In a recent poll, Blacks reported being harassed by police at a higher percentage than reported by Asians, Hispanics and Whites, according to The Associated Press (AP).
“Two-thirds of young African-Americans and 4 in 10 Hispanics say that they or someone they know has experienced violence or harassment at the hands of the police, according to a new GenForward poll,” the AP reported.
With 343 homicides in 2017, Baltimore “had the highest murder rate in its history, and by far the highest among the nation’s 30 largest cities,” according to The New York Times 1-17-18
Poll numbers reveal 3 in 10 Whites and Asians reported someone they know has been a victim of harassment by police, while 1 in 10 Whites and 1 in 20 Asians reported it as being their personal experience.
“I know they (police) are looking at me,” said 28-year-old Patience Buxton of Mississippi, a biracial woman who identifies as White. “I get nervous myself. I know I’ve done nothing wrong.”
The poll of 1,940 adults shows 22 percent of Blacks reported that they have directly experienced police harassment or violence while 18 percent of Hispanics, 11 percent of Whites, and 6 percent of Asian-Americans reported similar abuse.
The poll sought to draw attention to the way race and ethnicity form the sentiments of a new generation and was conducted by the GenForward organization, with funding from the Black Youth Project at the University of Chicago with the AP-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. It surveyed young adults of color 18 to 30 years of age, the AP reported.
According to the survey, 6 in 10 young adults view killings of Black people by police and violence against police as “extremely or very serious problems,” according to the poll.
“Young African-Americans and Hispanics see killings by police as more serious problems and young Whites see violence against the police as more serious,” the AP reported. “Most, especially Blacks and Hispanics, say not-guilty verdicts for three Baltimore police officers charged in the April 2015 death of Freddie Gray, 25, (who died while handcuffed and shackled in a police van) give them less confidence in the police.”
The GenForward poll, however, showed that young Blacks and Hispanics want the police present in their communities. It was reported that most young people support additional policing in public places such as schools, theaters and malls.
The Black Youth Project at the University of Chicago paid for the GenForward survey, using grants from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation and Ford Foundation.