August 1, 2025
While the numbers show a decline in belief, Black people experiencing continuous discrimination reveal otherwise.
A new poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research highlights the decline in American adults who believe that discrimination against Black and Asian people exists, NBC News reports.
As the country adjusts to anti-diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) policies handed down by the Trump administration, a survey showcases how less than half–45%–of U.S. adults feel that Black people face “a great deal” or “quite a bit” of discrimination in America. The number is a deep dive from the 60% that once felt Black people faced high levels of discrimination following the murder of George Floyd in 2020.
The revelations suggest Americans’ views on racial discrimination have shifted tremendously since the first term of President Donald Trump, after his executive order to eliminate DEI programs on the federal level resulted in a domino effect of companies jumping ship, reversing their embedded programs.
While the numbers show a decline in belief, Black people experiencing continuous discrimination reveal otherwise. Claudine Brider, a Democrat from Compton, California, says Trump’s DEI policies have made it more difficult for Black people and women in the workplace. “Anytime they’re in a space that they’re not expected to be, like seeing a Black girl in an engineering course … they are seen as only getting there because of those factors,” Brider said, according to the Associated Press.
“It’s all negated by someone saying, ‘You’re only here to meet a quota.’”
Experts support the survey’s findings, as the poll indicates less than half of Americans feel DEI benefits the people it’s intended to target. Close to 4 in 10 American adults say DEI reduces discrimination against African Americans. Boston University School of Social Work Professor Phillipe Copeland says it’s no shocker that the country has backtracked from its “so-called racial reckoning.” Following Floyd’s murder, several corporations, including McDonald’s, Walmart, and more, pledged billions to address social injustices that have taken the lives of Black Americans due to police brutality.
Some of those same companies were among the first to terminate their DEI policies.
For the white survey participants, it was mostly Democrats who felt DEI efforts reduce discrimination against minorities, including Asian and Hispanic people. Only 25% of white independents and Republicans felt the same. However, the poll also revealed Americans aren’t more likely to think white people face discrimination than they were in 2021. Thirty-nine percent of white adults in the U.S. feel DEI increases discrimination against white people, compared to 21% of Hispanic adults and 13% of Black adults.
When it comes to white people, especially men, more than half think DEI doesn’t cater to the demographic.
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