Path to equality flush with doubt
In past 10 years, some blacks feel they've made little progress
Some blacks feel they've made little progress

By Devonna Walker

Published: November 14, 2007

Black and white people have hugely different perceptions when it comes to "black progress” over the years and their future prospects, according to a national survey released Tuesday.

The survey by the Pew Research Center, a Washington-based research organization, indicates most black people feel as if they have made little progress in the last decade. Blacks also were pessimistic about the future, saying they don't believe things will improve in the next five years.

On the other hand, whites were nearly twice as likely to see gains for blacks in the past five years. Fifty-six percent of those polled believed prospects for blacks would improve.

The survey, conducted between Sept. 5 and Oct. 6 and involving 3,035 telephone interviews, paints a mixed picture of race relations in the United States.

"In absolute numbers, whites are more upbeat about the progress of blacks than blacks themselves,” said Paul Taylor, author of the study. "By a very large majority, blacks feel they face discrimination in everyday life. Whites think this is not a common occurrence.”

While the survey also revealed a convergence of values among black people and white people, there is an elemental difference of opinion when it comes to race.

Hometown Market at NE 23 and Martin Luther King Avenue has gone through many changes over the years. But it has remained one of only two grocery stores on Oklahoma City's predominately black northeast side. Its marquee advertises chitterlings for $4.99 a pint.

Most of the customers and employees are black. Pessimism illustrated in the national survey echoed there Tuesday, but so did a sense of personal responsibility.

"I feel as black people we don't always apply ourselves,” said Yvonne Guin, 43, a Hometown cashier.

Guin said there is often a disconnect with what people expect out of life and what they do to reach those expectations.

"As black folks, we've always had it rough. But now we need to start working at any cost,” Guinn said. "We feel like minimum wage is not enough for us. But it's better than nothing. And you can take that and turn it into something.”

Emayoli Turner, 95, grew up on a farm. Her husband was killed while serving in World War II in 1944.

"Our fathers raised everything. Back then, you didn't need to go to the market for anything but sugar,” Turner said. "Now, everything you need, you gotta buy. Being poor has gotten more expensive.”

Turner also said she has seen much progress.

"Some of us are doing a lot better than we used to,” said Turner, who retired from Tinker Air Force Base as a janitor more than 40 years ago. "We can work wherever we want to work now. And there's more of us now getting an education than there used to be.”

Large employers such as Tinker have cut jobs. Others like General Motors Corp. have closed. Black employees were well-represented at both.

The survey found one in five blacks said things are better now for blacks than they were five years ago. That is the smallest percentage since 1983.

Another 29 percent of blacks said things have gotten worse as opposed to staying the same, the largest number since 1990.

In addition, fewer than half of all blacks, or 44 percent, said they expected their prospects to brighten. That's down from 57 percent in 1986, during the height of the Reagan administration when the U.S. Justice Department sought to limit affirmative action in favor of race-neutral policies.

"As disturbing as these findings are, in one sense it's surprising they are not actually worse,” said Wade Henderson, president of the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights, a coalition of 200 groups including the NAACP and National Urban League. "Most African-Americans believe the government response to problems is one of benign neglect rather than forceful action.”

Blacks have made considerable gains since the Supreme Court's Brown vs. Board of Education decision more than 50 years ago that outlawed segregation in public schools. Discrimination in housing and employment has been drastically reduced.

Now, blacks and whites are at a crossroads, with the nation and even the black community divided over the best approach to achieve racial equality — whether by affirmative action to foster integration or more race-neutral policies to promote ideals of a colorblind society.

Also, the nation is in a period of transition, facing the reality that the income gap between blacks and whites has grown. Incomes have risen — primarily due to more women in the workforce — but those increases have been greater among whites.

Among black men, there has been a decline in income in the past three decades, when adjusted for inflation. This has been somewhat offset by gains among black women.

University of Maryland political scientist Ron Walter said there's been extensive wage stagnation and declines among all middle-class Americans. But it has been more pronounced among black Americans.

"Essentially blacks are the canaries in that mine, their situation is even worse,” he said.

Contributing: The Associated Press

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