Trump supporters see black people as ‘less evolved’

A new study released by Slate found that Trump supporters were more likely to hold the perception by white people that black people are "less evolved."

theGrio featured stories

A new study released by Slate that measures the false perception by white people that black people are “less evolved” found that Trump supporters were far more likely to hold this view than other people.

In addition to believing that black people are “less evolved” than white people, respondents to the survey also described black people as “savage,” “barbaric,” and “lacking self-restraint, like animals.” Respondents were shown the graphic “The Ascent of Man,” which shows silhouettes from ape to fully evolved man and were asked to place black and white people on this scale, with a shocking 38 percent of white people rating blacks lower than whites.

–Common says racism won’t end with Donald Trump–

The results are not simply limited to those you would expect to have these kind of prejudices. For example, 33 percent of Democrats and 34 percent of high-income whites held these views, with 39 percent of Republicans and 41 percent of low-income whites holding them.

But the most telling results were those of Trump supporters. In the survey, participants were asked to rate Trump on a scale of 0-100 as to how warmly they felt toward the candidate. Among those who opposed Trump the strongest, rating him at 25 or less, the views of black people as less evolved were found in 28 percent of the sample. On the other hand, those who rated Trump at 75 or higher held these views at a rate of 52 percent.

In short, this survey has found the dehumanization of black people, the refusal to see them as human beings, as highly prevalent among Trump supporters.

Mentioned in this article:

More About: