Pew Survey: Views on US race relations vary according to skin color today

It should be no surprise to anyone that one's view of race relations in the US depends on one's skin color.

As the 60th anniversary of the March on Washington approaches on Aug. 28, the Pew Research Center found that White Americans are wearing rose-colored glasses when looking at race relations -- in complete contrast to the perspective held by Asian Americans and other people of color.

Pew asked Americans about their views on Martin Luther King Jr.’s legacy, the country’s progress on racial equality, and what they think needs to change in order to achieve racial equality. 

What is surprising 60 years after the March on Washington and King's famous "I Have A Dream" speech, there is still widespread ignorance of Americans of one of the nation's great events and public figure in American history. 

The survey suggests that the US education system is doing a poor job of teaching the long struggle for equality and civil rights.

Most Americans (81%) say King has had a positive impact on the country, with 47% saying he had a very positive impact. Fewer (38%) say their own views on racial equality have been influenced by King’s legacy a great deal or a fair amount.

FYI: Read the full report, "Martin Luther King Jr.'s Legacy 60 Years After the March on Washington

According to the survey, Americans are divided on whether society overlooks racial discrimination or sees it where it doesn't exist: 

• 53% say people not seeing racial discrimination where it really does exist is the bigger problem.
• 45% point to people seeing racial discrimination where it really doesn't exist as the larger issue.

Views on this have changed in recent years, according to Pew Research Center surveys: In 2019, 57% said people overlooking racial discrimination was the bigger problem, while 42% pointed to people seeing it where it really didn't exist. The gap has narrowed from 15 to 8 percentage points.

Overall, about half of Americans (52%) say there has been a great deal or fair amount of progress on racial equality in the last 60 years. A third say there’s been some progress and 15% say there has been not much or no progress at all.

But a closer look at the survey finds wide differences when broken down by race, ethnicity and partisanship – and in some cases also by age and education.

While 58% of White Americans say there has been a great deal or fair amount of progress on racial equality in the last 60 years, smaller shares of Asian (47%), Hispanic (45%) and Black (30%) Americans say the same.

In addition, 59% of Black adults say their personal views on racial equality have been influenced by King a great deal or a fair amount, compared with 38% of Hispanic adults, 34% of White adults and 34% of Asian adults.

Republicans and those who lean Republican (67%) are more likely than Democrats and Democratic leaners (38%) to say there has been a great deal or a fair amount of progress on racial equality.

Other key findings from the survey of 5,073 U.S. adults, conducted April 10-16, 2023, on Pew Research Center’s American Trends Panels :

• 60% of Americans say they have heard or read a great deal or a fair amount about King’s “I Have a Dream” speech. Black adults are the most likely to say this, at 80%, compared with 60% of White adults, 49% of Hispanic adults and 41% of Asian adults. Adults ages 65 and older and those with at least a bachelor’s degree are more likely than younger adults and those with less education to be highly familiar with King’s “I Have a Dream” speech.

• More Americans (52%) say efforts to ensure equality for all, regardless of race or ethnicity, haven’t gone far enough than say they have gone too far (20%) or been about right (27%). About eight-in-ten Black adults (83%) say efforts to ensure racial equality haven’t gone far enough, which is larger than the shares of Hispanic (58%), Asian (55%) and White (44%) adults who say the same. Most Democrats (78%) say these efforts haven’t gone far enough, compared with 24% of Republicans. Some 37% of Republicans say these efforts have gone too far.

• A majority (58%) of those who say efforts to ensure equality haven’t gone far enough think it’s unlikely that there will be racial equality in their lifetime. Those who say efforts have been about rightare more optimistic: Within this group, 39% say racial equality is extremely or very likely in their lifetime, while 36% say it is somewhat likely and 24% say it’s not too or not at all likely.

• Many people who say efforts to ensure racial equality haven’t gone far enough say several systems need to be completely rebuilt to ensure equality. The prison system is at the top of the list, with 44% in this group saying it needs to be completely rebuilt. More than a third say the same about policing (38%) and the political system (37%). Black Americans, Democrats and adults younger than 30 who say efforts to ensure racial equality haven’t gone far enough are among the most likely to say several systems, ranging from the economic system to the prison system, need to be completely rebuilt to ensure equality.

• 70% of Americans say marches and demonstrations that don’t disrupt everyday life are always or often acceptable ways to protest racial inequality. And 59% say the same about boycotts. Fewer than half (39%) see sit-ins as an acceptable form of protest. Much smaller shares say activities that disrupt everyday life – such as shutting down streets or traffic (13%) and actions that result in damage to public or private property (5%) – are acceptable.

While Whites believe race relations is getting better in the US, hate attacks against people of color are on the rise according to FBI statistics. Hate crimes against Asians have risen 167%, the largest increase among all racial and ethnic groups, according to the FBI. Hate incidents are becoming  more flagrant; witness the rise of White supremacist organizations like the Proud Boys and the Patriot Front and the resurgence of the Ku Klux Klan and the American Nazi Party.

Knowledge of the civil rights struggle and MLK's influence will only get worse as school boards and state legislatures from Tennessee to Idaho are banning schools' teaching about the racism that has driven much of US history. The most egregious recent example is  in Florida where Gov. Ron DeSantis ordered schools to teach that slaves benefited from slavery. 

EDITOR'S NOTE: For additional commentary, news and views from an AANHPI perspective, follow me at Threads.net/eduardodiok, @DioknoEd on Twitter or at the  blog Views From the Edge.

MLK fought for a 'guaranteed income' in 1968 - Andrew Yang is fighting for the Freedom Dividend in 2020

Let me begin by saying that I am not a shill. I do not work for the Andrew Yang campaign. In fact I've stated numerous times that I most likely, I would not be voting for Yang in this primary.

However, I came across this very effective video put forth by the Yang campaign. The timeliness of it on Martin Luther King Jr. Day and the Yang campaign surprising campaign is why -- with my editor's hat on -- I thought it would be interesting to share.

King advocated for a Universal Basic Income and advocated for a guaranteed income.

"I am now convinced that the simplest approach will prove to be the most effective — the solution to poverty is to abolish it directly by a now widely discussed measure: the guaranteed income," King wrote in his 1967 book, 'Where Do We Go From Here: Chaos or Community?'"

Yang's Freedom Dividend  -- $1000 a month for every adult over 18, rich or poor -- is his version of the UBI and is his most compelling plank on his platform. 

"Thomas Paine was for it at our founding, called it the citizen’s dividend. Martin Luther King, champion in the ‘60s, called it a guaranteed minimum income for all Americans, and it is what he was fighting for on the day he was killed in 1968," Yang told Iowa voters on Sept. 21. "A thousand economists endorsed it. It passed the U.S. House of Representatives twice in 1971."

RELATED: 

• Some thoughts on MLK Day and today's America
• The debt AAPI owe to Martin Luther King

Yang asserts that the UBI would be paid for by making those corporate entitties and individuals who at present avoid paying any taxes to pay their fair share along with the savings that would incur from certain government assistance programs like food stamps or housing assistance.

I haven't seen the actual numbers to see if Yang's claim can be verified. 

The Freedom Dividdend is not an original proposal and not as radical as some of Yang's critics claim.

It's MLK Day and keeping with the intended purpose of this blog, Views From the Edge, here's your Asian American angle.

Again, I cannot say this enough: by posting this video, I'm not endorsing Andrew Yang for president.

MLK's monument's Chinese designer: 'King's vision is still living, in our minds; ..., we still need him'"

DC CHAMBER OF COMMERCE

The likeness of Martin Luther King emerges out of the Stone of Hope

Like the Vietnam War Memorial designed by Maya Lin, the sculpture at the centerpiece of the memorial to civil rights leader Martin Luther King was sculpted by an Asian artist.

Today (Jan. 21) we remember the assassinated American hero who inspired a movement that changed the course of the United States tand benefited all Americans but chiefly ensured the rights of people of color and immigrants. His inspiration broke the boundaries of intolerance and even national borders, as he became a symbol, recognized worldwide of the quest for civil rights of the world's citizens.

The winning MLK monument design is by Master Lei Yixin, a citizen of China. His sculture, chosen from an international competition, was inspired by the line from King's "I Have a Dream" speech, "Out of the mountain of despair, a stone of hope."

Visitors walk through two massive white granite halves of the "Mountain of Despair" to reach the "Stone of Hope," from which the sculpture of King emerges. 

"Dr. King's vision is still living, in our minds; we still miss him, we still need him," said Yixin through a translator, calling the sculpture the most important of his life, technically and emotionally. "I am trying to present Dr. King as ready to step out ... this is King's spirit, to judge people from their character, not race, color or background." 

Lei's selection in an international competition was not without controversy. The Chinese sculptor's monumental works in China caught the eye of Ed Jackson, the executive architect of the Martin Luther King Foundation, who named Lei the head sculptor for the "Stone of Hope" monument in 2007.

PINTEREST

Lei Yixin sculpts a large size model that expresses thoughtful hope.

African American sculptor Ed Dwight was quoted by the Washington Post at the time as arguing that because Lei is not black, "he doesn't know how black people walk, how they stand, how their shoulders slope." In May 2008, the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts called the artist's design "too confrontational," and recommended that the monument be rethought.

Lei has clearly sought to sensitively portray his subject. Lei said that "you can see the hope" in King's face, according to the Tribune Chronicle. "But his serious demeanor also indicated that he's thinking."

The 30-foot sculpture, which was done in China and shipped to the U.S., depicts the civil rights leader emerging from a block of white granite. Standing stiffly to attention with arms crossed and a serious expression on his face, King is depicted as stern and authoritative.

Lei intends the visitor to walk through the mountain of despair to the stone of hope. The memorial’s stone of hope appears to be quarried (hewed) from a larger stone, a slow a laborious process, much like the process to end racial segregation and discrimination in the U.S. The stone has been pushed forward, symbolizing the forward progress in the achievement of civil rights in America.

The unfinished likeness of King is intentional ; just as his life was tragically cut short at just 39 years of age, and just as the movement for civil rights he helped lead is unfinished today. King is looking south toward the horizon, paper, possibly a speech or sermon in hand, in a defiant pose, symbolizing his defiance of injustice.

The ROMA Design Group, the San Francisco architecture firm that designed the project before Lei was picked as sculptor. The monument's official address is 1964 Independence Avenue SW, in honor of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the landmark legislation in which King played an important role.

The dedication had been planned for Aug. 28, 2011, the 48th anniversary of King's "I Have a Dream" speech. But it was delayed by Hurricane Irene, which swept through Washington with high winds and rain. It was finally unveiled in October 16, 2011 by President Barack Obama, the country's first black President.

The MLK Memorial opens to the National Mall Tidal Basin.

The following quotations are engraved on the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial:

Statue

"Out of the mountain of despair, a stone of hope."
From the "I Have A Dream" speech in Washington, D.C. on August 28, 1963. The quotation serves as the theme of the overall design of the memorial, which realizes the metaphorical mountain and stone.

South Wall

"We shall overcome because the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice."
Washington National Cathedral, March 31, 1968.

"Darkness cannot drive out darkness, only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate, only love can do that."
Strength to Love, 1963.

"I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word in reality. This is why right, temporarily defeated, is stronger than evil triumphant."
Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech, Oslo, Norway, 1964.

"Make a career of humanity. Commit yourself to the noble struggle for equal rights. You will make a better person of yourself, a greater nation of your country, and a finer world to live in."
March for Integrated Schools, April 18, 1959.

DIOKNO

Martin Luther King's words are an inspiration for all Americans.

"I oppose the war in Vietnam because I love America. I speak out against it not in anger but with anxiety and sorrow in my heart, and above all with a passionate desire to see our beloved country stand as a moral example of the world."
Anti-War Conference, Los Angeles, California, February 26, 1967.

"If we are to have peace on earth, our loyalties must become ecumenical rather than sectional. Our loyalties must transcend our race, our tribe, our class, and our nation; and this means we must develop a world perspective."
Christmas sermon, Atlanta, Georgia, 1967.

North Wall

"Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly."
Letter from Birmingham, Alabama jail, April 16, 1963.

"I have the audacity to believe that peoples everywhere can have three meals a day for their bodies, education and culture for their minds, and dignity, equality, and freedom for their spirits."
Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech, Oslo, Norway, 1964

"It is not enough to say 'We must not wage war.' It is necessary to love peace and sacrifice for it. We must concentrate not merely on the negative expulsion of war, but the positive affirmation of peace."
Anti-War Conference, Los Angeles, California, February 25, 1967.

"The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of convenience and comfort, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy."
Strength to Love, 1963.

"Every nation must now develop an overriding loyalty to mankind as a whole in order to preserve the best in their individual societies."
New York City, April 4, 1967.

"We are determined here in Montgomery to work and fight until justice runs 'down like water, and righteousness like a mighty stream.'"
Montgomery, Alabama, December 5, 1955. Here, King borrows a verse from the Bible, the Book of Amos, which he frequently reused in speeches.

"We must come to see that the end we seek is a society at peace with itself, a society that can live with its conscience."
Montgomery, Alabama, March 25, 1965.

"True peace is not merely the absence of tension; it is the presence of justice."
Stride Toward Freedom, 1958

EDITOR'S NOTE: For additional commentary, news and views from an AAPI perspective, follow me on Twitter @DioknoEd

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Nat'l Council of Churches launches initiative to fight "entrenched" racism in U.S.

On April 3-5, 2018 the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA and its partners will gather in Washington, D.C. for a historic event to launch its Truth and Racial Justice Initiative. 

"As we mark 50 years since the assassination of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on April 4, 1968, we will commit to do our part to eradicate the entrenched racism that grips the United States and paralyzes our ability to see every human being as equal," reads a press release.

On the rally website the group states:

"The time is now! The National Council of Churches is committed to eradicating the entrenched racism that grips the United States and paralyzes our ability to see every human being as equal. In partnership with others, we confront this systemic evil in which even church people and structures are complicit and complacent. We challenge our communities and ourselves to join in truth-telling conversations leading to actions that right the wrongs, and thereby, with God’s grace, bring healing and wholeness to all people, and unity to the nation."

"We challenge ourselves and our communities to join in truth-telling, leading to actions that right the wrongs, and, with God’s grace, bring healing and wholeness to all people, and unity to the nation.

• AWAKEN ourselves to the truth that racism is ever-present, deeply rooted in American culture, and profoundly damaging to our communities.
• CONFRONT racism, speak truth to ourselves, our communities and institutions, and stand against injustice.
• TRANSFORM the hearts, minds, and behaviors of people and structures that shape society.

The debt Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders owe to Martin Luther King, Jr.

MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR. is an American hero whose birthday we celebrate today (his real birthdate is Jan. 15). 

While his fight for equality and justice is mostly seen in the context of the black/white paradigm, his role as America's moral conscience in America's goal to become the America in deeds as well as the lofty words of the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution, affects all of us, even Asian/Americans and Pacific Islanders.

With the racist immigration restrictions that favored European immigrants, it was not until the 1965 Immigration and Nationality Act that the great influx of Asian immigration began and continues today to the point where the greatest number of immigrants today are coming from Asia, not Latin America as generally perceived by the public and mainstream media.

RELATED:

• A word from MLK and white supremacists 
• Some thoughts on MLK Day and today's America

Therefore, most AAPIs living in the U.S. are relatively recent arrivals or are too young to understand pre-1965 America. The 1965 Immigration and Nationality Act followed on the heels of the 1964 Civil Rights Act and the 1965 Voting Rights Act during the administration of President Lyndon Johnson.

Most of the rights and opportunities AAPI enjoy today are the result of that pre-1965 civil rights struggle.

However, the importance of MLK and the Civil Rights Movement that resulted in rights taken for granted today, may be lost on those who did not live in the United States before the mid-60s. These include:

• Immigration: Before the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965 was passed, The U.S. immigration policy favored Europeans over other countries from Africa, Latin America and Asia. Now, each country is allowed an equal quota. Today, the largest number of immigrants are coming from Asia.
• Voting rights protection: Bilingual ballots where there are large numbers of speakers of a language other than English and prohibition of discrimination against language minority groups. Today, those rights are threatened by states asking for additional documentation and proof of residency and citizenship.
• Interracial marriage: In the 1967 case of Loving vs. State of Virginia, the U.S. Supreme Court banned all laws prohibiting marriage with other races. Previously, each state had to throw out that racist law But it wasn't until 2000 when Alabama becomes the last state to officially legalize interracial marriage.
• Affirmative action: The law allowed educational institutions and government whose workforce didn't represent the general populace to put in place actions or policies to correct that imbalance.

Although there were many Asian American individuals who worked, marched, protested or inspired by King's work, their roles have been left out of the history books and overlooked by mainstream media.

And the majority of the AAPI community who arrived after 1965 don't know that history or the individuals such as Grace Lee, Larry Itliong, Gordon Hirabayashi, Daniel Inouye, Fred Korematsu and countless others whose stories need to be told.

Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders still reap from the benefits of the work of Martin Luther King Jr. The AAPI community shouldn't forget that debt. The best way to honor the martyr's life is to publicly acknowledge our indebtedness of the blood that was shed so we may reap the rights that came out of that work. We can repay that debt by continuing  to work towards King's dream by ensuring that those protections remain in place for others to enjoy.

DIOKNO

The blogger visits the MLK Monument in Washington. D.C.

Dr. King was killed by an assassin's bullet in 1968. The same ignorant, fearful beliefs held by King's killer, are still among us today, working to overturn much of King's work by inciting hate and fostering division. It is the same fear that inspired Dylann Roof to shoot nine African American members of a bible study class in Charleston, South Carolina, the same hatred that works to put in voter restrictions in some states, the same ignorance that advocates deporting millions of undocumented immigrants and the same evil that prompts men with guns to take over a bird sanctuary in Oregon; and the same fear that cause the white supremacists he incited to attack the Capitol on behalf of Donald Trump.

MLK Day is not a day for just African Americans. It is a day all Americans need to reflect on King's dream and the journey taken by countless unsung heroes, to where we are today ... some might say we have taken a few steps back ... and how far we still need to travel to reach the "promised land."

EDITOR'S NOTE: For additional commentary, news and views from an AANHPI perspective, follow me on Threads, on X or at the blog Views From the Edge.