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How do African-Americans experience discrimination in daily life?

A poll by NPR, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF), and the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health is examining the extent of discrimination against six major ethnic and racial groups in America today.

The results for African-Americans will be released Tuesday, Oct. 24, and highlighted in an expert panel discussion to be live-streamed here at 12 p.m. ET that day, as part of The Forum at the Harvard Chan School.

With unprecedented documentation, the poll provides results from police interaction, job applications, health care, racial slurs and more. The Forum will explore the results and their implications for society.

This poll is the first among a series of reports that surveyed additional groups, including Latinos, Asian-Americans, Native Americans, men, women, and LGBTQ adults, on their experiences with discrimination.

Joe Neel, deputy senior supervising editor on NPR's Science Desk, will moderate the discussion with:

Robert Blendon, professor of Health Policy and Political Analysis, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and Harvard Kennedy School

Elizabeth Hinton, assistant professor, Departments of History and of African American Studies, Harvard University, and author, From the War on Poverty to the War on Crime: The Making of Mass Incarceration in America

Dwayne Proctor, senior adviser to the President and director, Achieving Health Equity Portfolio, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation

David Williams, professor of Public Health, Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health

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Experiences Of Discrimination In America

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How do African-Americans experience discrimination in daily life? A poll by NPR, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF), and the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health is examining the extent of discrimination against six major ethnic and racial groups in America today. The results for African-Americans will be released Tuesday, Oct.

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executive director of public interest directorate

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Gwendolyn Keita, PhD, executive director of APA's Public Interest Directorate discusses how and why to put discrimination on the conversation agenda.

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Experiencing Discrimination in America

Nearly seven in 10 adults (69 percent) in the U.S. report having experienced any discrimination, with 61 percent reporting experiencing day-to-day discrimination, such as being treated with less courtesy or respect, receiving poorer service than others, and being threatened or harassed . Within this report, discrimination is reported across subgroups of adults, including age, race or ethnicity ³, disability, gender, sexual orientation and gender identity. For example, adults with a disability are twice as likely as adults without a disability to say that their life has been harder (a lot or some) because of discrimination and that discrimination has interfered with them being able to live a full and productive life ⁴ (for both references: 19 percent of adults with a disability vs. 9 percent of adults without a disability). ⁵ For all groups surveyed, the most commonly reported experiences of major discrimination relate to employment.

Almost half of all adults (47 percent) report experiencing major forms of discrimination, which include police unfairly stopping, searching, questioning, physically threatening or abusing them; neighbors making life difficult for them or their family upon moving into a neighborhood; a teacher or advisor discouraging them from continuing their education; or experiencing unfair treatment when receiving health care.

* Nearly two in five Black men (39 percent vs. 19 percent of all men) say that police have unfairly stopped, searched, questioned, physically threatened or abused them. More than one in three Asian men report being unfairly denied a promotion (35 percent vs. 24 percent of all men).

* At least 7 in 10 American Indian/Alaska Natives (AI/AN) (81 percent), Blacks (76 percent), Asians (74 percent) and Hispanics (72 percent) report having experienced everyday discrimination, such as being treated with less courtesy or respect, being treated as if they are not smart or receiving poorer service than others, compared to 61 percent of all adults.

* Thirty-four percent of (AI/AN), 23 percent of Blacks, 19 percent of Hispanics, 11 percent of Whites and 11 percent of Asians report experiencing these slights almost every day or at least once a week.

* While Black (71 percent), Asian (64 percent), Hispanic (56 percent) and AI/AN (36 percent) adults report that race is the main reason they think they experienced day-to-day discrimination, White adults overall are most likely to attribute the experience to age (33 percent).

* Around half or more Black (60 percent), AI/AN (50 percent), Asian (49 percent) and Hispanic (45 percent) adults say their lives have been at least a little harder because of discrimination, with one in 10 AI/AN and nearly the same percentage of Black adults (8 percent) saying it has made life a lot harder.

* Nearly one-quarter of adults who are LGBT (23 percent) say that they have been unfairly stopped, searched, questioned, physically threatened or abused by the police. This group of adults also reports being unfairly not hired for a job (33 percent) and being unfairly discouraged by a teacher or advisor to continue their education (24 percent). ⁵

* Younger adults are the most likely to say they have experienced any discrimination (75 percent of millennials, compared to 72 percent of Gen Xers, 67 percent of boomers and 56 percent of matures). ⁶

* Thirty percent of women cite gender as a reason for day-to-day discrimination, compared to just 8 percent of men.

Discrimination Associated With Higher Stress Levels and Health Disparities

Regardless of the cause, experiencing discrimination is associated with higher reported stress and poorer reported health. While average reported stress levels in the United States have seen a slight increase in the past two years (5.1 in 2015 and 4.9 in 2014 on a 10-point scale, where 1 is "little or no stress" and 10 is "a great deal of stress"), some segments of the population are more likely to report experiencing higher average stress levels.

For many adults, dealing with discrimination results in a state of heightened vigilance and changes in behavior, which in itself can trigger stress responses - that is, even the anticipation of discrimination is sufficient to cause people to become stressed.⁷ AI/AN adults are most likely (43 percent) to take care about what they say and how they say it, as well as to avoid certain situations, to cope with day-to-day discrimination. Hispanic and Black adults (31 percent and 29 percent, respectively) are most likely to say they feel a need to take care with their appearance to get good service or avoid harassment. Many adults also report trying to prepare for possible insults from other people before leaving home (25 percent of AI/AN, 23 percent of Blacks, 21 percent of Hispanics and 15 percent of Asians and Whites).

Adults who are LGBT who have experienced discrimination have average stress levels of 6.4, compared to 6.0 for LGBT adults overall. Among adults who are non-LGBT, stress levels are 5.5 for those who have experienced discrimination and 5.0 for non-LGBT adults overall. This also is seen across racial groups: Average stress levels of those reporting discrimination (6.1 on a 10-point scale for Hispanics, 5.5 for Blacks and 5.4 for Whites) were higher than for those not reporting it (5.1 for Hispanics, 3.8 for Blacks and 4.0 for Whites).

Among generations, the discrimination/stress divide can be seen within the larger population of millennials.⁸ More than half of Asian millennials (51 percent) and 47 percent of Black millennials say that discrimination is a very or somewhat significant source of stress, compared to 31 percent of Hispanic and 26 percent of White millennials reporting the same.

More than one in 10 adults (13 percent) say they have been treated unfairly when receiving health care, and significantly more AI/AN adults (28 percent) report experiencing discrimination when receiving health care treatment.

Adults with disabilities are more likely than those without a disability to say discrimination is a somewhat or significant source of stress (26 percent vs. 18 percent).

Almost half of adults who did not report experiencing discrimination (45 percent) report excellent or very good health, compared to 31 percent who report experiencing discrimination. Forty-six percent of Whites who say they have not experienced discrimination report excellent/very good health, while only 34 percent of Whites who have experienced discrimination report excellent/very good health (Hispanics: 37 percent vs. 29 percent; Blacks: 32 percent vs. 28 percent, respectively).

Despite the stress, the majority of adults who report experiencing discrimination (59 percent) feel that they have dealt quite well or very well with it and any resulting changes or problems.

Younger adults are less likely than older generations to report having dealt well with discrimination. Sixty-one percent of boomers and 86 percent of matures report that they have dealt quite well or very well with having experienced discrimination and any resulting changes or problems, compared to about half of younger adults (51 percent of millennials and 53 percent of Gen Xers) saying the same.

Forty percent of adults who are LGBT say they have dealt quite well or very well with having experienced discrimination and any resulting changes or problems, while 60 percent of non-LGBT adults say the same.

Having emotional support appears to improve the way that individuals view their coping abilities with discrimination. Sixty-five percent of adults overall who say they experienced discrimination and indicate that they had emotional support also say they coped quite or very well, compared to 37 percent of those who report not having emotional support.

Differences by racial and ethnic groups also reveal that higher percentages of those who say they experienced discrimination and indicate they had emotional support said they coped quite or very well, compared to those who report not having support. For Whites, 69 percent of those who say they experienced discrimination and indicate that they had emotional support report coping quite or very well, compared to 36 percent of those who report not having emotional support (Blacks: 63 percent vs. 30 percent; Hispanics: 54 percent vs. 38 percent).

All groups appear to do better when they have emotional support. Those who indicate that they did not have emotional support also report higher stress levels (6.3 average level on a 10-point scale compared to 5.0 for people with emotional support). Across population groups, average stress levels of those without support (6.8 for Hispanics, 6.3 for Blacks and 6.2 for Whites) were higher than for those with emotional support (5.7 for Hispanics, 5.1 for Blacks and 4.9 for Whites).

The Health Disparities and Stress Connection

While overall life expectancy at birth in the United States reached a record high in 2012, significant numbers of adults across different subgroups also are experiencing disproportionate rates of health disparities, including mortality rates. ⁹ The results from this year's Stress in America™ survey also suggest that stress is a significant health disparity in itself, and stress also may be associated with other health disparities.

Nearly one-quarter of adults (23 percent) report that their health is "fair" or "poor," and one in five (20 percent) report being diagnosed as overweight. Among certain subgroups, the percentage reporting "fair" or "poor" health is significantly greater than adults overall, and other health disparities emerge among these groups.

More than one-quarter of AI/AN (39 percent), Blacks (30 percent) and Hispanics (29 percent) report that they are in fair or poor health, compared to 23 percent of adults overall.

More than two-fifths of those who say they have been diagnosed with a chronic illness (42 percent) report also having a disability, compared with only 17 percent of those who do not have a chronic illness. One-third of adults overall (33 percent) report having a disability, with the highest percentages of AI/AN (44 percent) and Whites (36 percent) reporting this, followed by Blacks (30 percent), Hispanics (28 percent) and Asians (20 percent).

Rates of having received at least one chronic illness diagnosis are consistent across most sub-group populations, with almost seven in 10 (67 percent) of all adults saying that they have received a chronic illness diagnosis, including mental health-related conditions.

Rates of health care access, however, differ widely. Hispanics are the most likely to report that they do not have access to a non-emergency doctor when they need it (33 percent), followed by 31 percent of Asians, 29 percent of Blacks, and significantly fewer Whites (23 percent) and AI/AN (21 percent). Rates of health care insurance coverage also differ across groups: 20 percent of Hispanics report having no health insurance, followed by 15 percent of Blacks, 14 percent of AI/AN, 6 percent of Asians and 5 percent of Whites.

Research shows a connection between poor health and chronic stress, and this year's survey findings seem to corroborate this connection. ¹⁰, ¹¹ Among all adults, those who report experiencing extreme levels of stress (a rating of 8, 9 or 10 on a 10-point scale) are twice as likely to report fair or poor health, compared to those with low stress levels.

Adults who report being in fair or poor health have higher average stress levels than those who report being in excellent or very good health (5.9 vs. 4.6 on a 10-point scale).

Nearly half (46 percent) of Black adults who rate their stress as high extreme (46 percent) report fair or poor health, while only 22 percent who report low stress levels say the same. One in three (35 percent) Hispanics who report having extreme high stress (35 percent) also report being in fair or poor health, compared to 19 percent of Hispanics reporting low stress.

About half of adults who are LGBT (49 percent) report that their stress has increased, whereas only 34 percent of adults who are not LGBT say the same. In addition, adults who are LGBT also are less likely than adults who are non-LGBT to report that they are in very good or excellent health (24 percent and 36 percent, respectively).

Stress Levels Reflect Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Other Areas of Life

The Stress in America™ survey finds year after year that money and work are the sources of stress that adults most commonly rate as significant. While overall unemployment rates have been falling since the Great Recession, some groups are faring better than others, particularly White adults. ¹², ¹³ With lower unemployment rates and reported higher wealth, White adults are significantly less likely than Hispanic and Black adults to say that money is a very or somewhat significant source of stress. ¹⁴

There is a growing financial divide among races and ethnicities. According to DEMOS and Brandeis University's Institute for Assets & Social Policy, a median White household has about 13 times as much wealth as a median Hispanic household and almost 16 times as much wealth as a median Black household. While 78 percent of Black adults, 77 percent of Hispanics and 70 percent of Asians and AI/AN say that money is a very or somewhat significant source of stress, significantly fewer Whites (62 percent) report feeling significantly or somewhat stressed by money.

Similar trends can be seen with regard to employment. The unemployment rate according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics for Whites is much lower than for other groups (4.3 percent for Whites, compared to 9.4 for Blacks and 6.4 for Hispanics), with the exception of Asians (3.9 percent). ¹⁵ The Stress in America™ survey found that employed White adults are slightly less likely than others, with the exception of AI/AN, to say that work is a very or somewhat significant stressor in their lives (62 percent of Whites say this, compared to 74 percent of Hispanics, 71 percent of Asians, 69 percent of Blacks and 59 percent of AI/AN). Whites also are significantly less likely to rate job stability as a significant source of stress (30 percent of Whites say this, compared to 55 percent of Hispanics, 52 percent of Asians, 50 percent of Blacks and 47 percent of AI/AN).

Family responsibilities vary among population groups as a very or somewhat significant source of stress. Asian adults are the most likely to report stress from family responsibilities (69 percent), followed by 61 percent of Hispanics, 60 percent of AI/AN, 59 percent of Blacks and 50 percent of Whites.

Personal health concerns also seem to cause stress among adults. More than half of Hispanics (58 percent) say personal health concerns are a very or somewhat significant source of stress, along with 57 percent of AI/AN, 56 percent of Blacks and Asians and 48 percent of Whites.

Living in a Stressful Environment

Survey findings show that adults in urban areas have a significantly higher reported stress level on average than those in suburban and rural settings (urban: 5.6 on a 10-point scale, vs. 5.0 for suburban and 4.7 for rural).

White (43 percent) and Asian (55 percent) adults most commonly live in suburban environments, whereas Hispanic (51 percent) and Black (49 percent) adults most commonly report living in urban areas. AI/AN adults are the most likely to report living in small towns or rural areas (41 percent).

Forty-six percent of adults living in urban areas rate crime and violence as big problems or somewhat of a problem, compared to 19 percent of rural adults and 17 percent of suburban adults saying the same. Similarly, 34 percent of adults in urban areas consider not enough access to healthy foods as a big problem or somewhat of a problem, compared to 20 percent of adults living in rural areas and 13 percent of those in suburban areas saying the same.

In addition, adults living in suburban neighborhoods are less likely to rate unemployment as a big or somewhat big problem (22 percent compared to 48 percent of urban and 43 percent of rural neighborhoods saying the same).

Stress disparities appear across racial groups within the same settings. In urban environments, the average stress level is highest for Hispanics (6.0, compared to 5.5 for Whites, 5.2 for Blacks and 5.1 for Asians).

Regardless of setting, however, some groups are more likely to rate other neighborhood issues as a big problem or somewhat of a problem, including unemployment, not enough access to healthy foods and poorly maintained community/recreational parks and facilities. In particular, Blacks, AI/AN and Hispanics are more likely (47 percent, 45 percent and 39 percent, respectively) to say unemployment is a big problem or somewhat of a problem, compared to 34 percent of Whites and 30 percent of Asians indicating the same.

Blacks and Hispanics are more likely (31 percent and 26 percent , respectively ) to say not having enough access to healthy foods is a big or somewhat big problem (compared to 21 percent of AI/AN, 20 percent of Whites and 19 percent of Asians saying the same). Similarly, Blacks and Hispanics are more likely ( 27 percent and 25 percent, respectively) to report poorly maintained community/recreational parks and facilities as a big or somewhat big problem (compared to 20 percent of Asians, 19 percent of AI/AN and 17 percent of Whites saying the same).

In general, the percentage of non-White groups in poverty is higher than that of Whites, with the exception of Asians. More than four in 10 AI/AN (45 percent), Hispanics (42 percent) and Blacks (41 percent) report being in poverty, as compared to 24 percent of Whites and Asians. Please refer to the Methodology section for this report's definition of "poverty." When looking at these groups in total, AI/AN, Hispanics and Blacks also have the highest reported average stress levels (5.4, 5.9 and 5.2, respectively).

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Experiencing Discrimination in America Nearly seven in 10 adults (69 percent) in the U.S. report having experienced any discrimination, with 61 percent reporting experiencing day-to-day discrimination, such as being treated with less courtesy or respect, receiving poorer service than others, and being threatened or harassed .

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Recently, chilling videos surfaced online of young University of Oklahoma students, members of the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity, reciting a racially-charged chant. The story appeared surprising for numerous reasons. Among them, education is supposed to reduce racial resentment (or at least temper outward expressions of it), and young people, known as Millennials, are supposed to be uniquely tolerant. The incident offers an opportunity to reevaluate how we think about racism in America, and how we can fight it.
Age Doesn't Matter
The pervasive narrative about racial change is that it occurs through generations - old racists die out, and new, young, progressive people take their place. This narrative is dubious. Age tells us far less about an individual's likelihood of expressing racist sentiments than factors like education, geography and race. The data below visualize the percentage of whites in each age group espousing the explicitly racist idea that blacks are not hardworking or intelligent, as well as the percentage who say that blacks face little or no discrimination. Finally, I include the percentage of whites in each age group who say they have "never" felt admiration for blacks. The youngest whites (17-34) are only modestly less likely than the oldest (65+) to say that blacks are lazy (3.6 point difference) or unintelligent (1.5 point difference), but they are also less likely to perceive discrimination against blacks (6.3 point difference) and far less likely to say that have felt admiration for blacks. Compared to the generation immediately before them (white aged 35-49) the youngest whites are slightly more likely to say blacks are lazy (2.4 points) and unintelligent (4.3). In sum, it's clear that age has little effect on the likelihood that whites hold racially-biased feelings about blacks.

It's possible that these attitudes are simply driven by an individual's pessimism. Maybe they feel that all people, white and black, are unintelligent. But this does not exculpate young whites. Spencer Piston, a professor at the Campbell Institute at Syracuse University, examined how young whites ranked the intelligence and work ethic of whites to blacks. He finds that 51 percent of whites between the ages of 17 and 34 rate blacks as lazier than whites, and 43 percent say blacks are less intelligent. These numbers aren't statistically different from older whites. On issues related to structural racism, it is incredibly clear that young whites aren't very different from their parents. Indeed, the most significant change that has occurred is an increasing conservatism among young blacks. The data show that most young Americans are racial conservatives - they believe, in the words of Chief Justice John Roberts, "The way to stop discrimination on the basis of race is to stop discriminating on the basis of race." We might call them the Bill O'Reilly Generation.
Let's Talk About Racism
One of the underlying problems is that most Americans, but particularly Millennials, have a very confined view of what racism is. Americans think of racism as Bull Connor or the Ku Klux Klan, but today, racism is far more likely to be embedded in institutions. Modern racism isn't cross-burning (though that still happens.) It's the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs only approving tax credits for housing in neighborhoods that are majority people of color and denying the credits in neighborhoods that are majority white (a case the Supreme Court will take up this year). And while the Ferguson Police Department certainly contained racists, the more pervasive problem was a systematically discriminatory method of policing that preyed on people of color.

Age tells us far less about an individual's likelihood of expressing racist sentiments than factors like education, geography and race.

It is beyond dispute that the United States contains deep structural racial issues. These racial disparities are perpetuated not only through explicit discrimination, but through the power of history. For instance, black and Latino children are far more likely to grow up in poor neighborhoods, stinting upward mobility. Black and Latino men are disproportionately caught up in mass incarceration, which affects their families and their earning for a lifetime. A new report by Demos and Brandeis University finds that equalizing college graduation rates between whites and people of color would close the wealth gap by 1 percent for blacks and 3 percent for Latinos. A recent study helps explain why: Michael Gaddis finds blacks who graduated from elite universities have the same chance in the job market as whites who graduated from less selective schools. In addition, black graduates are offered lower starting salary and less prestigious starting jobs.
A Forward Looking Agenda
The reaction to the SAE scandal, and numerous other events over the past few years (Donald Sterling and Paula Deen, for example) suggest that our society can accurately identify and shame explicit racial animosity. But addressing the structural racism that plagues our society will be far more difficult, mainly because most Americans aren't attuned to it. Even progress can entrench structural racism. In the wake of President Obama's election, political scientists Nicholas Valentino and Ted Brader found that Americans, particularly young Americans and white Americans, were less likely to perceive racial discrimination than they were before. Further, University of Michigan professor Vincent Hutchings found that "blacks and whites remain as far apart on racial policy matters in 2008 as in 1988."

In the long term, Americans need to grapple with our history and how it continues to affect us today. Matthew Blackwell, Avidit Acharya and Maya Sen find that whites in areas with a high concentration of slavery are to this day more likely to espouse racially biased attitudes. Therefore, waiting for a mass opinion change may take decades (if it occurs at all). Similarly, waiting for old whites to die out won't solve the problem, as these attitudes are equally prevalent among youth. Demographic change may lead to a more diverse nation, but this will take half a century, and white hegemony has a way of shifting to accommodate new realities. Racial justice must include more deeply integrating our neighborhoods to give everyone equal opportunity. In addition, such integration will decrease racial animosity. Mass incarceration and racially-biased policing tactics must be ended immediately. The need to close the funding gap between majority white schools and schools that are majority students of color, as well as the gap between rich schools and poor schools should be immediately obvious. A baby bond program could ease not just the racial wealth gap, but the deep-class divide in asset ownership. And any racial justice policy must include full employment. These programs need not be framed as part of a racial justice agenda. Rather, they are part of an opportunity agenda, for all Americans, white, Black or Latino.
Correction: An earlier version of this post misidentified the research of University of Michigan professor Vincent Hutchings. Hutchings found that blacks and whites remained as far apart on racial policy matters in 2008 as they did in 1988. Political scientists Nicholas Valentino and Ted Brader's research showed that Americans were less likely to perceive racial discrimination after President Obama was elected than they were before.

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The hidden racism of young white Americans

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Recently, chilling videos surfaced online of young University of Oklahoma students, members of the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity, reciting a racially-charged chant. The story appeared surprising for numerous reasons. Among them, education is supposed to reduce racial resentment (or at least temper outward expressions of it), and young people, known as Millennials, are supposed to be uniquely tolerant.

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In the year following the death of Michael Brown, America has seen its share of racial disquiet. The Aug. 9, 2014, shooting death of the black teenager at the hands of a white police officer in Ferguson, Missouri, sparked weeks of protest, and drew attention to a brand new civil rights campaign for the modern era: Black Lives Matter.

The organization, and the phrase itself, has been the center of controversy and tension since it gained nationwide attention last year. Candidates on the 2016 presidential campaign have stumbled while trying to find the perfect pitch in addressing its significance.

On the evening of June 17, 2015, America once again was forced to confront racial tensions with the mass shooting at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in downtown Charleston, South Carolina, nearly a year after Brown's death.

It is with this backdrop that PBS NewsHour and Marist College's Institute for Public Opinion conducted a survey of Americans that illustrates the contrast in opinions along racial lines about the opportunities available today for African Americans. [View the complete poll results and methodology here.]

The results point to a large difference on attitudes on opportunity and race relations among white and black Americans. Some of the results include:

On the topic of whether African Americans and whites have the same opportunity in getting a job, 76 percent of African-Americans said they do not, while 52 percent of whites said they did.

On whether African Americans and whites have the same opportunity in equal justice, 87 percent of African-Americans said they do not, while 50 percent of whites said they did.

On what African Americans and whites have heard or seen about Black Lives Matter, 65 percent of African Americans think it focuses on issues of racial discrimination compared to 25 percent of whites, and 59 percent of whites think it distracts attention from real issues compared to 26 percent of African Americans.

And on the 2016 presidential election, 56 percent of African Americans and 31 percent of whites think the issue of race relations has been given too little attention, while 33 percent of whites and 19 percent of African Americans think it's been given too much attention.

On Monday, these topics and more will be discussed during the special " America After Charleston," a discussion that was taped just blocks from the site of the Charleston shootings, at the Circular Congregational Church. The special will be broadcast on PBS Monday, Sept. 21.

Correction: The graphic title "Black Lives Matter" has been updated with the correct data.

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Race relations in U.S. at a low point in recent history, new poll suggests

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In the year following the death of Michael Brown, America has seen its share of racial disquiet. It is with this backdrop that PBS NewsHour and Marist College's Institute for Public Opinion conducted a survey of Americans that illustrates the contrast in opinions along racial lines about the opportunities available today for African Americans.

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Religious discrimination is an ordinary occurrence for the majority of Muslim Americans, and President Donald Trump's election has spread fear throughout portions of the community, according to a nationwide poll released Tuesday.

The Institute for Social Policy and Understanding think tank surveyed 800 Muslims from Jan. 4 to 23 for a wide-ranging look at the particular struggles they face. The report, "American Muslim Poll 2017: Muslims at the Crossroads," compared their responses with those of people of other faiths and the U.S. population at large.

Sixty percent of Muslims reported personally experiencing religious discrimination in the past year, compared with 17 percent of the general population. Forty-two percent said their kids had experienced bullying in the previous year.

The new administration loomed large in Muslims' responses. More than a third said they feared for their own or their family's safety from hate groups in the wake of the election. A smaller number of Muslims said that since the election they had made preparations to leave the country if needed, changed their appearance to be less obvious as Muslim or signed up for a self-defense class.

A rash of hateful comments and actions directed at Muslims following the Nov. 8 presidential election has perpetuated that fear, Council on American-Islamic Relations spokeswoman Zainab Chaudry said at a panel announcing the report.

"We saw that taper off after the first couple weeks after the election," Chaudry said, but "the concern, the anxiety and fear, is still very real."

Trump's election has brought Islamophobia into the White House in the forms of the president's executive orders banning travelers from several Muslim-majority countries and the input of advisers who hold anti-Islamic views . Trump himself has said he thinks "Islam hates us " and repeated the debunked claim that he saw thousands of Muslims Americans celebrating after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

"There's been more than 15 years of propaganda, miseducation campaigns, to convince the American public that Islam is inherently evil and violent and that Muslims should be associated with terrorism and fear in their communities," Charles Haynes, founding director of the Newseum Institute's Religious Freedom Center, said Tuesday.

"Even in the corridors of power now, this narrative, this propaganda which used to be on the fringe has moved into the center, and it's now mainstream," Haynes added.

Only 15 percent of Muslims favored Trump in the election, according to the survey. Just over half supported Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton, and nearly a third didn't support either candidate.

Muslims are the most racially diverse religious group among those surveyed, according to ISPU, with no one race holding a majority. Half of American Muslims were born in other countries.

ISPU hopes its findings will give the public and policymakers a better understanding of a group often overlooked by pollsters and stereotyped by pundits.

While the experts discussing the report Tuesday constantly referred to the precarious situation for Muslims under Trump's administration, they also pointed to some bright spots, including a wave of support from allies and increased community activism. Nearly a fifth of Muslims reported getting involved with civic organizations for the first time after the election.

The political climate and Trump's executive orders targeting some Muslims have actually brought out the best of the community, Chaudry argued.

"We're seeing young folks step up to the podium," she said. "They're saying that we're not going to be silent bystanders. We're not going to allow our religion to be hijacked. We're going to make sure that we shape our own narrative."

For the institute's report, research firm SSRS surveyed 800 Muslims and 340 Jews by cell phone, landline and online panel. Triton Polling conducted a poll of the general public, interviewing 1,250 people by phone to examine the views of Protestants, Catholics and people who weren't affiliated with a religious group. The responses from the two separate surveys can be accurately compared because each captured a representative sample of its target populations, according to SSRS chief methodologist and executive vice president David Dutwin. The margin of error for the SSRS poll is plus or minus 5.1 percentage points for Muslim respondents and 6.5 percentage points for Jewish respondents, and the Triton poll included a margin of error of plus or minus 2.8 points.

BEFORE YOU GO

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Discrimination And Fear Are The Norm For Many Muslim Americans

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Religious discrimination is an ordinary occurrence for the majority of Muslim Americans, and President Donald Trump's election has spread fear throughout portions of the community, according to a nationwide poll released Tuesday. The Institute for Social Policy and Understanding think tank surveyed 800 Muslims from Jan.

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Watch full-length episodes of PBS documentary series FRONTLINE for free. A Class Divided - The day after Martin Luther King, Jr. was killed, a teacher in a small town in Iowa tried a daring classroom experiment in discrimination.