A new poll reveals that 75 percent of Black Americans are living in fear of racial attacks following the Buffalo mass shooting, the Washington Post reports.
The number of Black people optimistic about racism improving during their lifespan has dropped to 10 percent, based on a Washington Post-Ipsos poll released on Saturday (May 21). The hope for positive change in America has dropped since polling numbers post-George Floyd's 2020 murder.
After the May 14 slaying of 10 Black people at Tops supermarket, only eight percent said they were "surprised" by the alleged white supremacist attack. According to the poll, 70 percent of Black Americans believe their white counterparts hold white supremacist beliefs.
75 percent of Black people in the U.S. see white supremacists as a "major threat" to their safety, a number that has grown in the past five years.
Among the Black population, there was optimism for change as Derek Chauvin's fatal kneeling on Floyd's neck sparked nationwide protests. Data from June 2020 showed that 54 percent of Black Americans believed the widespread racial reckoning would lead to strides in policing.
However, only 19 percent of Black people say police treatment has made improvements. The Washington Post poll reports that 41 percent said police tactics haven't improved "at all."
Access to guns and personal family and upbringing cracked the top reasons that Black Americans believe hate crimes are committed against them. Other contributing factors noted by Black people polled include others "blaming Black people for their problems," political leaders, and not teaching enough tolerance in schools.
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