Published: April 9, 2021
By: Mahogani Counts | LSU Manship School News Service
BATON ROUGE — An LSU survey shows that Louisiana residents disagree on the role that racial discrimination plays in our society, with 84% of Black residents believing more changes are needed to achieve racial equality.
Only 39% of whites agree. Twenty-six percent of whites think the country has made the necessary changes to achieve equal rights, and 30% of whites think that it has gone too far in making changes for the rights of Black people.
This study was conducted by researchers in the Public Policy Research Lab at the LSU’s Manship School of Mass Communication. The researchers polled 781 adults throughout Louisiana to understand their views on race and class.
Respondents also differed on the extent of racial discrimination in several socioeconomic areas. Blacks and whites in Louisiana staunchly disagree on the degree to which racial discrimination plays a part in the job market, the service industry, applications for loans or mortgages, voting and healthcare.
A majority of all Louisiana’s residents — 55% — believe that Black people are treated less fairly than white people in interactions with the police. But when the responses are broken down by race, 86% of Black people say police treat Blacks less fairly, while only 42% of white respondents agreed.
This finding comes as the trial of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin looms over the American public. Chauvin is on trial for second-degree murder after a Black Minneapolis resident, George Floyd, died in his custody. Investigators say that Chauvin knelt on Floyd’s neck for more than 9 minutes after officers placed him on the ground.
Read more at Shreveport Times
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