Poll: African Americans see less harmony with police — and also with whites

[DonViejo]

Source: Washington Post

Nearly half (46 percent) of African Americans say they have "very little" confidence in the police to treat blacks and whites equally, according to a new USA Today/Pew Research Center poll..

As one might expect, that's higher than the number of whites who say the same (12 percent). There is, after all, a wide gulf between how blacks and whites view police and also the criminal justice system in general.

As one might not expect, though, Pew's numbers also suggests blacks' views of the police have become worse in recent years.

The 46 percent figure is up from 31 percent seven years ago and 34 percent in 2009.

Read more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-fix/wp/2014/08/26/poll-african-americans-see-less-harmony-with-police-and-also-with-whites/

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[chemp]

1. Blame our news media

When the news supports these shootings of unarmed black men, calling them "no angels", and thug, they imply these young men got what was coming to them.
Then they show the vocal white minority supporting the shooting.

Sowing separation and breeding mistrust.

[Herself]

2. for over 100 years blacks have been treated as inferrior

subjected to atrocities in a country that prides it's self that "all are created equal" and people wonder why black Americans feel, think, act and believe as they do?

The black communities get less, so they have less success. Yes, education became desegregated, but the quality black communities receive is dismal. Tax breaks for charter schools takes dollars away from public schools, and then people pitch a fit about the public school quality of education. IT's designed to fail, and justify abandoning and segregating students again.

The only people hated more than blacks, and including by blacks are LGBT Americans. Blacks in SC still hunt down "their own race" that are gay men, to the delight of the whole state.

[joeglow3]

6. Dc spends eighteen thousand per student per year

While much of what you say is true, there are other issues to discuss as well. In the 50's, over 70% of black Americans were born into intact families. Today that number is around 30%. When the single greatest indicator of a child's success as an adult is their parents marital status, this stat is scary.

We need to do more to support these children, but we also need to figure out how to create a cultural shift that moves away from so many children being born into single parent homes.

[kwassa]

15. What are you really trying to say?

You raise several false arguments here.

The greatest indicator of academic achievement it the SES, or socio-economic status of the parents. It is about poverty. Any school will have limited ability to overcome poverty. Poor people are more likely to have children out of wedlock, too, but the rate has gone up for all groups because the social stigma against it has vanished.

As to the 70% rate, it is a totally misleading statistic. There is a great analysis of the problem with it here:

http://www.theatlantic.com/sexes/archive/2013/06/understanding-out-of-wedlock-births-in-black-america/277084/

One obvious reason that you have a higher percentage of children born out of wedlock in the black community is that the number of unmarried women (mothers or not) has grown a lot, while number of married women has grown only a little.

.............................

But while the number of unmarried black women has substantially grown, the actual birthrate (measured by births per 1000) for black women is it the lowest point that its ever documented. So while a larger number of black women are choosing not to marry, many of those women are also choosing not to bring kids into the world. But there is something else. As you can see the drop in the birthrate for unmarried black women is mirrored by an even steeper drop among married black women. Indeed, whereas at one point married black women were having more kids than married white women, they are now having less.

Point being, that if all black women are having fewer children, but married black women are having the fewest, than the percentage of the children from out of wedlock mothers will rise, while the total number of children are actually less!

The stigma for out our wedlock births has vanished, too, so there has been a big rise in all groups in out of wedlock births. Being out of wedlock also does not mean out of a serious relationship, either. How do the kids fare when the nation has a 50% divorce rate?

[Travis_0004]

8. I dont think its a funding problem.

I would never send my kids to Cincinnati Public schools. (Not an issue I dont live in their school district).

There are a lot of school districs that are among the best in the state, and every one of those schools spend thousands less per student than Cincinnati public schools.

[trublu992]

3. You need a poll for this information.

This is just reality Black people have never trusted police never a reason too.

[JustAnotherGen]

4. 5-4-3-2-1

Any minute now - someone will come onto this thread and respond that the legalization of pot is the answer.

It's not Don Viejo - this is as old as Reconstruction - long before the 'drug war' was on the national stage.

[OldRedneck]

5. Well, you see, I'm a white guy . . an OLD white guy . . . and a Mississippian . . .

And I have VERY LITTLE confidence that cops anywhere in the USofA will treat black people fairly.

And as for black people getting a fair shake in the criminal justice system?? Of course they do, right?

[knightmaar]

7. Only 46%?

That's ... actually a lot higher than I would have thought.

I guess it depends on where you live and what news you get.

[heaven05]

9. Nothing is a surprise

in these numbers. Been like this for generations. "Recent years"???? Recent decades, recent generations, recent weeks, recent days? All of the above.

[heaven05]

10. the ONLY thing that will help

the problem of racism is that people have to STOP BEING RACIST. One parent households, economics, education disparities and new segregation. Yeah right. BS. Just stop being fucking racist. That will go a long way in curing the ills of this country.

[warrant46]

11. My Brothers Keeper can help

Shame on those men who let the mother and the grandmother raise their sons as they go off to a NEW conquest.

Racism is part of it, but parental neglect by the men is a factor into allowing a child to grow up without a reliable and present male role model.

[gopiscrap]

12. Yes, thank you Rupublican racists

and corporate media whores who have done all they can to bring this about!

[Baitball Blogger]

13. If the white community had as many reasons to distrust the police as

black people have, there would be a revolution. In fact, all signs are pointing to that direction with the Bundy stand-off. So it seems obvious that police are the ones that have to change.

[tclambert]

14. But the Supreme Court says we're now a post-racial country and don't need a Voting Rights Act

or affirmative action or anything to protect minorities. Maybe Chief Justice Roberts should go down to Ferguson and explain that to people.