Gallup's Washington Debut - Brief Article

Black Issues in Higher Education, August 2, 2001 by Ronald Roach

Organization unveils latest social audit on Black/White relations in the United States

WASHINGTON

In a move to highlight its influential work, the Gallup Organization publicly inaugurated the, Gallup Tuesday Briefing at its unique Washington, D.C.-based facility that combines the restored remnants of a historic downtown building and a brand new classically designed office complex.

The Tuesday briefing, begun last year as a weekly Internet-delivered polling news product, had its public debut in July with an audience consisting of Washington policy officials, congressmen, college and university faculty members, and top higher education officials.

For the audience, which included prominent African American/officials, such as U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr., D-Ill., Dr. Joyce Payne of the National Association of State Universities and LandGrant Colleges, and Dr. William Harvey of the American Council on Education, the inaugural event proved quite compelling as Gallup officials unveiled the organization's latest social audit on Black/White relations in the United States.

Dr. Sheila Kearney, executive director of the Gallup poll social audit, says Gallup has made annual audits of Black/White relations and social perceptions a priority since 1997. The release of this year's Black/White relations audit coincided with the public launch of the Gallup Tuesday Briefing, providing the organization an opportunity to connect with prominent public policy and higher education officials in Washington.

"The higher education community is very important to us," Kearney says. "We want to have a relationship with all sectors of our society."

The audit found many glaring differences between Black and White perceptions of race relations in the United States. For example, four in 10 White Americans, compared to one in 10 Black Americans, felt Blacks are treated the same as Whites in the United States.

Even when Gallup officials questioned Blacks and Whites on how well Blacks are treated in their local community, there was a substantial difference. Nearly seven in 10 Whites reported that Blacks are treated the same as Whites in their local community. Just 41 percent of Blacks felt that Blacks are treated as well as Whites locally.

Other perception differences arose around questions of opportunity in education, housing and treatment by the police.

For complete results of the audit, visit <www.gallup.com/>.