Third Rail with OZY × Racism

The exclusive poll below was conducted in advance of tonight’s episode of the new series Third Rail with OZY, premiering tonight at 8:30 pm ET on PBS and streaming at pbs.org/thirdrail.

Host Carlos Watson (Emmy Award-winning journalist, Editor in Chief of OZY.com) discusses the related topic “Is America Becoming More – Or Less – Racist?” on tonight’s episode with guests: 

• Amber Rose (actress/model); Alonzo Bodden (actor/comedian), Michael Williams (GA State Senator, Republican); Vanita Gupta (CEO of the Leadership Conference on Civil & Human Rights) and Carrie Sheffield (Founder, Bold.)

Racism remains a prevalent problem in the United States. But many Americans do not think the responsibility to end racism is exclusive to one race. Rather, the responsibility belongs to both black and white people, according to this Exclusive Third Rail with OZY-Marist Poll, commissioned by WGBH Boston and OZY Media for the new PBS prime-time, cross-platform debate program Third Rail with OZY. 

Americans perceive the solution to lie in the hands of everyone, and do not believe black people need to work harder than others to end racism. The disparity in the perception of societal advancement between blacks and whites has not improved. Although half of Americans assert that both black and white people have an equal chance of getting ahead in today’s society, by more than 10-to-one Americans say white people have a better chance than black people of doing so. And, this disparity has changed little over the past 20 years. 

The national survey was conducted by The Marist Poll in advance of this week’s Third Rail with OZY debate, airing Friday, September 15, 2017 at 8:30pm ET (check local listings) and streaming on pbs.org/thirdrail, which asks: Is America becoming more, or less, racist? Third Rail with OZY, hosted by Emmy Award-winning journalist Carlos Watson, is a seven-part cross-platform series. Each week, expert and celebrity guests engage with Watson to debate a timely, provocative topic, incorporating audience and social media input and exclusive national polls. 

The onus to improve race relations is on everyone, according to 60% of Americans. However, 22% of residents believe the responsibility belongs to white people, and 7% say black people need to work on correcting the problem. 

A majority of residents (56%) do not think people of color need to work harder to end racism while 37% believe people of color need to do more. A racial divide exists. African American, (57%) and Latino (42%) residents are more likely than white Americans (32%) to say that people of color need to work harder to end racism. 

“The survey calls to mind the reflections of Martin Luther King Jr., ‘The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice,’” says Dr. Lee M. Miringoff, Director of The Marist College Institute for Public Opinion. “But, in its totality, the results demonstrate the arc is bending very slowly, at best.”

Half of Americans (50%) think white and black people have an equal chance of getting ahead in today’s society. This is little changed from 46% of U.S. residents who expressed this view in a 1997 CBS News/New York Times survey. Forty-one percent compared to 43% two decades ago say white people have a better chance at advancing. Only 4% think black people have the edge in getting ahead, similar to 5% in the 1997 survey. 

Again, opinions differ by race. While a majority of white Americans (54%) say both black and white residents have an equal chance of advancing, nearly two-thirds of African Americans (65%) and half of Latinos (50%) report white people have the advantage to move ahead in today’s society. 

Americans perceive racism to be a bigger issue in American society than sexism. Fifty-four percent of U.S. residents consider the nation to be more racist than sexist. Twenty-four percent think America is more sexist than racist. One in ten (10%) say the United States is neither racist nor sexist, and 12% are unsure. Both men (48%) and women (61%) think the country is more racist, but interestingly, men (28%) are more likely than women (19%) to consider it to be more sexist.

“Racism continues to be a defining issue for this nation,” says Denise Dilanni, series creator and Executive in Charge of Third Rail with OZY. “The topic has dominated the public and political arenas in the past year, which is why on Friday we’ll debate the question: Is America becoming more, or less, racist?”

The exclusive Marist/Third Rail with OZY poll asked Americans: do President Donald Trump’s comments about people of color such as Muslims, immigrants, or African Americans make it more or less acceptable for people to make racist comments? A plurality (46%) says it makes it more acceptable, including 63% of African Americans and 53% of Latinos. Thirty-six percent of Americans think the president’s remarks make it less acceptable. Nearly one in five (18%) are unsure. 

Democrats (67%) and independents (49%) are more likely than Republicans (20%) to believe President Trump’s comments about people of color make it more acceptable to make racist comments. Fifty percent of Republicans say his statements make it less acceptable.

More than half of Americans (51%) think the anti-immigration movement is simply about securing the country’s borders while 35% believe it is really an anti-people of color movement. Fourteen percent are unsure. Again, Democrats (63%) African Americans (57%) and Latinos (46%) are more likely than Republicans (5%) and white residents, (29%) to think the anti-immigration movement is about race. 

For more on Third Rail with OZY: 
pbs.org/thirdrail

#ThirdRailPBS
For more on The Marist Poll: 

maristpoll.marist.edu

#MaristPoll

About The Marist Poll 

Founded in 1978, The Marist College Institute for Public Opinion (MIPO) is a survey research center at Marist College in Poughkeepsie, New York. The Marist Poll has conducted independent research on public priorities, elections, and a wide variety of social issues. Through the regular public release of surveys, The Marist Poll has built a legacy of independence, reliability, and accuracy. Its results are featured in print and electronic media throughout the world. 

About Third Rail with OZY

Third Rail with OZY is a co-production of WGBH Boston and OZY Media. Host: Carlos Watson. Executive in Charge: Denise DiIanni. Executive Producers: Eugenia Harvey and Cameo George. Funding is provided by Corporation for Public Broadcasting and PBS. Exclusive Third Rail with OZY poll conducted by The Marist Poll, Marist College. Special thanks to collaborator The Conversation. Social media integration by Telescope.

About WGBH Boston

WGBH Boston is one of America’s preeminent public broadcasters and the largest producer of PBS broadcast and digital content, including Frontline, NOVA, American Experience, Masterpiece, Antiques Roadshow, Arthur, as well as other children’s, primetime, and lifestyle series. WGBH also is a major supplier of programming for public radio, and a leader in educational multimedia for the classroom, supplying content to PBS LearningMedia, a free national broadband service for teachers and students. WGBH is a pioneer in technologies and services that make media accessible to those with hearing or visual impairments. WGBH has been recognized with hundreds of honors: Emmys, Peabodys, duPont-Columbia Awards and Oscars. More information at wgbh.org.

About OZY Media

With 25 million monthly unique users and 2 million subscribers, OZY brings readers “the new and the next,” offering 100% original content, with a focus on the future, via unique OZY News, OZY Magazine, OZY TV and OZY Events products. Called “the new media magnet for the news hungry” by Fortune magazine, OZY’s in-depth and high-quality journalism has attracted a number of high-profile media partners including The New York Times, NPR, PBS NewsHour, TED, The Financial Times, The Huffington Post and many more, as well as guest editors including Bill Gates, President Bill Clinton, and Prime Minister Tony Blair. Founded in 2013 by Emmy award winning journalist Carlos Watson and co-founder Samir Rao, the OZY team is based in Mountain View, CA and backed by leading Silicon Valley investors including Laurene Powell Jobs, Ron Conway, David Drummond, Larry Sonsini and Dan Rosensweig and a significant investment from publishing giant Axel Springer.