Psychologists at Yale recently asked hundreds of Americans these two questions:
For every $100 earned by an average white family, how much do you think is earned by an average black family?
For every $100 in wealth accumulated by an average white family, how much wealth has the average black family accumulated?
… Americans, and higher-income whites in particular, vastly overestimate progress toward economic equality between blacks and whites, the psychologists reported Monday in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Americans believe that blacks and whites are more equal today than they truly are on measures of income, wealth, wages and health benefits. And they believe more historical progress has occurred than is the case, suggesting “a profound misperception of and unfounded optimism” regarding racial equality. CONT.
Emily Badger, New York Times