US-INDIA GLOBAL REVIEW JUL-SEP 2020

24 US-INDIA GLOBAL REVIEW JULY-SEPTEMBER 2020 Floyd’s death and an expression of frustration over longstanding issues. Most adults say tensions between black people and police and concerns about the treatment of black people in the US – in addition to anger over Floyd’s death – have contributed a great deal to the protests. It’s also apparent from the sur- vey that America is quite divided when it comes to the role of riot- ing and looting. About six-in-ten adults say some people taking advantage of the situation to engage in criminal behavior has also been a major contributing factor in the protests. There are wide partisan gaps in these views. While roughly eight-in-ten Republicans and those who lean Republican say people taking advantage to engage in criminal behavior has been a major factor, only about four-in-ten Democrats and Democratic leaners agree. Democrats are much more likely than Republicans to say protest- ers have been motivated by long- standing concerns about the treat- ment of black people. Fewer than half of black adults (43%) say some people taking advantage of the situation has contributed a great deal to the protests. By contrast, 62% of white adults see this as contribut- ing a great deal. The views of Hispanic and Asian adults are more in line with those of white adults on this issue: 58% of Hispanic and 55% of Asian adults say this factor contributed a great deal to the protest. The Black Lives Matter move- ment, which is back in the head- lines amid the nationwide protests, receives wide support, according to the survey. Two-thirds of US adults say they support the movement, with 38% saying they strongly support it. This sentiment is particularly strong among black Americans, although majorities of white (60%), Hispanic (77%) and Asian (75%) Americans express at least some support. Trump was lambasted in the survey, with six-in-ten Americans say the president has been deliv- ering the wrong message to the country in response to these protests. Asked about Trump’s handling of race relations more generally, about half (48%) say he has made race relations worse; 19% say he has made progress toward improving race relations, 19% say he has tried but failed to make progress and 12% say the president hasn’t addressed the issue. Americans for sure are talking to family and friends about race and racial equality: 69%, including majorities across racial and ethnic groups, say they have done so in the last month. And 37% of those who use social networking sites say they have posted or shared content related to race or racial equality on these sites during this period. Smaller shares say they have contributed money to a group or organization that focuses on race or racial equality (9%), contacted a public official to express their opinion on these issues (7%), or attended a rally or protest focused on these issues (6%) in the last month. About one-in-ten among black (10%), Hispanic (9%) and Asian (10%) adults say they have attended a protest, compared with 5% of white adults, says the sur- vey. It’s also likely that protests are going to be a way of life, every time a controversy like that of the Floyd killing occurs. A majority of Americans (55%) see protests and rallies as a very or somewhat effective tactic for groups and organizations that work to help black people achieve equality, but just 19% say this is a very effective tool. More say work- ing directly with black people to solve problems in their local com- munities (82%), bringing people of different racial backgrounds together to talk about race (74%), and working to get more black people elected to office (68%) would be at least somewhat effec- tive tactics. The largest divide, as expected, is between the liberal and conser- vative viewpoint when it comes to longstanding concerns about the treatment of black people in the country, according to the Pew sur- vey. While 84% of Democrats say these concerns have contributed a great deal to the protests, only 45% of Republicans say the same. The survey points out that it’s not just blacks who bear the brunt of discrimination: most black (83%), Asian (73%) and Hispanic (65%) Americans say they have experienced discrimination or have been treated unfairly because of their race or ethnicity either regularly or from time to time. In comparison, 31% of white adults say they have experienced discrimination because of their race or ethnicity. Sujeet Rajan is Executive Editor | Parikh Worldwide Media, based in New York. Email him: sujeet@newsindiatimes.com