Maryland Governor's Task Force on Violence and Extremism Report

• NCJ Number: 88716
• Author(s): C R Beims
• Date Published: 1982
• Length: 56 pages
• Corporate Author: University of Maryland
• Sale Source: National Institute of Justice/; NCJRS Photocopy Services
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

Most respondents in a survey of Maryland residents over 18 years old disapproved of incidents which reflect racial or religious bigotry and felt they should be controlled by legal means and community pressures. Age and education were major predictors of whites' racial attitudes, but there was evidence of some backlash among younger adults.

Abstract

A random probability sample of 532 residents (406 whites, 111 blacks, and 15 'others') was interviewed by telephone between mid-November 1981 and mid-January 1982. Older stereotypes of reasons for some groups not doing as well as others seemed to be disappearing, with blacks seen as doing less well because of social, economic, and educational rather than genetic factors. Both black and white respondents expressed more positive than negative sentiments about the state of race relations, although many felt that racial violence was likely to increase in the future. Whites believed that legal changes enacted over the past 20 years had benefited blacks and not whites, whereas most blacks believed that these changes benefited both races equally. While only a few respondents from both races supported laws prohibiting racial intermarriages or open housing, some 44 percent of the whites agreed that blacks should not push themselves where they were not wanted. Profiles of the most and least tolerant respondents suggested that the black population was more tolerant as a group than the white population. Within the white sample, the 18-19-year olds and older age groups were the less tolerant. Persons 20-29 years old and over 70 were the less tolerant among the black sample. Whites with higher educational levels tended to be more tolerant, whereas the college educated blacks seemed the least tolerant. Whites with lower incomes were more intolerant than other whites, but lower income blacks were more tolerant than middle-income blacks. Comparisons with national surveys showed that white Marylanders were considerably more tolerant than the rest of the country. However, this progress toward racial harmony could be slowed if the backlash among the youngest adults continues. Tables and the survey questionnaire are included.