Polling shows a substantial majority of Americans oppose reparations

Evidence

The first national poll about reparations was done by ABC News in 1997. Why 1997? Perhaps because in June of that year, President Bill Clinton launched his national conversation on race at the University of California at San Diego. The question polled was “Do you think the federal government should or should not pay money to Black Americans whose ancestors were slaves as compensation for that slavery?” Only 19 percent supported reparations, with 77 percent opposed and 4 percent without an opinion. The racial breakdown was only 10 percent of white respondents supported reparations and 88 percent opposed. For black Americans 65/28 percent was the support/opposition breakdown. Since 2001, polling shows that “a substantial majority of Americans oppose reparations, regardless of the modality, provider, or the recipient.” — Dorothy A. Brown, Getting to Reparations, 480

Categorization

• QUESTION: The 1997/2001 cut points and the racial gap (10% vs 65%) are data worth pulling in when defending the obstacle claim.