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CNN Live Today
Race Relations: Problems and Progress
Aired January 28, 2003 - 11:20 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
LEON HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: President bush Is going to be speaking to voters and everyone else here in this country, and the state of race relations in America is going to be the focus of national debate in the weeks and months to come. Trent Lott's recent political upheaval attracted the spotlight. And as President Bush now prepares to give his views on the State of the Union, we want to take a look at the state of race relations.
CNN's senior analyst Jeff Greenfield joins us live from New York to talk about that.
Good morning, Jeff.
JEFF GREENFIELD, CNN SR. ANALYST: It is a question at the heart of the American experience. It's a question of black and white and brown and yellow and red. It was with us from the beginning when an attack on slavery was cut out of a Declaration of Independence to win over the Southern colonies. It was at the heart of the bloodiest divide ever among us, the Civil War, and it was the most contentious domestic issue in post-World War II America.
But what about now, more than 34 years after that civil rights revolution? In so many ways, the glass is half full and half empty. For instance, on income, the economic boom of the '90s did lift all the votes. Median household income for blacks rose nearly $5,000. Hispanics did nearly as well. But the gap is still wide. White household income in 2001 was more than $44,000. That's much higher than either blacks or Hispanics. On education, the '90s saw a surge in college attendance among blacks and Hispanics; 30 percent of college-age African-Americans, 22 percent of collage-age Hispanics are now in college. Those improvements, but the percentages still lag behind whites, 36 percent of whom 18-24 are in college.
Now on attitudes, some intriguing numbers, according to a Gallup poll. Blacks and whites agree that only a few whites dislike blacks, as opposed to many or most, but more whites than blacks believe that there is a substantial amount of black hostility toward whites.
And what about the overall state of race relations? Well, a poll released this month shows that more whites than blacks said that race relations are good or excellent.
And finally, there is one area at least where blacks and whites seem to have relatively little in common. It's their TV viewing habits. According to most recent measure of the top 10 television shows favored by African Americans, only two, "CSI" and "Law and Order" also ranked among white viewers' top 10 favorites. Many of the other favorites by African-Americans, by contrast, rank among the least watched of all primetime shows, Leon. So that's a divide we can probably live with a lot more easily than some others we have had.
HARRIS: Jeff, we only have a few seconds here. What are you sensing out there as we hear President Bush talk about reaching out to win more majority votes? Any signs at all that he's making any progress with that?
GREENFIELD: Well, he did it bigtime, as they say, in the 2000 election, and wound up with a smaller percentage of the African- American vote as Barry Goldwater got. And I think really, the question is going to be whether the -- if terrorism and the war become the dominant issue whether that losses some African-American voters. Because if Republicans can shave off a little bit, they create great problems for Democrats.
HARRIS: Thanks, Jeff. Appreciate that.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired January 28, 2003 - 11:20 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
LEON HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: President bush Is going to be speaking to voters and everyone else here in this country, and the state of race relations in America is going to be the focus of national debate in the weeks and months to come. Trent Lott's recent political upheaval attracted the spotlight. And as President Bush now prepares to give his views on the State of the Union, we want to take a look at the state of race relations.
CNN's senior analyst Jeff Greenfield joins us live from New York to talk about that.
Good morning, Jeff.
JEFF GREENFIELD, CNN SR. ANALYST: It is a question at the heart of the American experience. It's a question of black and white and brown and yellow and red. It was with us from the beginning when an attack on slavery was cut out of a Declaration of Independence to win over the Southern colonies. It was at the heart of the bloodiest divide ever among us, the Civil War, and it was the most contentious domestic issue in post-World War II America.
But what about now, more than 34 years after that civil rights revolution? In so many ways, the glass is half full and half empty. For instance, on income, the economic boom of the '90s did lift all the votes. Median household income for blacks rose nearly $5,000. Hispanics did nearly as well. But the gap is still wide. White household income in 2001 was more than $44,000. That's much higher than either blacks or Hispanics. On education, the '90s saw a surge in college attendance among blacks and Hispanics; 30 percent of college-age African-Americans, 22 percent of collage-age Hispanics are now in college. Those improvements, but the percentages still lag behind whites, 36 percent of whom 18-24 are in college.
Now on attitudes, some intriguing numbers, according to a Gallup poll. Blacks and whites agree that only a few whites dislike blacks, as opposed to many or most, but more whites than blacks believe that there is a substantial amount of black hostility toward whites.
And what about the overall state of race relations? Well, a poll released this month shows that more whites than blacks said that race relations are good or excellent.
And finally, there is one area at least where blacks and whites seem to have relatively little in common. It's their TV viewing habits. According to most recent measure of the top 10 television shows favored by African Americans, only two, "CSI" and "Law and Order" also ranked among white viewers' top 10 favorites. Many of the other favorites by African-Americans, by contrast, rank among the least watched of all primetime shows, Leon. So that's a divide we can probably live with a lot more easily than some others we have had.
HARRIS: Jeff, we only have a few seconds here. What are you sensing out there as we hear President Bush talk about reaching out to win more majority votes? Any signs at all that he's making any progress with that?
GREENFIELD: Well, he did it bigtime, as they say, in the 2000 election, and wound up with a smaller percentage of the African- American vote as Barry Goldwater got. And I think really, the question is going to be whether the -- if terrorism and the war become the dominant issue whether that losses some African-American voters. Because if Republicans can shave off a little bit, they create great problems for Democrats.
HARRIS: Thanks, Jeff. Appreciate that.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
