Three in five say more changes needed to give Black Americans equal rights: poll

Nearly 3 in 5 Americans in a new poll say the U.S. must “continue making changes to give Black Americans equal rights to white Americans.” 

The survey, released Sunday by Axios and Ipsos, found that 92 percent of Black survey respondents agreed with the statement, compared to 50 percent of white survey respondents, 65 percent of Hispanic survey respondents and 70 percent of Asian survey respondents. 

The survey noted that white Democrats and Republicans also disagreed on the statement. Eighty-seven percent of survey respondents who are white Democrats said that the country needs “to continue making changes to give Black Americans equal rights with white Americans.” 

Nineteen percent of white Republicans surveyed agreed. 

The poll also found that Black Americans are more than three times more likely than white Americans “to report police officers unholstering a weapon” during a traffic stop. 

Fourteen percent of Black survey respondents who reported being pulled over by police in a vehicle said the officer “removed a weapon from its holster,” compared to 4 percent of white people, 9 percent of Hispanic people and 2 percent of Asian people.

Nearly a year after former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin killed George Floyd, whose death sparked nationwide protests calling for police reforms, the survey released Sunday found that only about 1 in 3 respondents, or 35 percent, agreed “that the 2020 racial justice protests had a positive impact on society.”

A quarter of survey respondents said they had no opinion on the question, and 40 percent said that they disagree with the statement. 

Eight percent of white Republicans said that the 2020 protests “were positive,” compared to 60 percent of white Democrats, 52 percent of Black Americans and 38 percent of Hispanic Americans.

The survey was conducted April 28 to May 4 among 1,875 U.S. adults. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 2.8 percentage points.