Democrats and legacy media have tried to make racism the biggest issue in American life. An in-depth poll of black adults from the Pew Research Center shows the message just isn’t sticking.
Crime and violence, including drug activity, shootings, and theft, are the top issues black people say the communities they live in are facing. In total, 17% name crime as the most important issue, followed by economic issues (such as poverty, homelessness, and taxes) at 11% and housing at 7%. Racism, diversity, and culture are near the bottom of the list at 3%, right behind “no issues” at 4%.
Yes, in a poll of black adults on the problems facing their community, racism is polling behind “no issues.”
Despite the full-on liberal embrace of Black Lives Matter in the summer of 2020, the frantic media coverage and the grandstanding by Democratic politicians and liberal activists have not reflected the reality. A Gallup poll from the summer of 2020 found that, at the peak of anti-police liberal sentiment, 61% of black people wanted the police presence in their neighborhood to stay the same. Another 20% wanted an increased police presence.
Meanwhile, a CBS News/YouGov poll from April 2021 found that 70% of African Americans approved of their local police departments. While Democratic politicians, anti-police activists, and activists masquerading as journalists tried to whip up anti-police narratives, poll after poll shows black people want police in their communities and are concerned about violent crime, which has become worse over the last two years and disproportionately affects black victims.
That won’t stop the next round of speeches and articles smearing all police as racists the next time there is a questionable police shooting. Activists set the narrative for the Democratic Party, which is why politicians quickly moved to defund (or, in the case of Minneapolis, abolish) their city’s police departments in the aftermath of the death of George Floyd. But these activists are out of step with the communities they claim to represent. They’ve repeatedly been exposed as frauds, and there is no reason they should be treated seriously in our politics.
