Poll: Relations Between Minorities Tense, But Core Values Shared

[bjorkfan]

By Pamela Constable
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, December 12, 2007; 3:47 PM

Relations among African Americans, Hispanics and Asian Americans are fraught with tension and negative stereotypes, but all three groups share core values and a desire to get along better with each other, according to a poll released in Washington todayby the non-profit group New America Media.

The survey found that many members of all three groups felt "more comfortable" doing business with whites than with each other, and that an overwhelming majority of each group viewed racial tension as a "very important problem" for the United States.

It also found that immigrants generally have much more optimism about achieving the American dream than do African Americans, and that far fewer African Americans than either Asians or Hispanics believe every American has an "equal opportunity to succeed."

Underscoring what survey officials called "unfair and ugly stereotypes" among American ethnic and minority groups, more than 40 per cent of Hispanics and Asians said they were "generally afraid" of African Americans and associated them with crime.

A similarly high proportion of Hispanics and African Americans said most Asian business owners "do not treat us with respect," while one third of Asians and half of African Americans said Latin American immigrants are "taking away jobs" and other benefits from the black community......

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/12/12/AR2007121201543.html?hpid=topnews