Gallup Poll: Non-Blacks Less Sure Race Was a Major Factor in Trayvon Martin Case

April 9th, 2012 - By Brande Victorian

Christiansciencemonitor.com

Trayvon Martin’s case has become such a hot button national issue that USA Today/Gallup recently took a poll to gauge Americans’ opinions on the topic and how much bearing race has on those different stances. In a random sample of 3,006 adults, 242 of whom were black, and the remaining 2,764 who were non-black, stark racial divides were seen on a number of key issues in the case.

In terms of who’s even paying attention to developments surrounding the murder, 52% of blacks say they are following the news about the case very closely with just 19% of non-blacks saying the same. The breakdown on other issues is as follows:

Zimmerman’s guilt

  • 72% of blacks say Zimmerman is definitely or probably guilty of a crime; 1% say he is not.
  • 32% of non-blacks say Zimmerman is definitely or probably guilty, while 7% say he is not.

Race as a factor in the case

  • 72% of blacks say racial bias was a major factor in the events that led up to the shooting death of Trayvon; 13% consider it only a minor factor.
  • 31% of non-blacks say racial bias was a major factor, 26% say it was a minor factor, and 25% say it wasn’t a factor at all.

Likelihood of George Zimmerman’s arrest if the victim was white

  • 73% of blacks believe Zimmerman would have been arrested had the victim been white.
  • 35% of non-blacks say he would have arrested had the victim been white.

Today it was announced that Trayvon’s case will not go before a grand jury, leaving the decision of George Zimmerman’s indictment entirely up to special prosecutor Angela Corey who could make a decision as early as this week. Many are hoping this means the neighborhood watch captain will soon be behind bars for good, but the prosecutor made it a point to say:

“The decision [not to put the case before a grand jury] should not be considered a factor in the final determination of the case.”

One thing we know for sure is black people will continue to rally their support around Trayvon’s family in their call for justice, and hopefully as more and more facts continue to be presented, people will understand Zimmerman’s guilt, no matter how blind they are to the role race played in a number of decisions surrounding the case.

Brande Victorian is a blogger and culture writer in New York City. Follower her on Twitter at @be_vic.

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  • A.J.

    I’m not surprised at all.  These are the same people who call Blacks “paranoid” when they tell others that they don’t feel comfortable walking in certain department stores, or that it’s difficult to catch a cab certain places.  We as a society need to start having open, brutal discussions about race, even with our children.  The level of insensitivity and cluelessness is startling.

  • RahTruth

    Zimmerman called Trayvon racial slurs during the altercation. So, he definitely saw the boy’s race as a negative. HOWEVER, this situation is a whole lot bigger than race. First, there are laws in place that give people the impression that it’s “ok” to shoot an unarmed person, which is the reason no arrest was made right away. We’ve got neighborhood watch “renegades” armed and on the loose, thinking they’re protected by law. Zimmerman identifies as Hispanic. If a Hispanic teen was walking past in a hoodie, I am not convinced that Zimmerman would not have paid the teen any attention since he wasn’t Black. When you make an issue solely about race, you lose focus of what’s truly needed in order to prevent this from happening again….to anyone of any race.

  • emily

    i think they DO know, but DONT care.

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  • Mls2698

    Another thing: Zimmerman must think he is white because his father keeps his Yamaka in the bottom drawer at home, and his mother took enough ESL classes to become a court clerk!

  • guest510

    I wish people would stop making this an issue about race. I don’t care if Trayvon was black, white, green or purple. He was an unarmed teen, stalked and killed by a cop wannabe and his family deserves justice. That should be all people care about.

    • Just saying!

      I get what you’re saying…but the reason it’s a problem is because he was followed because he was “suspicious”. THAT is important. Why did he think he was suspicious and a threat to his safety? Until we address that a lot of black kids will be in danger…period. 

  • Mls2698

    Let those same non-black people spend a week being black, then let them cast their vote. During that time, I hope they don’t try to apply for a loan/job, go jogging in their own neighborhood, or look suspicious driving their own BMW. Or, God forbid, buy candy at 7-Eleven and try to walk home!

  • Calichick

    It doesn’t surprise me and while many of these people m,ay have been White im sure many were Asian and Latino also, many of them are racist and jealous of Blacks but so many Blacks just don’t believe that truth.Many Latinos and Asians really hate Blacks too but they want us to help them when something happens to them. Black people please wake up!

    • WanderingDreamer

      This is nothing more than COINTEL-PRO and psych-ops which is being propagated to get the majority of non blacks to marginalize this issue and eventually neutralize it!  See, the majority of blacks are subservient to non blacks.  If non-blacks don’t care, blacks will follow suit.  The majority of blacks that is.  This issue is heating up and firing up the black community and they have to put a stop to that.

    • A.J.

      Agreed.  Many people keep overlooking the fact that Zimmerman is Hispanic.  Now, whether he considers himself a white Hispanic or not is a different question, but still.  A number of Latinos and Asians do harbor extreme racist feelings towards Blacks; by doing so, they are (un)wittingly voicing allegiance with whites who hold these same beliefs.

  • LezMiz

    Hmn. I would like to see the break out of how many of the “non-blacks” surveyed were whites. I’ve seen the white stats broken out and they were even more extremely different from blacks than these. I don’t know how fair it is to tar non-white groups with the same brush as whites if the vast majority of the “non-blacks” surveyed were white people. I’m not saying that Asians or Latinos would view the issue the same as blacks, but I anticipate they’re probably somewhere inbetween how whites and blacks view it.

  • Lalatarea

    this is no surprise for some reason many white people believe that since we have a black president that racism has somehow magically disappeared. (i don’t get it either) and many non black people don’t care because well its a black kid.

    • L-Boogie

      Agree.  Racism is as American as apple pie.