These charts are from a newly-released survey by the prestigious Pew Research Center. The survey was done between August 16th and September 12th of a random national sample of 4,538 respondents, and has a margin of error of 2.4 points.
The survey makes it clear why this country cannot seem to solve its problem of institutional racism in police departments across the nation. While Blacks clearly see the problem, most Whites still deny its existence. Whites want to believe that the instances of police abuse and the murder of unarmed people by police are just isolated incidents perpetrated by a few bad apples. Blacks see them as indicative of a broader problem -- institutional racism.
Whites also mostly see the demonstrations against police violence as anti-police bias, while Blacks see them as an effort to hold police responsible for their actions.
Institutional racism exists, and it is rampant in our policing agencies. It is a problem that must be addressed. Unfortunately, it won't be fixed as long as most Whites refuse to admit it exists.
