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ISSUE GUIDES: Race

PUBLIC VIEW: RED FLAGS

The Red Flags section offers guidance on areas of public opinion research where findings may be misleading, unstable, or easily misinterpreted. Public Agenda uses several indicators to judge when survey results should be reported and used cautiously.

Red Flag Statements

Affirmative Action? Preferences? Special Efforts?Racial Profiling and the War on Terror

Survey responses on affirmative action and diversity vary dramatically depending on how questions are worded. This could indicate that many Americans have ambivalent views or make distinctions that are not completely understood by analysts. Strong majorities of all races say that hiring, promotions, and college admissions should be "strictly on merit." Yet surveys also show that minorities, especially blacks, are much more likely than whites to favor "extra efforts" to recruit minorities. More than half of Americans say employers should be required by law to maintain diversity in the workplace, but strongly disagree with giving jobs to minorities over equally qualified whites. There is overall support for programs that provide "assistance" for minorities getting a job, getting promoted or getting into college. But support among whites drops dramatically when the question refers to minorities getting "preference." While more than half of the general public would like to see affirmative action programs continue, there is relatively little support for increasing such programs. Americans are divided on whether affirmative action programs are necessary to have racially diverse workplaces and few say minority representation on college campuses would decline without affirmative action.

  • Americans, including Hispanics, are divided on whether affirmative action programs are necessary to have racially diverse...
  • More than half of Americans say diversity in the workplace should be required, but strongly disagree with giving jobs to...
  • More than half say affirmative action programs should continue, but there is relatively little support for expanding...
  • Only one-quarter of Americans say minority representation in higher education would decline without affirmative action
  • Strong majorities of all races say hiring, promotions and college admissions should be based "strictly on merit," but...
  • The majority of people, black and white, say they support programs that give "assistance" to minorities, but majorities...

The public's shock and grief in the wake of the Sept. 11 terror attacks produced profoundly conflicted survey results on racial profiling - the officially improper but widely practiced technique of identifying potential suspects by their race. The public's conflicted feelings on this issue have not subsided and the best evidence of this is that the public rejects profiling in some cases but not in others. In January 2002, just a few months after the Sept. 11 attacks, we found relatively few Americans rejected the racial profiling of Middle Easterners as potential terrorists. More than two-thirds said profiling of Middle Easterners was "understandable, but you wish it didn't happen." Yet in the same survey half said there's "no excuse" for the racial profiling of African Americans. Even a majority of blacks accept this view of profiling as a regrettable but not intolerable part of the war on terrorism. Blacks were far more likely than whites to say there's "no excuse" for profiling Middle Easterners, yet nearly six in 10 blacks said such profiling is "understandable." Surveys immediately after the Sept. 11 attacks found majorities of Americans were willing to take harsh measures to fight terrorism even if it meant giving up some civil liberties. Overall, recent surveys show this attitude has faded - though not always when it comes to measures targeting Middle Easterners. For instance, there has been very little change in the number that says they favor special security checks for Arabs (58 percent in 2001 compared to 53 in 2005). This topic is covered in more detail in our special edition on Terrorism.)

  • Americans were more likely to favor stricter security measures immediately following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks
  • Half of Americans say there is no excuse for the racial profiling of blacks, but two-thirds say greater scrutiny of Middle...
  • The majority of Americans—of all races—say greater scrutiny of Middle Easterners by law enforcement who are concerned about...
  • The number of Americans who favor requiring Arabs, even those who are U.S. citizens, to carry a special ID and undergo more...

Public Agenda uses several indicators to judge when survey results should be reported and used cautiously:

  • Results change when survey questions are reworded slightly.
  • Results change when implications or trade-offs of a policy are pointed out.
  • Results may be misleading if reported in isolation or out of context.
  • Other research suggests that people have incomplete or inaccurate knowledge in this area.