African Americans Attitudes Towards Police
African Americans Attitudes towards Police
The George Washington University
Abstract
Past experiences have shown that African Americans tend to have a more hostile relationship with police officers than other races. Research from multiple scholars confirms that there is in fact a correlation between a person’s race and the attitude they have towards officers. This experiment aims to verify that race is responsible for this difference in attitude. A survey containing multiple demographic questions and inquiries about attitudes and reactions to police officers was distributed to my Research Methods class as well as my family and friends. The results of this study support the hypothesis, and show that social class and type of neighborhood a person lives in also influences their attitude towards the police.
African Americans’ Attitudes towards Police
In our society, it is no secret that African Americans are frequently involved in altercations with police that result in extreme harm or death. Many people believe that blacks are targeted by the police and are often victims of police brutality. From this belief, many African Americans develop hostile or distrustful attitudes towards officers. These ill attitudes sometimes cause otherwise peaceful situations with authority to escalate and cause harm to both civilians and police officers. Whether there is a difference between the attitudes and trust levels blacks and whites have towards police is crucial in understanding aspects of American culture. If there is an entire subgroup that is hostile towards the people who are suppose to keep us safe, what does this say about our society? And what does this say about the people we trust to protect us? This issue has continued past segregation, past the civil rights movement, past the race riots, and past the drug raids of the 1980s.The
The George Washington University
Abstract
Past experiences have shown that African Americans tend to have a more hostile relationship with police officers than other races. Research from multiple scholars confirms that there is in fact a correlation between a person’s race and the attitude they have towards officers. This experiment aims to verify that race is responsible for this difference in attitude. A survey containing multiple demographic questions and inquiries about attitudes and reactions to police officers was distributed to my Research Methods class as well as my family and friends. The results of this study support the hypothesis, and show that social class and type of neighborhood a person lives in also influences their attitude towards the police.
African Americans’ Attitudes towards Police
In our society, it is no secret that African Americans are frequently involved in altercations with police that result in extreme harm or death. Many people believe that blacks are targeted by the police and are often victims of police brutality. From this belief, many African Americans develop hostile or distrustful attitudes towards officers. These ill attitudes sometimes cause otherwise peaceful situations with authority to escalate and cause harm to both civilians and police officers. Whether there is a difference between the attitudes and trust levels blacks and whites have towards police is crucial in understanding aspects of American culture. If there is an entire subgroup that is hostile towards the people who are suppose to keep us safe, what does this say about our society? And what does this say about the people we trust to protect us? This issue has continued past segregation, past the civil rights movement, past the race riots, and past the drug raids of the 1980s.The
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