Jeff Koopersmith

A Sa(a)d Story
Is The Gallup Organization for real? You have to ask after you take a close look at their "half-full" analysis for Black Americans
by Jeff Koopersmith

Oct. 23, 2003 -- NEW YORK (apj.us) -- Perhaps it's just me, but over the past few years it seems the Gallup Organization -- a fine organization that can draw on the talents of fine people -- has become almost an unwitting puppet for the Right and the white.

I may be off the beam, but a poll of Black Americans undertaken in July is at best disheartening in its lack of depth.

And the analysis of the numbers is truly appalling.

Ludiaa Saad, who wrote the analysis, did insert one saving grace: she used the word "simmers" to describe black America's dissatisfaction with race relations in the United States.

Yet the rest of her analysis reads almost like an apology to white America rather than a hard analysis of the facts -- at least as she presented them.

The results of this Gallup Poll should have been startling and sounded a warning that Black Americans feel they have made little progress, and may in fact be losing ground since the 1964 Civil Rights Act passed during the Johnson Administration -- especially now, under the Junior Bush Administration, which spends time and energy preparing briefs in the Supreme Court aimed at destroying affirmative action programs.

Yet Gallup incredibly begins its analysis saying, "Most blacks say civil rights for blacks have improved over the course of their lifetimes."

Well, no kidding! Most blacks were around, or heard about wholesale and not-too-long-ago lynchings during their lifetimes, so of course any progress would indicate to them that civil rights have improved "over their lifetimes."

The real story here is that nearly 10 million blacks (27%) think that civil rights for them are the same or have become worse during their lifetimes.

Another 17 million think that civil rights are only "somewhat improved" with 10 million responding "greatly improved."

To any sane analyst this would be horrifying -- but not to the Gallup Organization, who attempt to paint the rosiest picture possible. "Upbeat," my rump.

One might not excuse Gallup for addressing "race" at all since the totality of academic and scientific research -- especially surrounding the human genome project -- indicates that there is no such article as "race." In essence, the genetic chart for black people cannot be differentiated from Caucasian or oriental people. The entire "race" question is inappropriate at best.

The Census Bureau should be ashamed of itself, and Gallup should feel even more embarrassed.

Gallup's idea to examine race and racism may be laudable, but it should have looked at people self-identifying as having black or dark skin -- not African-Americans -- as a so-called "race."

Gallup could have also looked, as a cross tabulation, at only Black Americans who could trace their movement to the United States through slavery - an even better indication of racism, and one that might pick up more than 90 percent of black skinned Americans, including those from the Caribbean who were abandoned there by slave traders in the 18th and 19th century.

That aside, there are nearly 37 Million "Black Americans" in the United States if you rely on the most recent census data which includes relatively few people with some black or mixed-race makeup.

Gallup reports, "Also, blacks tend to be upbeat about black-white relations, saying that relations between the two groups are generally good, and perceiving that racial animosity is confined to only a few Americans."

Upbeat? Eighty-nine percent of blacks report that relations between white and blacks is "Somewhat good," "Somewhat bad," or "Very bad."

Of these 39% report "Somewhat or very bad."

So what is Gallup's point here? Are they telling us that 12 million Black Americans who report race relations as dreadful is not a stunning wake up call that 40 years of work on legal and now subjugative racism have not been a dismal failure? And what about the additional 18 million Black Americans who report relations only somewhat good. What does "somewhat" mean.

It certainly does not mean "upbeat." Not by a long shot.

In fact only 10 percent of Black Americans report that race relations between whites and blacks is "very good." Which 10 percent is the obvious question -- and one might guess that these are from more highly educated economically successful blacks who have had an easier time fighting against institutionalized and socialized racism.

	Rating Relations Between Whites and Blacks in the U.S.
	2003 Jun 12-18	Very good %	Somewhat good %	Somewhat bad %	Very bad %
	National Adults	10	58	24	6
	Non-Hispanic Whites	10	59	25	5
	Blacks	9	50	26	13

Many of you who read my columns regularly know that I have been more than concerned about Gallup Polls since the high-profile, perhaps too-well-respected research firm began polling for megamedia. Somehow their polls don't hit the bull's eye, and sometimes they are at wide odds with other private, far more respected firms.

The choice of Gallup polling topics is also a source of disquiet, and its lack of response to my queries is certainly alarming as well.

For instance, as early as November, 1997 a Gallup-CNN Poll (http://www.apj.us/112597PollsSchmolls.html) was gathering public opinion on several issues surrounding the Clinton Administration, including the US government-sponsored murder of Saddam Hussein. We wrote then:

"Gallup actually asked whether Americans were for or against ASSASSINATING Saddam. I thought this was a nation of laws, and it is against international and US law to order the assassination of anyone let alone a head of state. Regardless of how you view Saddam Hussein, even asking about assassination is a display of total disregard for the law, not only of man, but of God for you Promise Keepers.

"A whopping 39% of Americans think we ought to bump off Hussein, with, thankfully, 55% saying no according to Gallup. CNN points out that during Desert Storm 60% thought we should murder him.

"Just the tone of the Gallup questions is outrageous. Should the US assassinate Saddam? Should the US assassinate Saddam only after he's been removed from power? Should the US have 'removed' Saddam from Power before ending the war?

"What are these nitwits talking about? I repeat Mr. Gallup, IT IS ILLEGAL TO ASSASSINATE SADDAM. We don't have the capability to 'remove' Saddam from power. It's that simple.

"But did Gallup explain any of this to their respondents? No."

Gallup seems fully caught up in a search for the bawdy, course, vulgar and rude -- anything that makes headlines in trailer parks.

Their black survey was better -- but missed the target as far as getting it right and asking the best questions.

The instant Gallup report on Black Americans and racism also states that "blacks are generally dissatisfied with society's treatment of their racial group; Many blacks report being discriminated against on a routine basis and a majority of blacks say it happens to them at least a few times a year. Four in five blacks believe that racial minorities do not have the same job opportunities as whites do."

A disconnect or just plain drivel? How can Black Americans be "upbeat" about black-white relations when 80 percent of them judge they have lesser employment prospects than whites?

Generally when one writes a summary based on opinion research, he or she might mention the overwhelming or heaviest statistical reference first. Gallup does not do this throughout its summary. Instead it mentions the "good news" first, followed by the damaging in an almost parenthetical format. For instance, a question on civil rights improvement yielded this statement in Gallup's summary:

"A majority of blacks (71%) believe that civil rights for blacks have improved over the course of their lifetimes, but only a quarter of blacks feel they have 'greatly' improved."

The sentence, to be reasonable, should have read that 75% of Black Americans do not believe that civil rights for them have improved "greatly", although 71% believe there have been some improvements.

In fact, Gallup reports that 27 percent, or nearly 11 million Black Americans feel that civil rights for them has either stayed the same or become worse. That again is an astonishing and somber statistic. Only 25 percent believe that there has been a great improvement.

Think about that. There has not been a bigger hot-button issue in the United States over the past one hundred years than civil rights. Yet only a quarter of the most discriminated against portion of the population believes there has been any great improvement.

Gallup nearly out and out lies about results having to do with personal experiences relative to everyday treatment in American Society. They write:

"Only 40% of black Americans are satisfied with the way blacks are treated in society. Nearly three in five (59%) are dissatisfied. These attitudes have been quite stable since June 2001." (Gallup does not capitalize the phrase "Black Americans.")

Yet this is not true. Only 10 percent say they are "very" satisfied with 30 percent responding they are "somewhat" satisfied. And keep in mind that "somewhat" does not mean "satisfied" by a long shot. Again Gallup attempts to paint a far rosier picture than the data provides.

Gallup tested whether new laws might make things better. They write:

"But whether new laws are needed to correct the situation is somewhat controversial. Only a slim majority of blacks, 52%, believes that new civil rights laws are needed to protect blacks from discrimination; 41% of blacks disagree."

They leave us wondering -- if not new laws, then what?

One would think Gallup might look more closely and fairly at such a large group of people that feels far less than satisfied with their lot in American life but also believes, by slight majority, that new laws might do the trick.

This is a deeply important question. Here, their own poll indicates that 15 million Americans do not believe our legal system can end racial discrimination.

Of course, this is a result of a number of converging sentiments -- most obviously recent attacks by the neoconservative right on affirmative action designed to make Black Americans feel set upon for attempting to bring balance to the educational and workplace arenas.

As the American Civil Liberties Union reminds us, it may not be laws that can make much more progress in the area of race relations. It may be that society itself must begin to work on personal consciousness and that the media -- especially the news and documentary media -- must focus more on the positive contributions of Black Americans, and less on worrying about their slanderously labeled, so-called "free rides."

There is and never was anything close to a "free ride" for Black Americans in the United States -- ever.

Just ask your Black American friends.

Gallup should examine this question and its subparts more prudently in future polls.

Why does Gallup take so little care, or so much, in forming its summary information for release?

Conspiracy theorists might say that Gallup derives much of its income from large corporate and media interests. Some corporations and government leaders -- especially, but not solely conservative interests -- are also not likely to welcome dreadful results from polls about minority lives. Others might not appreciate an interpretation that displays America has a festering problem with race relations that is growing worse, not better.

My opinion is a mix.

First, I believe that Gallup was sloppy -- especially in composing its summary press releases regarding political and social subjects. Perhaps they were rushing to press, or their editors were biased, or some of the decision-makers were too eager to please the elite -- and therefore Gallup presented an overly optimistic picture. This attitude, coupled with corporate and conservative pressure, lead to blathering results -- even in the face of numbers that tell us something quite different.

Gallup also eliminated the more poignant statistics in its summary, while allowing the telling numbers to remain in table form.

I found it heart-wrenching to see that 7.5 million Black Americans experience something that makes them feel discriminated against every day, of every week of every year. Seven and one half million!

2.8 billion times a year, a black man or woman feels the punch of racism, and these numbers do not include children who were not sampled for this poll.

Gallup also fails to tie up loose or confusing ends. For instance, they report that 83 percent of Black Americans view their opportunities for employment negatively. In other words, they believe, almost unanimously, that white Americans of equal talent have far greater job prospects.

In fact, according to Gallup's own numbers, 15 million Black Americans think their multiple disadvantages can "be attributed to racial discrimination." Yet Gallup adds that 53 percent think this is due to "something else."

What would that be?

Could it be Bill O'Reilly and ill-prepared commentators who, like him, attack black entertainers with malice just to stir things up? Could it be Attorney General John Ashcroft's assault on constitutional rights using September 11th, 2001 as the excuse? Could it be the President of the United States ordering his legal teams into the Supreme Court to make certain that Black Americans aren't screwing white Americans out of a few seats at a university or law school?

And look at this foolhardy statement from Gallup:

"Only 39% of blacks consider (white/black) relations bad."

They must be joking.

This is tantamount to saying that only 14.5 million Black Americans consider relations between the races "bad". Gallup seems to think this is acceptable, adding (as cover), "Whites give a similar assessment of the situation: 69% say black-white relations are good, while 30% consider them bad."

The questions alone are humiliating in their naiveté.

Take for instance:

"Do you think only a few white people dislike blacks, many white people dislike blacks, or almost all white people dislike blacks?"

Who in their right mind would think to ask such a question, especially one concerning such a complex issue with so many nuances that any answer to such a query would be ludicrous, non-revealing, and counterfeit on its face?

Bottom line: the Gallup Organization should apologize to Black Americans for this ridiculous and condescending "survey" and especially for its miserable analysis of the results.

And quickly.

JEFF KOOPERSMITH is a political consultant, opinion research authority, policy analyst, and self-described "renegade lobbyist."