A new study from the Pew Research Center has documented how much discrimination Americans think certain people face in the United States. The report includes data on several different demographic areas, including gender, sexuality, immigration status, religion, and race.
According to the study results, 74 percent of all Americans think Black people in the U.S. face at least some discrimination, with 36 percent believing they face a lot of discrimination. Regarding other racial groups, the share of respondents who believe Hispanic, Asian, and White people face at least some discrimination are 72 percent, 66 percent, and 38 percent, respectively. Across all demographic groups included in the study, discrimination towards Black people had the third-highest share of Americans believing they face some discrimination, following immigrants who are illegally in the country (82 percent) and transgender people (77 percent).
Similar to another Pew study regarding Americans’ perception of the Black Lives Matter movement, the report found very differing viewpoints of discrimination in the United States between Republicans and Democrats. For Democrats, 94 percent believe Black Americans face at least some discrimination, with 58 percent believing they face a lot. For Republicans, 54 percent believe Black Americans face some discrimination, and 15 percent believe they face at lot. In comparison, 55 percent of Republicans and 21 percent of Democrats think White people face some discrimination.
Notably, the share of Republicans who believe Black people face discrimination in the United States has declined significantly within the past year. In 2024, 66 percent of Republicans believed Black Americans experience at least some discrimination. In just one year, that share declined by 11 percentage points. Conversely, the share of Democrats who believe Black Americans face some discrimination has increased by two percentage points since last year.
