacks considered relations "very bad." Interestingly, older Americans are more likely to view relations as satisfactory, probably because they remember the violent racial unrest of the 1960s.

Considerable progress has been made in public acceptance of interracial marriage. In 1968 only 20 percent of Americans polled were accepting of marriage between couples of different races, but a June 2004 Gallup survey revealed that 73 percent of Americans approved of marriages between whites and African-Americans. Younger Americans are significantly more accepting than older Americans—with 83 percent of those under thirty approving, as opposed to only 45 percent of those sixty-five and older—indicating that this trend is likely to continue.

After the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks against the United States, in which Middle Eastern terrorists hijacked four planes—crashing two into the World Trade Center in New York City, one into the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., and one into a field in Pennsylvania—the number of accusations of discrimination against Muslims or people of Middle Eastern descent increased. Shortly after the attack, many Arab Americans believed they were being treated poorly by other Americans because they were of the same ethnic background and/or religion as the September 11 hijackers.

One of the most common charges made by Arab Americans immediately after the September 11 terrorist attacks was that they were victims of racial profiling. Public Agenda, a nonprofit public opinion research and citizen education organization based in New York City, conducted a survey in January 2002 that looked at the problem of racial profiling in the African-American and Arab American communities. The poll found that more Americans were outraged by profiling against African-Americans than were upset by profiling of Arab Americans. According to the survey, a majority, 52 percent, said there was no excuse for racial profiling of African-Americans. Forty-one percent of respondents said that racial profiling of African-Americans was understandable but they wished it did not happen. Only 4 percent said there was nothing wrong with racial profiling of African-Americans.

When survey participants were asked about the racial profiling of Arab Americans, they were more accepting of the practice. Only 21 percent of respondents said there was no excuse for racial profiling of Arab Americans. Approximately 67 percent said racial profiling of Arab Americans was understandable though they wished it did not happen. Roughly 11 percent of respondents said there was nothing wrong with racial profiling of Arab Americans.

A Gallup poll conducted in June 2002 found that 60 percent of non-Hispanic whites believed that the civil rights of Muslims were respected by the criminal justice system, and 58 percent believed that the civil rights of Arabs were respected. Hispanics and African-Americans, on the other hand, offered a different perspective. Only 43 percent of Hispanics believed that the civil rights of Muslims were respected, with the number dropping to 42 percent when it pertained to Arabs. African-Americans were even more critical, with only 36 percent maintaining that the civil rights of Muslims and Arabs were respected by the criminal justice system in the United States. Also of significance, the poll found that even fewer African-Americans (33 percent) believed that their own civil rights were respected. (See Table 10.1.)

Table 10.1
Public opinion on the criminal justice system's respect for civil rights, June 2002
DO YOU THINK THE CIVIL RIGHTS OF EACH OF THE FOLLOWING GROUPS IN SOCIETY ARE BEING RESPECTED BY THIS COUNTRY'S CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM, OR NOT? HOW ABOUT…

	Percent saying "yes, respected"–June 2002
	National adults	(NA) Men	(NA) Women	Non-Hispanic Whites	Blacks	Hispanic
whites	82%	82%	83%	84%	73%	81%
Asians	73	79	68	79	52	61
Hispanics	63	70	56	69	35	53
Immigrants	63	69	57	70	34	43
Blacks	62	69	56	69	33	48
Muslims	55	64	48	60	36	43
Arabs	53	62	46	58	36	42
SOURCE: Darren K. Carlson, "Do You Think the Civil Rights of Each of the Following Groups in Society Are Being Respected by This Country's Criminal Justice System, or Not? How About …," in "Civil Rights: A Profile in Profiling," July 2002, The Gallup Organization, Princeton, NJ, all rights reserved. Reprinted by permission. [Online] http://www.gallup.com/content/print.asp ?ci=6361&pg=1 [accessed March 11, 2004]

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