WASHINGTON, D.C. -- This month, the Gallup Center on Black Voices celebrates its one-year anniversary. In July of last year, Gallup made a 100-year commitment to study the experiences and life outcomes of the more than 40 million adult Black Americans.
At that time, the highest percentage of Americans since 1968 considered race relations the most important problem facing the U.S. -- and the issue has remained relatively elevated since. The protests that erupted after George Floyd's murder last year drew widespread public support, including 92% among Black Americans. More than one in four young adults, aged 18 to 29, said they participated in a protest about racial justice and equality.
The Black Experience With Police in the U.S.
Black Americans are less likely than other groups to feel confident about being treated respectfully in interactions with police in their area. Not only are Black Americans much less likely to feel confident that they would be treated with courtesy and respect, but they are far more likely to say they know people who were treated unfairly by the police, unfairly sent to jail or stayed in jail because they didn't have enough bond money. Young Black adults are even more likely to know people who have experienced mistreatment from the police and the justice system -- and are more likely to know someone who remained in jail because they could not afford bail.
Confidence in the police, more generally, continues to lag among Black Americans, with far fewer having a great deal or quite a lot of confidence than is true for White Americans. In U.S., Black Confidence in Police Recovers From 2020 Low
Despite their subdued confidence in the police and broad awareness of negative experiences, the majority of Black Americans would prefer that police maintain their current presence in their area. Meanwhile, as many would rather the police spend more time in their area as want them to spend less time.
Black Americans are much less likely than White Americans to feel safe walking alone at night in the city or area where they live -- and Black women feel even less safe.
When it comes to police reform, nearly all Americans believe that policing in the U.S. needs major or minor changes. Nearly nine in 10 Black Americans believe major changes are needed.
Some policing reforms enjoy broad support across racial and party lines.
Black Opportunities and Experiences of Mistreatment
But the national conversation didn't stop with policing. Americans were beginning to acknowledge the racial disparities that exist in other systems in the U.S, including education, housing and job opportunities.
One in four Black workers reported experiences of discrimination at their jobs in the past 12 months.
A more recent survey, which asked respondents about their experiences in the past 30 days, found that more than a third of Black Americans had experienced unfair treatment in a store while they were shopping. More than one in five reported similar experiences in a restaurant, bar, theater or other entertainment place.
Black Americans are more likely than other groups to report having been on the receiving end of microaggressions, including receiving worse service at restaurants and stores, and people treating them with fear or with less respect or courtesy than other people.
The impact of discrimination at work on Black employees who report having experienced discrimination is heavier than is the case for White employees. Fewer Black employees who were discriminated against are considered "thriving" in their life evaluation ratings than Black employees who did not experience discrimination.
Black Americans are also less likely to report having leaders of their own race or ethnicity at work.
Many employers in the U.S. seek to respond to the national conversation on race, but managers on the front lines are unprepared for such conversations. Less than half of U.S. managers strongly agree that they are prepared to have meaningful conversations about race and equality with their teams.
Gallup Findings Throughout Black History
During the past year, we dug through our archives and revisited key moments in Black history.
On Nov. 13, 1956, the Supreme Court struck down an Alabama law requiring segregated seating on city buses, trains and public waiting rooms. Several months later, Gallup found 60% of Americans supporting that ruling -- including 27% support in Southern states and 70% support outside the South.
The Civil Rights Act of 1964 was the final death knell to segregation in public places in the U.S. About six in 10 Americans approved of the legislation, though most (62%) supported a gradual approach rather than a strict enforcement from the beginning.
The Voting Rights Act of 1965 was signed by President Lyndon Johnson to address the barriers to voting that were in place for many Black Americans. A Gallup poll taken months before its passage found that the legislation was favored by more than three in four Americans (76%) -- though by less than half of White Southerners (49%).
Before the federal government made Juneteenth an official holiday this year, more than a fourth of Americans said they didn't know anything at all about Juneteenth.
Just before its passage, Black Americans were the most supportive group of making Juneteenth a federal holiday.
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