Days before the U.S. House is set to hold a hearing on the topic of reparations for slavery, renowned research firm Pew issues a report that says the legacy of slavery still affects Black Americans. According to the Pew report, 63 percent of Americans believe it impacts the position of Black people in American society today.
Black adults are particularly likely to say slavery continues to have an impact: More than eight-in-10 say this is the case, including 59 percent who say the legacy of slavery affects the situation of Black people a great deal. By comparison, 26 percent of Whites, 29 percent of Hispanics and 33 percent of Asians say slavery affects the position of Black people in American society today a great deal, though majorities of each group say it does so at least a fair amount.
The survey also found that more than four-in-10 U.S. adults (45 percent) think the country hasn’t gone far enough in giving Black people equal rights with Whites, while 15 percent say it’s gone too far and 39 percent say it’s been about right. About eight-in-10 Black adults (78 percent) say the country hasn’t made enough progress in this area, compared with 37 percent of Whites and 48 percent of Hispanics.
In addition to their bleak views about the country’s racial progress, Black adults are also skeptical about the prospects for racial equality in the future. Among Black Americans who say the country hasn’t gone far enough in giving Black people equal rights with Whites, 64 percent say it’s not too or not at all likely that the country will ever achieve racial equality. Whites who say the country still has work to do in this area are more optimistic: 80 percent say it’s very or somewhat likely that Black people in our country will eventually have equal rights.
Hispanics’ views are more mixed. Democrats and those who lean to the Democratic Party (80 percent) are far more likely than Republicans and GOP leaners (43 percent)) to say the legacy of slavery still affects the situation of Black people in American society today. And while most Democrats (66 percent) say the country hasn’t gone far enough in giving Black people equal rights with Whites, just 18 percent of Republicans agree. About three-in-10 Republicans (28 percent) say the country has gone too far on this issue, while 53 percent say it’s been about right. These differences are virtually unchanged when looking only at White Democrats and Republicans.
