… For white evangelical Protestants, Mr. Trump’s general vow to “make America great again” means something specific. Mr. Trump stepped into the spotlight just as the curtain was coming down on the era of white Protestant dominance. Mr. Trump’s ascendancy has turned the 2016 election into a referendum on the […] Read more »
Public Opinion Context: Americans, Race and Police
The deaths of five police officers in Dallas, along with the recent deaths of two black men in Louisiana and Minnesota at the hands of police, highlighted — again — the importance of understanding attitudes of the American public, including blacks and whites, toward the police and criminal justice system. […] Read more »
Is political polarization making racial tensions worse?
We take for granted the fact that America’s racial divide overlaps with our political one. … Race and partisanship are so sufficiently intertwined at this point that it can be hard to determine the effect one has on the other. Are attitudes about Black Lives Matter split by party because […] Read more »
Most Oppose Colleges Considering Race in Admissions
Americans continue to believe colleges should admit applicants based solely on merit (70%), rather than taking into account applicants’ race and ethnicity in order to promote diversity (26%). These findings suggest Americans would disagree with the Supreme Court’s recent decision in Fisher v. University of Texas, in which the court […] Read more »
Bill Clinton, O.J. Simpson, Clarence Thomas, and the Politics of 1990s Racial Backlash
The 1990s are being relitigated, and for the most part, coming off rather badly. It has taken place in the realm of politics, where Hillary Clinton has had to edge away from some of her husband’s policies, some of which have provoked angry confrontations on the campaign trail between the […] Read more »
One weird difference between Brexit’s supporters and Donald Trump
Prominent members of the campaign to remove the United Kingdom from the European Union are backing away from major promises now that they have won the vote. … Yet while Americans might be used to politicians backing away from promises, they might be surprised by the fact that Brexiters had […] Read more »