Black Americans say Racial Reckoning Hasn’t Brought Change

Unfortunately, we haven’t achieved racial reckoning

A new report from the Pew Research Center states that two-thirds of black Americans still see racism as a persistent challenge in their lives, claiming that the recent racial reckoning has not brought about any substantial change. 

The Pew Research Center poll, conducted last fall, surveyed a random nationwide sample of 3,912 Black Americans online. The survey, which included interviews, found that 82% of those surveyed considered racism to be a major problem in the United States. 79% of people reported to have personally experienced racial discrimination and of those, 15% state they experience this discrimination regularly. 

The majority of people surveyed say black people in the United States today are significantly affected by the legacy of slavery and 77% say repayments should be made, in some way, to all descendants of people enslaved in the country. 

Racial Reckoning protest

@ Ashley Landis

The report’s authors, Khadijah Edwards and Kiana Cox say, “Overall, Black Americans are clear on what they think the problems are facing the country and how to remedy them. However, they are skeptical that meaningful changes will take place in their lifetime.”

The survey’s findings are particularly disappointing in light of the Black Lives Matter movement and the racial reckoning which intensified in 2020, after the murder of George Floyd. 

In September 2020, a similar survey found that 56% of Black Americans believed that the intensity of the movement, which sparked a series of protests around the world, would lead to added attention and social and institutional change in order to address racism within the nation. 

Sadly, the Pew Research Center’s most recent poll reveals that 65% of Black Americans say no such change has occurred, marking a huge indication that racial relations in the United States still have a long way to go to reach equality. 

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