Overall, 20% of all national adults say black-white differences in jobs, income, and housing are due to discrimination, compared with 24% in 1993, when Gallup first asked the question.

The percentage of blacks who say black-white differences in socioeconomic attainment are due to discrimination rises with age, from 30% among blacks aged 18 to 34, to 47% among blacks 55 and older. Older blacks may be more familiar with the civil rights struggles of the 1960s, and many lived a significant part of their lives before today’s federal laws aimed at reducing discrimination in hiring, housing, and education were passed. These data suggest that with the passage of time, and if these patterns don’t change in the years ahead, the percentage of blacks who perceive discrimination as the cause for black-white differences may drop further.