A Majority of Whites Aren’t Convinced They Benefit from ‘Societal Advantages’ Different from Blacks

A recent poll was conducted by NBC News asking if racism is still a major problem and 64% of the country concurred.

The Survey Monkey poll the network posted showed that not all Americans are color-blind although 30% voted that racism “exists today but is not a major problem.”

The poll was taken after an airing of “Everyday Racism In America” on Tuesday night which featured Valerie Jarrett, Al Sharpton, Sherrilyn Ifill, along with NBC host Joy Reid. The panel discussed racial incidents in America that have occurred over the years including Starbucks shutting down over 8,000 of their stores for their employees to undergo racial bias training.

The Starbucks closing which stemmed from the arrest of two Black men in April is a part of a long history of racially motivated events including police shootings of unarmed Black men: Eric Garner, Trayvon Martin, Stephon Clark, the white woman calling police on a Black family in California having a barbecue, a Black Yale graduate who’s white neighbor called the cops on her for taking a nap and more.

45% of respondents believe that racial issues in America are worsening compared to 41% that feel the issue is not widely recognized. Citizens also voted racial tension as the prominent factor of division between Americans.

The network also reported that over seventy-two percent of Americans feel that racial bias against Black people is a huge problem including 68% of whites who voted.

Studies also show that majority of nonwhites acknowledged white privilege and that American society favors whites compared to Blacks and Hispanics. Meanwhile, 20% of whites agreed that they receive a “great deal” of advantages and 27% believed they received a “fair amount.”

The NBC News poll was taken from dates May 14 to May 21 and the national sample was over 6,500 adults and have a margin of 1.5 percentage error.

Based on results of the survey, Americans have a long way to go regarding racial equality.