EXPERT REPORT OF THOMAS J. SUGRUE
Gratz, et al. v. Bollinger, et al., No. 97-75321 (E.D. Mich.)
Grutter, et al. v. Bollinger, et al., No. 97-75928 (E.D. Mich.)
XII. DIVISIONS IN ATTITUDES AND PUBLIC OPINION
Public opinion researchers have long examined differences and similarities between blacks and whites. There is relatively little comparative polling data on Hispanics -- in part because of language barriers, in part because their numbers have grown substantially only in recent years. It is virtually impossible to find detailed surveys of Native Americans because of their small numbers. Surveys range widely and relatively few surveys permit systematic comparisons over time. In addition, surveys vary in the questions that they ask and in the ways that they frame issues. While there is no such thing as a fixed, inflexible "white" opinion or "black" opinion,
given the variety of surveys and the range of questions asked, surveys show that large gaps divide whites and blacks on a wide range of issues and that those gaps have persisted over time.
Let us begin with common ground. There is much agreement across racial lines on general
principles: democracy, striving for success, optimism about the future, an emphasis on individual initiative, and an acceptance of capitalism.75 A majority of Americans of all races repudiate formalized, de jure racial discrimination.76 But while common belief on general principles is noteworthy, there are wide gaps on an understanding of how those principles are translated into practice. Blacks and whites differ significantly on their analysis of what is fair, of the extent of inequality and discrimination in American life, and of the desirability of public policies across a wide spectrum.
Large and persistent gaps separate black and white views of race, discrimination, and equality. Whites see little discrimination in American life and they believe that what little they see is diminishing. Minorities, on the other hand, believe that discrimination by race persists and is hardening.77 Large numbers of minority respondents to surveys report that they or people that they know have been affected personally by racial discrimination and claim that their race affected their hiring prospects or promotion or treatment in the workplace. A steadily rising number of whites believe that race relations have improved in the United States.78 In 1988, 87 percent of whites believed that "in the past twenty five years, the country has moved closer to equal opportunity among the races," whereas the number of blacks who believed the same declined between the 1960s and the 1980s from between 50 and 80 percent to 20 to 45 percent.79 In recent surveys (conducted between 1988 and 1991), whites were more likely to believe that "compared with whites," blacks had "equal or greater educational opportunity" (26-27 point difference), "equal or greater job opportunity" (27-36 point difference) and "equal or greater opportunity for promotion to supervisory or managerial jobs" (17-29 point difference).80 As political scientist Jennifer Hochschild concludes, both blacks and whites agree on the notion of the American dream, but not on whether it has been realized. "Whites believe it works for everyone; blacks believe it works only for those not of their race. Whites are angry that blacks refuse to see the fairness and openness of the system; blacks are angry that whites refuse to see the biases and blockage of the system."81
Some of the best data available for the examination of questions of race and public opinion come from the National Election Studies, conducted since 1952 for every midterm and presidential election. The National Election Studies (NES) are the benchmark for quality survey research and serve as the model for many other public opinion surveys. Since 1986, the NES has paid special attention to public opinion on race and public policy. Like other surveys, the NES reveals significant racial divisions on matters of race and public policy. According to the 1986 National Election Study,
more than 80 percent of blacks agreed that "one of the big problems in this country is that we
don't give everyone an equal chance." Only 45 percent of whites with incomes over $15,000 agreed; 57 percent of whites with incomes less than $15,000 agreed.82 The NES also offers evidence of wide disparities in black and white views of what constitutes proper government action. Data from the 1986, 1988, and 1992 NES showed that blacks offer high levels of support compared to whites for government social programs and government intervention in matters such as education, the economy, poverty, and housing. By large margins over whites, blacks favored programs to address discrimination in schools and the workplace.83 Revealingly, the black-white gap grew even greater when black surveyors interviewed blacks and white interviewers interviewed whites, although the regardless of questioner, the racial gap persisted.84
On foreign policy issues, blacks and whites were more alike, but some noteworthy
differences remained. In nearly equal numbers in the 1986-1992 NES surveys, nearly equal percentages of blacks and whites agreed about U.S. policy toward the Soviet Union (they both supported it) and U.S. involvement in Central America (about half of each group thought that the U.S. should withdraw). And similar percentages of blacks and whites (about one third of each) supported a cut in military spending. But agreement was not uniform across all foreign policy issues. Large gaps separated blacks and whites on U.S. policy toward South Africa (twice as many blacks favored sanctions against the apartheid regime as whites). And in 1992, blacks were more likely by nearly thirty points than whites to oppose U.S. involvement in the Persian Gulf. On social policies, including abortion, school prayer, and immigration restrictions black-white opinion was also relatively close.85
Studies of Hispanic and Asian American opinion are unfortunately fragmentary. There is
nothing comparable in scale or scope to the National Election Studies that allow for a comparison of Hispanic and white and black public opinion. Most surveys are from states with large Hispanic populations such as Texas and California. While they lack the comprehensiveness and detail of black/white opinion surveys, some trends emerge from the data. Like blacks and whites, Hispanics subscribe to some of the basic beliefs in hard work, individual achievement, and the "American dream."86 Persons of Hispanic descent tend to favor government spending and anti-discrimination efforts to a greater extent than whites but to a lesser degree than blacks. On social issues, Hispanics are often more conservative than whites or blacks. Hispanic voters, for example, tend to favor restrictions on abortion to a greater degree than either groups. And like whites, many Hispanics hold negative stereotypes of blacks.87
Blacks and whites diverge on many other issues, trivial and significant. One of the most notable variations involves matters of law and order and criminal justice. Blacks have long been more suspicious of the police than whites, in part a consequence of the long history of disproportionate white representation on police forces, in part a consequence of deep-rooted memories of racial injustices such as lynching and the infamous trials of the Scottsboro Boys in the 1930s and the hasty acquittals of the murderers of Emmett Till and Medgar Evars in the 1950s and 1960s. National survey data covering the period from 1973 to 1993 show that blacks are less likely than whites to approve of police use of force against suspects. The recent furor over the trial of O.J. Simpson offers evidence of the black-white gap on legal matters. In the aftermath of the Simpson trial, the Washington Post found that 85 percent of blacks and only 34 percent of whites agreed with the jury's decision.88
Michigan-focused research confirms many of the national trends. From the 1940s onward,
a slew of survey researchers have subjected Michigan's residents to close scrutiny. One of the pioneers in survey research, Arthur Kornhauser, conducted a survey of Detroit residents in 1951 and found that only 18 percent of white respondents from all over the city expressed "favorable" views toward the "full acceptance of Negroes" and 54 percent expressed "unfavorable" attitudes toward integration.89
In the decades since Kornhauser's survey of Detroit residents, white attitudes towards blacks have changed significantly, at least in terms of what they tell pollsters and survey researchers. Already by the 1960s, diminishing numbers of Detroiters told researchers that they approved of Jim Crow type segregation in their city. The boundaries of what is considered acceptable expression on matters of race have changed greatly for the better in the last forty years. But if white attitudes towards minorities have changed, but there remain very deep divisions and stereotypes that have persisted despite the civil rights revolution.
In the late 1980s, political scientist and pollster Stanley Greenberg conducted polls and focus groups among suburban white Detroiters. Directing his attention to "Reagan Democrats," that is working and middle class whites who defected from the Democratic
party, Greenberg found intense racial resentments. He found that in his focus groups of white voters: "Blacks constituted the explanation for their vulnerability and for almost everything that had gone wrong in their lives; not being black was what constituted being middle class; not living with blacks was what made a neighborhood a decent place to live." Blacks, in the view of the whites interviewed, were privileged members of society; whites were disadvantaged victims.90
Many minorities have likewise expressed deep suspicion toward whites. Surveys of Detroiters conducted in the late 1969, showed that fifty percent of blacks but only 20 percent of whites were dissatisfied with the city's police.91 Many black elected officials in Detroit built campaigns around their constituents' suspicion of the police. In 1992, less than twenty percent of Detroit area blacks, compared to about sixty percent of Detroit area whites expressed satisfaction with their police protection. White suburbanites were most satisfied with police protection (59 percent) compared to black city residents (10-15 percent) and black suburbanites (25-45 percent).92
Whatever the validity of the beliefs expressed in polls and surveys, it is clear that blacks and whites have sharply divergent views about crucial issues such as the role of government, the reality of equal opportunity in crucial arenas of American life, and the effectiveness of certain social policies. This divergence is the consequence of centuries of racial division and separation in American life. The racial gap in opinion persists, even as some indicators, such as gaps in black-white family income levels and black-white high school graduation rates, are showing convergence.
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