firing Imus: the demographics
ABC NEWS/WASHINGTON POST POLL: DON IMUS EMBARGOED FOR RELEASE AFTER 7 a.m. Monday, April 16, 2007
A Division on Imus With a Vast Racial Gap
Americans divide on whether it was right to fire radio personality =
Don Imus for his controversial remark about a women’s college =
basketball team, with a vast gap between blacks and whites on the issue.
Overall, 51 percent in this ABC News/Washington Post poll say it was =
right for Imus to have lost his job over the comment; 45 percent say =
he should have kept his position. Within that overall result is a =
broad racial division: Seventy-three percent of blacks support Imus’ =
firing, while many fewer whites, 47 percent, agree.
Should Imus have lost his job?
Yes No
All 51% 45
Blacks 73 25
Whites 47 49
The gap echoes longstanding differences in experience and attitudes =
on racial issues. In a 2005 ABC News poll, for example, 54 percent of =
blacks said they’d been discriminated against because of their race, =
while just 19 percent of whites said the same. In 2006, 55 percent of =
blacks saw the government’s response to Hurricane Katrina as an =
example of racial inequality; many fewer whites, 32 percent, agreed.
GROUPS =96 There are differences on Imus beyond race: Democrats, =
Liberals, and women all are more apt than their counterparts to favor =
his firing, while support for his removal is lowest among =
Republicans. (His remark included both racial and sexual content.) In =
the political center, 52 percent of self-described moderates and 48 =
percent of independents say it was right for him to have lost his =
job. Among other groups, young adults are more likely than their =
elders to favor firing Imus.
Should Imus have lost his job?
Yes No
All 51% 45
Women 55 41
Men 48 50
Democrats 61 37
Independents 48 48
Republicans 45 52
Liberals 58 39
Moderates 52 45
Conservatives 47 49
Age 18-29 61 38
Age 30+ 49 47
A regression analysis holding these factors (plus education) constant =
finds that two of them independently predict support for Imus’ firing =
=96 being black and being a Democrat.
COMMENTS =96 Regardless of the differences on Imus, this poll finds =
that racially charged comments are commonly heard in this country, =
targeting blacks and whites alike, and that people of both races are =
more apt to consider such remarks offensive when they’re directed =
against blacks.
More than eight in 10 Americans (blacks and whites equally) say =
they’ve heard racially insensitive or insulting remarks about blacks. =
Sixty-two percent of whites, as well as 65 percent of blacks, say =
they were personally offended by it.
Again, eight in ten of blacks and whites (80 and 81 percent, =
respectively) also say they’ve heard racially insensitive or =
insulting remarks about white people. In this case, more than half of =
blacks and whites alike were offended (59 and 51 percent, respectively).
Heard a racially insensitive Offended
comment about blacks by it
All 86% 62%
Blacks 84 65
Whites 86 62
Heard a racially insensitive Offended
comment about whites by it
All 80 52
Blacks 80 59
Whites 81 51
In other areas, as noted, blacks and whites long have reported =
dramatically different experiences of racial equality in this =
country. In a 2003 ABC/Post poll, 66 percent of whites said they =
believed that blacks and whites received equal treatment from the =
police in their community; just 28 percent of blacks agreed.
There was a similar gap in perceptions of equal treatment of blacks =
in access to good public schools, or when visiting shops, restaurants =
or banks. Indeed, reporting personal experience, 61 percent of blacks =
said they’d felt that a shopkeeper had tried to make them feel =
unwelcome because of their race, and 41 percent felt they’d been =
stopped by a police officer just because of their race.
There also, however, have been positive trends. In 2005, three- =
quarters of whites and more than eight in 10 blacks reported having a =
friend of the other race (both up sharply from 1981); seven in 10 =
adults reported living in racially mixed communities; and just over =
half of Americans (48 percent of whites, 63 percent of blacks) said =
they’d had a friend of the other race to dinner, compared with 20 =
percent in 1973.
METHODOLOGY =96 This ABC News/Washington Post poll was conducted by =
telephone April 12-15, 2007, among a random national sample of 1,141 =
adults, including an oversample of African-Americans for a total of =
206 black respondents. The results have a three-point error margin =
for the full sample, seven points for blacks. Sampling, data =
collection and tabulation by TNS of Horsham, PA.
Analysis by Gary Langer and Peyton Craighill. ABC News polls can be =
found at ABCNEWS.com at http://abcnews.com/pollvault.html.