The OLD Philosopher – John M. Miller
The Pew Research Center is one of the most active polling agencies for attempting to determine the views of the American people on many social and political issues. Recently they took a poll about the attitudes of Americans toward schools teaching about slavery and racial tensions in our schools, which currently is also called “critical race theory.” The poll included several categories of people, asking them to state their positions on the wisdom of such an educational program. Did they think such an effort is Very Good, Somewhat Good, Neither Good nor Bad, Somewhat Bad, or Very Bad? Here are the results of the poll:
Very Good Somewhat Good Neither Somewhat Bad Very Bad
White 30% 23% 22% 18% 14%
Black 54% 21% 13% 4% 7%
Hispanic 32% 27% 21% 9% 8%
Asian 30% 34% 19% 10% 6%
All US Adults 30% 23% 21% 15% 11%
Republican/ 8% 17% 29% 26% 20%
Lean Republican
Democrat/ 49% 29% 13% 5% 4%
Lean Democrat
Rather than make comments about these figures, instead I shall ask questions. Why are whites most opposed to teaching young people the history of slavery and racial attitudes in America, and Blacks are most in favor of doing so? Why are Hispanics and Asians more favorable than whites to divulging previous trends about race in America?
Do whites have something to hide? Are there features of racial history in the USA which might display whites in a bad light? Can any racial or ethnic group change the history of racial attitudes in America? Which racial group is the most capable of improving the future of racial attitudes in America? What racial and ethnic groups have been most adversely affected by American racial attitudes? What race has been the least adversely affected? Which group has benefitted most from racial injustice?
What explains the strong opposition of Republicans to critical race theory? What factors among Democrats make them more likely to favor an open presentation of the realities involved in slavery in America and our past racial attitudes? Is “race” less of an issue now than in previous times? If people were to answer these questions openly and honestly in a group of their own race or in racially mixed group, would the answers be the same, or different? Can race relations improve if children and teenagers are not critically taught the results of American racial history?
How do you interpret the statistics in this poll? Are you more surprised than appalled, or more appalled than surprised? If you are neither, what is your response? –Sept. 7, 2021
John Miller is Pastor of The Chapel Without Walls on Hilton Head Island, SC. More of his writings may be viewed at www.chapelwithoutwalls.org.