Majority Of White Americans Say They Believe Whites Face Discrimination
By Don Gonyea
October 24, 20171:35 PM ET
A majority of whites say discrimination against them exists in America today, according to a poll released Tuesday from NPR, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.
"If you apply for a job,
they seem to give the blacks the first crack at it," said 68-year-old Tim Hershman of Akron, Ohio, "and, basically, you know, if you want any help from the government, if you're white, you don't get it. If you're black, you get it."
More than half of whites — 55 percent — surveyed say that, generally speaking, they believe there is discrimination against white people in America today. Hershman's view is similar to what was heard on the campaign trail at Trump rally after Trump rally. Donald Trump catered to white grievance during the 2016 presidential campaign and has
done so as president as well.
Notable, however, is that while a majority of whites in the poll say discrimination against them exists, a much smaller percentage say that they have actually experienced it. Also important to note is that 84 percent of whites believe discrimination exists against racial and ethnic minorities in America today.
People from every racial or ethnic group surveyed said they believe theirs faces discrimination — from African-Americans and Latinos to Native Americans and Asian-Americans, as well as whites.
The NPR, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health survey sampled 3,453 adults in the U.S. from Jan. 26 to April 9. Of those, 902 were white.
The responses from whites can be broken down into three categories. Those who:
1. Believe there is anti-white discrimination and say they have personally experienced it,
2. Say there is indeed anti-white discrimination but say they have never felt it themselves, and
3. Say there is no discrimination of whites in America
White and discriminated against?
Ask Hershman whether there is discrimination against whites, and he answered even before this reporter could finish the question —
with an emphatic "Absolutely."
"It's been going on for decades, and it's been getting worse for whites," Hershman contended,
despite data showing whites continue to be better off financially and educationally than minority groups.
Even though Hershman believes he has been a victim of anti-white discrimination, he wasn't able to provide a specific example. He describes losing out on a promotion — and a younger African-American being selected as one of the finalists for the job.
But the position eventually went to a white applicant, who was also younger than Hershman.
