Many Black Americans disappointed in lack of progress on racial inequality following George Floyd’s death: survey

Newly published findings from a Pew Research Center study show that many Black Americans are pessimistic that policy changes addressing racial inequality will happen in their lifetime.

by Alejandra O’Connell-Domenech | Aug. 31, 2022

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Last October, the Pew Research Center surveyed more than 3,000 Black Americans on their place in U.S. society.

Recently published findings from the survey found a shift in attitude toward the national attention on racial inequality following the death of George Floyd.

The findings show that 65 percent of respondents do not believe that the attention led to any policy changes that have improved their lives.

The increased national attention on racial inequality following the death of George Floyd has not led to enough change in the U.S., many Black Americans believe.

Recently published findings from a Pew Research Center survey found that 65 percent of Black Americans do not think that the spotlight on racial inequality following Floyd’s death has led to changes that have improved their lives.

Those findings represent somewhat of a reversal of opinions among many Black Americans from September of 2020. At that time, 50 percent of Black adults who responded to a Pew survey said they believed the increased national focus on race would lead to policy changes to address racial inequality with 56 percent believing those changes would make their lives better.

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The new findings come from a survey of 3,912 Black Americans conducted online between Oct. 4 and 17 of last year. In the survey, people were asked how Black Americans assessed their position in society and their ideas on social change.

Overall, respondents appeared to be clear on what they believe to be the problems facing the United States and solutions to those problems, including overhauling the criminal justice system, improving Black voter turnout, supporting Black education, and business and homeownership assistance, according to Pew researchers. But respondents were pessimistic that any meaningful changes will happen in their lifetime.

Survey findings also show that many Black Americans are concerned about the consequences of discrimination based on race. Almost 80 percent of respondents reported personally experiencing discrimination because of their race or ethnicity while 68 percent said they think discrimination is the main reason that Black Americans cannot get ahead.