WASHINGTON — Relations among African-Americans, Latinos and Asian-Americans are fraught with tension and negative stereotypes, but all three groups share core values and a desire to get along better with one another, according to a survey released in Washington on Wednesday by the nonprofit group New America Media.
The survey found that many members of all three groups felt “more comfortable” doing business with whites than with one another and that a majority of each group viewed racial tension as a “very important problem.”
It also found that immigrants are more optimistic about achieving the American dream than African-Americans and that far fewer African-Americans than either Asians or Latinos believe that every American has an “equal opportunity to succeed.”
Underscoring what survey officials called “unfair and ugly stereotypes” among American ethnic and minority groups, more than 40 percent of Latinos and Asians said they were “generally afraid” of African-Americans and associated them with crime.
A similarly high proportion of Latinos and African-Americans said most Asian business owners “do not treat us with respect,” while one-third of Asians and half of African-Americans said Latin American immigrants are “taking away jobs” and other benefits from the black community.
On the other hand, the telephone poll of 1,105 people in all 50 states, evenly divided among the three groups, found that they had a great deal in common, including strong feelings of patriotism and religious belief. More than 85 percent of responders from all three groups said they should “put aside their differences” and work together to help their communities.
Sergio Bendixen, who presented the results at the National Press Club, said the groups are relatively isolated from one another.
“If you share an afternoon of baseball and a barbecue, you are less likely to be afraid of people or think they came to steal your job,” Bendixen said.
