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Poll shows race relations still an issue in New York
Nick Reisman reports in New York State of Politics that Siena College poll results announced Jan. 17 show only 36 percent of New Yorkers believe race relations in the state are excellent or good, while 60 percent say they are fair or negative. Last year only 31 percent of New Yorkers polled said race relations were good or excellent. In 2014 47 percent of New Yorkers believed race relations in New York were positive. Now 72 percent of New Yorkers polled say people of color face racial discrimination, while 19 percent say they do not. “The overwhelming majority of New Yorkers of every stripe think racial minorities experience discrimination in New York – including 92 percent of Blacks, 87 percent of Latinos and 67 percent of whites; 84 percent of Democrats, 66 percent of independents and 56 percent of Republicans; and at least 63 percent from every region,” Siena College pollster Steve Greenberg said. “Similarly, at least 62 percent of voters, regardless of religion, race, party, or region, say that religious minorities experience discrimination." And half of Latinos and 41 percent of Black New Yorkers reported they were treated unfairly in the last year because of their race, religion, gender, ethnicity, or sexual orientation. "This number has remained largely consistent over the last five years,” Greenberg said. “Dr. King would have turned 93 this weekend. He said, ‘Change does not roll in on the wheels of inevitability, but comes through continuous struggle.’ New Yorkers say that struggle persists.” Read more about this story in New York State of Politics.