The next time someone tells that social media is not causing real change, then you can direct them to this new poll by The Washington Post. In the year since Micheal Brown was murdered and the events in Ferguson, Missouri, there has been a shift in how American’s feel about race. While the mainstream media has made an effort to increase tensions and create a greater division this study shows the opposite.
The poll found that 6 out of 10 people, 60 % , says that there needs to be a continuous change to give blacks equal rights to white people. When the same question was asked last year the percentage was just 46. This increase includes a huge leap in how white people feel with 53% believing more should be done opposed to last year’s 39%. This is not only about admission of white privilege however, as more minorities are becoming more awaken to the issues they face daily.
Blacks were polled at 90% which is up from 2014’s 79 and Hispanics went from 54% to 69%. If wonder how this has shaped the political sphere you can make an educated guess on who has had the most resistance to change. The Republican party rose a mere 7% to 34 while Democrats are still the leader in support, the Independent party thoughts on racial equality rose dramatically from 42% to 62%.
Discrimination is now being seen as a problem in this country and addressing how to deal with it is becoming a real talking point. However, the study does note that people seem to feel their race relations are good in their own neighborhood or community. Which is one of the worst beliefs to have because it can be argued strongly that local government and change is more important to a real national shift. While blacks are more likely to acknowledge their own communities racial issues they still poll at a high 67 percent, believing their community is fine.
The fight for racial equality is not over as this poll just helps justify that the presence on the ground, social media, and even work conversations are making the country deal with racial inequality. So you can keep your #AllLivesMatter hashtag at the door, America is not trying to hear that right now.
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