Despite the MAGA campaign to rewrite American history to deemphasize racism, a supermajority of Americans still believes racism against Black people is widespread in the United States.
The latest Gallup poll finds 64% of Americans saying racism against Black people is widespread, tying with the previous reading, in 2021, as the highest recorded in Gallup’s measurements since 2008.
“When Gallup first asked this question in 2008, 56% of U.S. adults thought racism was widespread. However, by the following year, at the start of Barack Obama’s presidency, it had dipped to 51%. The next reading, 60% in 2015, came after several high-profile killings of Black people by White police officers. It has since remained above that level,” write Megan Brenan and Lydia Saad of Gallup.
“Conversely, Americans’ belief that racism against white people is widespread is the lowest of five readings since 2008. The 29% of U.S. adults who now hold this belief is significantly lower than the previous reading (41% in 2016), with Black, white and Hispanic adults holding similar views.”
Among other findings of the June 2-26 Gallup survey:
- Black adults (83%) are the most likely to say racism is prevalent in the country but a majority (61%) of white adults agree.
- 57% of adults say Black people are treated less fairly in dealings with the police, such as during traffic incidents.
- Americans perceive less discrimination against Black citizens in other areas of life such as receiving health care (38%), shopping at stores or malls (36%), at work (34%); in restaurants, bars or entertainment venues (32%) and in neighborhood shops (30%).
- However, these perceptions of unfair treatment have been steadily rising since about 2016 and are now at record or near-record highs.
- There is a 29-point gap between Black Americans (59%) and white Americans (30%) in their belief that Black people are treated less fairly on the job or at work — the largest for any of the six situations.
Despite these widespread beliefs of the American public, President Donald Trump continues to push museums and cultural institutions to remove mentions of the evils of slavery and past racial discrimination.
His administration has launched a “comprehensive internal review” of the Smithsonian Institution’s museums with a stated aim to “celebrate American exceptionalism, remove divisive or partisan narratives, and restore confidence in our shared cultural institutions.”
Earlier this month, Trump posted on Truth Social that the Smithsonian focused too much on negative topics like slavery. He reiterated the push for narratives that focus on “success” and “brightness.”
