Black Voters Are More Worried About Gun Violence Than Police Brutality, According to Poll

Impact

Of the black voters surveyed in a February poll, 80% said that they considered gun violence to be an "extremely serious" problem, and 69% classified mass incarceration the same way.

The poll of minority voters was conducted by the Benenson Strategy Group, a prominent Democratic polling firm with ties to Barack Obama's campaign. Of the 600 black voters who participated, only 50% gave police misconduct the "extremely serious" designation, and a majority said that they believed that police officers are usually professionals, while still acknowledging that "bad apple" police officers who made race-based discriminations did exist among them.

According to the Guardian, a quarter of respondents said that racism was a pernicious problem in policing, and that "most police officers in America discriminate and profile on the basis of race."

For registered Latino voters, gun violence and racialized policing were less concerning than they were to black voters. Only 24% said that they saw police misconduct as an "extremely serious" problem, and a mere 15% said that they agreed with the statement "most police officers in America discriminate and profile on the basis of race." 

On the subject of concern surrounding gun violence, 57% of black respondents and 45% of Latino voters agreed that most U.S. communities "don't care about the gun violence that is affecting communities of color."

Most respondents also agreed that mass incarceration, gun violence, and police brutality directed towards minorities were connected, and said that they would support legislation like expanded background checks to help keep firearms out of dangerous hands.

Read more: The Best Way to End Gun Violence? End the War On Drugs