NPR

Majority Of White Americans Say They Believe Whites Face Discrimination

A new NPR poll finds 55 percent of whites believe the discrimination against white people exists, echoing a sentiment heard repeatedly on the 2016 campaign trail.
President Trump speaks to a crowd of supporters at the Phoenix Convention Center during a rally Aug. 22. / Ralph Freso / Getty Images

A majority of whites say discrimination against them exists in America today, according to a poll released Tuesday from NPR, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.

"If you apply for a job, they seem to give the blacks the first crack at it," said 68-year-old Tim Hershman of Akron, Ohio, "and, basically, you know, if you want any help from the government, if you're white, you don't get it. If you're black, you get it."

More than half of whites — 55 percent — surveyed say that, generally speaking, they believe there is discrimination against white people.

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