Poll: Black Americans Have Little Faith in Police Reform
While more white Americans say there has already been significant progress toward racial equality in policing, 40 percent of Black Americans say there has been no progress at all.
Landwebs
A new nationwide poll has found that while few Americans believe there has been significant progress over the last 50 years in achieving equal treatment for Black people in dealings with police and the criminal justice system, Black Americans are especially pessimistic that any more progress will be made in the coming years, reports the Associated Press. Some 20 percent of Black Americans who think more needs to be done are optimistic, while 49 percent are pessimistic and only about a quarter of Americans say there has been a great deal or a lot of progress in achieving racial equality in policing and criminal justice.
An overwhelming majority of adults say more progress is needed for racial equality, including about half who say “a lot” more. More white Americans than Black Americans say there has already been significant progress toward racial equality in policing (30 percent vs. 10 percent), while 40 percent of Black Americans say there has been no progress at all. As Democrats’ pivot to the center on racial justice issues, the poll results affirm that it could become more difficult to mobilize dissatisfied Black voters in the midterm elections without definitive reformative action on policing and criminal justice in America.
