Majority of African Americans unhappy with societal treatment: Gallup

WASHINGTON, July 18 (Xinhua) -- Over half of African Americans feel dissatisfied with the societal treatment of their race, though they are more satisfied now than during the time from 2001 to 2008, a Gallup poll finds Thursday.

Fifty-two percent of African Americans feel unhappy about their treatment in the U.S. society, compared to 47 percent who feel satisfied, according to the June 13-July 5 poll, conducted just before the controversial verdict of George Zimmerman case on July 13.

Zimmerman, a neighborhood watch volunteer, shot dead 17-year- old black boy Trayvon Martin in a gated community in Sanford, Florida on Feb. 26, 2012. His acquittal has led to protests across the country as some claimed that Zimmerman was guilty of so-called racial profiling and murder. It has also sparked a debate over racial discrimination of minorities in the country.

While tilting negative, African Americans' views about their societal treatment today are significantly better than what Gallup found from 2001 to 2008, before Barack Obama became the first black U.S. president, Gallup said.

African Americans' views on this question contrast with those of whites and Hispanics, which are largely satisfied with the societal treatment that the African Americans receive today. Sixty- seven percent of non-Hispanic whites and 61 percent of Hispanics hold the same view, the poll finds.

African Americans' perception of how they are treated in the U. S. are generally similar to Hispanics' views of how Hispanics are treated. Fifty-one percent of Hispanics are satisfied and 49 percent dissatisfied with their treatment in the society, the poll shows.

Satisfaction is lower among African Americans who have felt racially discriminated against while working, shopping, dining out and dealing with the police.

For instance, 75 percent of African Americans who feel having been treated unfairly at work are dissatisfied with the societal treatment of their race, compared with 47 percent who have not experienced unfair treatment at work.

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