PRRI previously reported that some Americans shifted their views regarding racial justice and racism during the widespread protests in the summer of 2020, but checking back two years later, the progress appears to have been short-lived. When it comes to discrimination and the legacy of slavery, Americans continue to be polarized along partisan and racial lines, and white Americans view the issues quite differently than all other Americans. White Americans tend to not see the effects of systemic racism and view themselves more as victims, although there is wide variation by partisanship, religious affiliation, and educational attainment.
How Generations of Slavery and Discrimination Have Affected Black Americans
In a March 2022 survey, Americans were evenly divided on the question of whether generations of slavery and discrimination have created conditions that make it difficult for Black Americans to work their way out of the lower class (48% disagree vs. 50% agree). The percentage of Americans who disagree with this statement—meaning they reject the idea that slavery and discrimination impact Black Americans economically—is the same as in September 2020 (47%) and June 2020 (49%), but it has decreased significantly from 2015 (58%).
Eight in ten (80%) Republicans disagree that slavery and discrimination have made it difficult for Black Americans to work their way out of the lower class, compared to under half (49%) of independents and only one in four Democrats (25%). These percentages are virtually the same as in June 2020 and vary very little for Republicans since 2015 (77%). For Democrats, disagreement with this statement has significantly decreased from 39% in 2015 to 25% in June 2020, and 20% in September 2020. Fewer independents disagree with this statement today (49%) compared to 2015 (62%), but the group has not shifted much since June 2020 (49%) and September 2020 (46%).
White Americans (56%) and Hispanic Americans (46%) are notably more likely than multiracial Americans (32%), Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPI, 31%), and Black Americans (21%) to disagree that slavery and discrimination have made it difficult for Black Americans to achieve economic mobility. White Americans’ views have remained stable since 2018 (55% disagreed) but are notably different than in 2015 (64% disagreed). Black and Hispanic Americans have not shifted since June 2020, but experienced notable declines from 30% and 56%, respectively, in 2015.
Eight in ten white Republicans (82%) disagree that slavery and discrimination have created conditions that make it difficult for Black Americans to work their way out of the lower class, compared to a slim majority of white independents (54%) and only about one in four white Democrats (24%). More than six in ten white Americans (63%) without a four-year college degree disagree that slavery and discrimination have limited African American economic mobility, compared to 44% of white Americans with a four-year college degree.
Majorities of all white Christian groups disagree that generations of slavery and discrimination have created conditions that make it difficult for Black Americans to work their way out of the lower class, including white evangelical Protestants (70%), white Catholics (64%), and white mainline Protestants (61%).
‘If Black Americans Would Only Try Harder, They Could Be Just As Well Off As White Americans’
Americans are less likely to agree than to disagree with the statement, “It’s really a matter of some people not trying hard enough; if Black Americans would only try harder, they could be just as well off as white Americans” (39% vs. 59%), and they have been less likely to do so in 2022 than they were in 2018 (42%) and 2015 (48%).
About six in ten Republicans (61%), about four in ten independents (39%), and about one in five Democrats (22%) agree, “If Black Americans would only try harder, they could be just as well off as white Americans.” Republicans and independents have become less likely to agree with this statement over time (72% and 43%, respectively, in 2018; 66% and 48%, respectively, in 2015), while Democrats haven’t moved much since 2018 (23%), but are less likely to agree today compared to 2015 (38%).
About four in ten white Americans (41%) agree that, “If Black Americans would only try harder, they could be just as well off as white Americans,” compared to 20% of Black Americans, 27% of multiracial Americans, 36% of AAPI, and under half of Hispanic Americans (46%). While Hispanic Americans have remained stable since 2015 (48%), white Americans and Black Americans have become less in agreement with this statement compared to 2018 (45% and 24%, respectively) and 2015 (50% and 43%, respectively).
White Republicans are less likely to agree with this statement today (62%) than in 2018 (70%) and in 2015 (66%). White independents and white Democrats have become less likely to agree with this statement over time, with 39% of independents and 17% of Democrats agreeing in 2022, compared to 45% and 26%, respectively, in 2018; and 50% and 32%, respectively, in 2015.
While white Americans without a four-year college degree are more likely than white Americans with a four-year college degree to agree with, “If Black Americans would only try harder, they could be just as well off as white Americans” (48% vs. 30%), both groups have become less likely to agree with this statement over time.
White evangelicals are the most likely to agree with this statement (53%) and have remained consistent over time. White Catholics and white mainline Protestants have become less likely to agree in 2022 (46% and 45%, respectively), compared to 2018 (52% and 51%, respectively) and 2015 (59% and 57%, respectively). White unaffiliated Americans have also become less likely to agree over time (27% in 2022, 33% in 2018, 37% in 2015).
‘Racial Minorities Use Racism as an Excuse More Than They Should’
A majority of Americans (55%) agree with the statement, “Racial minorities use racism as an excuse more than they should,” compared to 43% who disagree. Americans are slightly less likely to agree with this statement today compared to 2018 (59%).
Republicans (84%) are substantially more likely than Democrats (33%) to agree with the idea that racial minorities use racism as an excuse more than they should, while independents (56%) fall in between. All partisans have become less likely to agree with this statement in 2022 since 2018 (89%, 42%, and 59%, respectively).
About six in ten white Americans (61%) agree with this statement compared to 56% of Hispanic Americans, 43% of multiracial Americans, 39% of AAPI, and 29% of Black Americans. While white Americans (61%) are less likely to agree today that “Racial minorities use racism as an excuse more than they should” compared to 2018 (68%), Hispanic Americans are more likely to do so in 2022 than they did in 2018 (50%). Black Americans remain stable in their views since 2018 (32%).
Nearly nine in ten white Republicans (88%) agree with this statement, as they did in 2018 (90%), while both white independents (59%) and white Democrats (29%) are notably less likely to agree today compared to 2018 (68% and 45%, respectively).
While white Americans without a four-year college degree are more likely than white Americans with a four-year college degree to agree that “Racial minorities use racism as an excuse more than they should” (69% vs. 48%), both groups are less likely to agree today than they did in 2018 (75% and 53%, respectively).
Majorities of all white Christian groups agree that “Racial minorities use racism as an excuse more than they should,” including white evangelical Protestants (79%), white Catholics (69%), and white mainline Protestants (62%). However, all groups are notably less likely to agree today with this statement compared to 2018 (83%, 75%, and 71%, respectively). White religiously unaffiliated Americans have also become less likely to think this way in 2022 (43%) compared to 2018 (52%).
Perceptions of So-Called ‘Reverse Discrimination’ Against White Americans
Four in ten (40%) Americans agree that “today discrimination against whites has become as big a problem as discrimination against Black Americans and other minorities,” compared to a 58% majority who disagree with the statement. The percentage of Americans who agree with this statement—meaning they do think white Americans face as much discrimination as Black Americans—has wavered, with a brief decline from 43% in 2015 to 38% in June 2020 and a slight increase to 42% in September 2020.
Republicans (66%) are more than three times as likely as Democrats (20%) to agree that discrimination against whites has become as a big a problem as discrimination against Black Americans and other minorities. The attitudes of independents (40%) fall in between. Fewer Republicans agree with this statement than in September 2020 (73%), but this is a slight increase from June 2020 (62%). The attitudes of Democrats (20%) have not shifted significantly since September 2020 (22%) or June 2020 (19%), but a larger shift has taken place since 2015 (28%).
White Americans (48%) are much more likely than Hispanic Americans (33%), multiracial Americans (30%), AAPI (28%), and Black Americans (15%) to agree that discrimination against whites has become as big a problem as discrimination against Black Americans and other minorities. While white Americans’ attitudes have remained constant since 2015 (50%), they did briefly move toward aligning with other races in June 2020 (44%).
Partisan divisions among whites are acute. White Republicans (70%) are much more likely than white independents (46%) and white Democrats (21%) to agree that “today discrimination against whites has become as big a problem as discrimination against Black Americans and other minorities.” White Americans without a four-year college degree (57%) are nearly twice as likely as those with a four-year college degree (33%) to say discrimination against whites is as big a problem as discrimination against Black Americans and other minority groups.
Among religious groups, about two-thirds of white evangelical Protestants (65%) agree that “today discrimination against whites has become as big a problem as discrimination against Black Americans and other minorities,” down from September 2020 (71%), but up from June 2020 (56%). Half of white mainline Protestants (51%) and white Catholics (53%) also agree. The attitudes of white unaffiliated Americans have remained fairly stable over time (30%), with a brief increase in 2018 (36%).
