Gallup: Confidence in equal racial opportunities falls

WASHINGTON, July 15 (UPI) -- The percentage of those who think African Americans have job opportunities equal to white Americans has declined to its lowest level since 1995, a Gallup poll released Friday indicated.

A majority of Americans believe African Americans have the same opportunities as whites in jobs, housing and education, but the percentages have been falling. The survey indicates 64 percent of Americans believe job opportunities are equal; the figure was 79 percent in 2009. Seventy percent say housing opportunities are equal, the lowest percentage since 1999 and below the peak of 83 percent in 1997. On chances to obtain a good education, 71 percent said the opportunities are equal, the lowest percentage since Gallup began asking the question in 1999.

African-American respondents had lower perceptions of equality, in jobs, with 32 percent saying opportunities were equal; 49 percent said educational opportunities were equal, and 32 percent believe their housing opportunities were the same for whites.

Racially charged incidents, like the Flint, Mich., water crisis and the rise of the Black Lives Matter movement, may influence respondents' opinions, Gallup said, as well as regular comments on the issues by presidential candidates.

The Gallup survey was taken in telephone interviews conducted from June 7 to July 1, prior to police-related shootings in Minnesota, Louisiana and Texas, of a sample of 3,270 respondents age 18 or older. The margin of error is 3 points.