Many white people think racism against black people is no longer a big problem, according to new research.
They believe whites suffer more racist abuse and discrimination that black people.
Both groups agreed that racism against black people had reduced in America since the 1950s – but disagree on the problem of anti-white sentiment, it was claimed.
Many white people believe it is harder for them to live in the US than black people – despite evidence to the contrary.
‘If you look at any metric you might want to use – childhood nutrition, educational opportunities, salaries –black people in America continue to have worse outcomes than white people,’ said Prof Michael Norton, from Harvard Business School, who helped carry out the research. ‘But the feeling of being discriminated against is a very powerful feeling for anyone, whether accurate or not.’
They claimed white people saw racism as a ‘zero-sum game’ – if there’s less racism against one group, there must be more against another.
A black US president was a sign that ‘progress had been made’ in tackling racism – not that the problem had been solved, Prof Norton added.
The Metro
