An extensive new poll from the Pew Research Center shows that over 80 percent of black Americans who have attended college say have been victimized and treated unfairly for racial reasons.
While a majority of non-college-educated black Americans — 59 percent — say they have suffered discrimination or unfair treatment in their lives because of their skin color, the figure is 81 percent for black Americans who have at least some college experience, the Pew poll shows.
Over half of all black people who have attended college (55 percent) say they have been eyed with suspicion because of their skin color in the last year. Similarly, 52 percent of black Americans with college experience say they have been treated as if they are not intelligent.
Among black Americans with only high school diplomas or lower levels of education, 38 percent say they have been treated with suspicion because of their skin color and 37 percent say they have been treated as less intelligent.
Nearly half of all black Americans who have completed at least some college (49 percent) say their skin color has been an impediment to success in life. Just 29 percent of black Americans with a high school education or less say race has made it harder for them to be successful.
Pew researchers sought out professors to resolve the paradox of why black people who have attended college say they have suffered more racial discrimination, feel they have been treated as if they are not intelligent and say their skin color is a detriment to life success.
New York University education professor Michael Sean Funk — who believes “diversity should be an imperative for all institutions of higher education” — suggested that black people who go to college are probably exposed to substantial discussions about race in class and in social settings. Such discussions lead to more awareness about race, Funk proposed.
Duke University public policy professor William A. Darity Jr. — a big Bernie Sanders fan — observed that black people who attend and graduate from college are more likely to end up working in places where there are large numbers of white people. Encounters with lots of white people could cause stress for black people because of race, Darity told Pew Research.
Pew Research also mentions the unusually large number of race-related protests on America’s college campuses this year. (RELATED: Mizzou Activists Demanded Generators And A TOASTY FIRE PIT As They Protested Poop Swastika)
The Pew poll notes U.S. Census Bureau data which shows that black people who earn bachelor’s degrees tend to earn quite a bit less than white people with bachelor’s degrees — $82,300 annually for black college grads compared to $106,600 per year for white college grads.
Also, according to the Pew poll, 54 percent of black Americans with household incomes of at least $75,000 per year say their skin color has been a disadvantage in life. Just 32 percent of black Americans with incomes below $30,000 say race has been a disadvantage in life. (Among black Americans with incomes between $30,000 and $74,999, 43 percent say their skin color has encumbered their lives.)
Overall, 71 percent of black Americans say they have suffered ill treatment or discrimination because of the color of their skin. Just 30 percent of white Americans say they’ve been treated unfairly or suffered discrimination because of their skin color.
The Washington, D.C.-based Pew Research Center bills itself as a nonpartisan think tank which covers public opinion and demographic trends. Pew regularly rolls out various polls. (RELATED: Poll: 60 Percent Of Americans Don’t Want Donald Trump’s Wall)
The Pew poll on racial discrimination, conducted from February to May 2016, sampled 3,769 adults in all 50 states and the District of Columbia via mobile phones (1,688 respondents) and landlines (566 respondents).
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