A new poll reveals deep partisan divisions over opportunity available to African Americans as civil unrest roils cities in the aftermath of the death of George Floyd, a black man killed at the hands of a white Minneapolis police officer.
In the CBS News survey, 68% of Republicans said that white people and black people “have about an equal chance of getting ahead” in the United States. Only 15% of Democrats agreed. Independents were roughly split, with 46% agreeing that people of both racial backgrounds have an equal opportunity to advance and 49% saying the scales are tilted toward white people.
Meanwhile, an overwhelming majority of Democrats, 81%, believe white people have a better chance than African Americans to get ahead in the U.S. Nearly a quarter of Republicans, 21%, agree, but 7% of Republicans said that they believe American society gives more opportunity to black people.
Overall, 52% said white people have more opportunity than black people to improve their station, with 42% saying both races have an equal chance to get ahead.
The poll of American adults, released Wednesday, was conducted May 29–June 2. It had a margin of error of 3.1 percentage points. Protests over Floyd’s death, some of which have turned violent and led to looting and destruction of property, have been underway since last week.
The CBS News poll also found a partisan disparity in opinion of race relations.
Among Republicans, 57% believe race relations in the U.S. are “generally good,” while 38% believe they are “generally bad.” But among Democrats, 83% believe race relations are bad, with only 13% believing they are good. A majority of independents, 58%, also believe race relations are bad, with 38% of this cohort saying relations between people of different races are good.
