Black Americans increasingly report that they have been mistreated while shopping in a store, according to a new Gallup survey.
The survey found that:
- 35% of Blacks report mistreatment while shopping in a store in the last 30 days.
- About one in five Blacks report unfair treatment in other situations.
- Reports of mistreatment are higher among Black Americans than Hispanic Americans.
The Gallup survey was conducted at a time of public sensitivity to racial inequities, spurred by the Black Lives Matter movement amid protests against police misconduct in 2020.
The percentage of Black shoppers (35%) who say they were mistreated in a store is up from 24% one year ago. Prior to this year, the percentage of Black adults who reported mistreatment at stores in the past 30 days ranged from 24% to 30%.
Black perceptions of mistreatment in a store contrast with those of Hispanic Americans. Only 16% of Hispanics say they have been mistreated in a store in the past 30 days.
Blacks were also asked about mistreatment in other situations, and the results are similar to what they were one year ago. These other situations include mistreatment at work (17%); in a restaurant, bar, theater, or entertainment venue (21%); in dealings with police or traffic officers (20%); and while getting healthcare for themselves and a family member (17%).
While none of the individual situations comes close to the majority level, a majority of Black Americans (54%) do say they have been treated unfairly in at least one of the five situations. But 45% of respondents say they have not experienced mistreatment in any of the five situations in the last 30 days, notes The Hill.
The Gallup survey results show that Blacks are no less likely to report unfair treatment today than when Gallup first conducted the survey in 1997.
A smaller percentage of Black Americans experienced unfair treatment at work this year, perhaps owing to the fact that many people are working remotely.
Hispanic Americans, meanwhile, are most likely to say that they have been mistreated in a restaurant in the past 30 days (19%) compared to other venues or situations. This percentage is similar to Black respondents who say they were mistreated in a restaurant (21%). In dealings with law enforcement, 11% of Hispanics reported unfair treatment.
Gallup asked Hispanics about mistreatment in 2013 and 2015, with generally similar results. Overall, 34% of Hispanics say they have been treated unfairly in at least one of the five situations in the past 30 days.
The results are based on a June 1-July 5 Gallup survey that included oversamples of Black and Hispanic adults to allow for more precise estimates of those subgroups. The questions about unfair treatment were asked of Black and Hispanic respondents only. While the oversamples are large enough to report reliable estimates of Black and Hispanic Americans overall, they are not sufficiently large to report results for subgroups of Black and Hispanic adults.
© 2023 Newsmax. All rights reserved.