The Black Mood: More Militant, More Hopeful, More Determined

THE attitudes of black Americans have hardened into a pattern that may well shape the U.S. racial crisis for years to come. Pride in being black is now solidly entrenched. Still-unbroken barriers of prejudice, discrimination and inequality are clearer targets for blacks than ever before. Black confidence runs deep that matters are improving and will get even better. The vast majority want to work through the existing system--economic and political power--for further improvements. But most of all, black Americans see their own militance and strength winning the battle for equality over a white-run system. They increasingly distrust that system, as a whole, even though a majority report remarkably smooth relations with white people.

These are the major findings of a TIME-Louis Harris poll based on interviews among a nationwide cross section of 1,255 blacks. The determination to keep up the pressure on white society runs strongly throughout the survey, and is significantly higher among the young and among well-educated blacks with relatively high incomes who once formed a "safe" and conservative black bourgeoisie. On a national basis, 9% of all blacks --more than 2,000,000 Americans--count themselves "revolutionaries" and believe that only "a readiness to use violence will ever get us real equality." Whatever their own convictions about violence, the number of those who believe that blacks "will probably have to resort to violence to win rights" has risen from 21% in 1966 to 31% today. Among black teenagers, it is 40%. A far higher percentage, 59%, advocate violence only as a last resort when all else has failed, but significantly only 25% of those surveyed were willing to say that violence should be avoided at all costs.

For black Americans, pride in themselves and their culture, so long smothered in a predominantly white society, is now a pervasive reality. Eighty-five percent strongly endorse black-studies programs in high schools and colleges as "an important sign of black identity and pride." Interest in African culture, learning Swahili and wearing Afro hair styles are important to 45%--with almost 60% of the young blacks and those in the upper and upper-middle classes supporting these trends. When asked to state what will be needed to attain full equality in the next ten years, blacks showed a sense of self-reliance expressed in statements such as "Achieve equal educational opportunities with whites," "Greater unity among blacks," and "Blacks must keep pushing and fighting for equality." These assertions far outran such concepts as promoting communication, respect and understanding from whites.

White reluctance to recognize black claims to equality, linked with the "failure of the Federal Government to follow up on new civil rights laws," has produced profound cynicism about the American political system. Sixty-three percent agree that "the system is rotten and has to be changed completely for blacks to be free." This disillusionment, coupled with the presence of a Republican Administration and its actions, has almost totally alienated blacks from government, both federal and local. While the FBI receives a 50%-to-27% vote of confidence for its impartial treatment of blacks and whites, local law-enforcement authorities are regarded as antiblack. Only 20% believe that many local police apply the law equally; 62% feel the cops are against blacks. By a 73%-to-12% margin, blacks believe local police are dishonest; by a similar 67% to 18%, they feel police are "more interested in cracking black heads than in stopping crime." Blacks have scarcely more faith in the courts. A 62%-to-21% majority felt that the Supreme Court applied the law equally, but a 55%-to-23% majority feel that state and local courts are biased.

Blacks no longer hope for much help from the Federal Government. The Justice Department, regarded as a friend during the Kennedy and Johnson administrations, is now considered anti-black by a 50%-22% margin. So is the Nixon Administration. Sixty-three percent say they looked to the Federal Government for a great deal of leadership in racial affairs under J.F.K. and L.B.J.; only 3% say the same about the present Administration, and only 17% think they will ever come to depend on the Federal Government again. They are equally unlikely to seek help from either of the two major political parties. Though 63% believe Democrats are more likely than Republicans to help blacks, an even higher 72% entirely reject the notion of reflex party support, preferring to vote for "whichever man will help the blacks." In fact, black self-reliance and self-confidence have progressed to the point where a surprising 41%-to-38% plurality can foresee themselves taking real control of their local governments in the next few years.

One measure of the blacks' sense of alienation from white-run institutions is their sympathy for the Black Panthers. One in four categorically states, "The Black Panthers represent my own personal views," and the figure rises to 43% among those under 21. Sixty-four percent of all blacks agree that the "Panthers give me a sense of pride."

A feeling of being part of a group of embattled outsiders runs strongest among low-income blacks, those on welfare and the young. It by no means stops there. Sixty-one percent agree with the statement, "People who have the power are out to take advantage of you." Yet the sense of being discriminated against is not universal. Sixty-eight percent attest that they have experienced discrimination personally, and 23% feel it "almost every day of my life." Humiliations in looking for a job or housing, in getting served at a restaurant or applying for help from the Government, in enrolling a child in an integrated school or even in getting admitted to a hospital, all rank high as areas where blacks are consistently given a hard time. Poignantly, 48% agree that "white society has treated blacks so badly that it is hard for black men to have any real authority, even in their own homes." But, remarkably, 26% in both rural areas and inner cities report that they had almost never been discriminated against.

In view of the long and unyielding list of grievances, it is noteworthy that the majority still rely on orthodox methods of working within the system. When asked to assess the effectiveness of four different types of black leadership, a majority of blacks make the distinction that although militants may build up black pride, they are not necessarily the most effective. At the top of the list are "elected black officials," cited by 71% as "very effective." They are followed by "civil rights leaders, such as the N.A.A.C.P.," viewed as "very effective" by 67%, although by only 56% of the under-21 group. Behind them are "black ministers and religious leaders," given a "very effective" rating by 56 percent. At the bottom of the list--despite "pride" expressed in the Panthers in another context--are "leaders of black militant groups." They are given a "very effective" mark by only 29%, though an additional 29% say that they are "somewhat effective."

All of the bitterness and frustration notwithstanding, blacks in America express strong confidence that life is improving for them and will improve further in the days ahead. Sixty-four percent feel that things are "getting better than they were four to five years ago." Why? Seventy-seven percent say that "more blacks being admitted to college" has given them a great deal of hope; 70% cite "new kinds of jobs opening up for blacks" as a major cause of optimism; 63% see "great hope" in what they believe is the "rising racial pride among black people"; and 63% observe the same in the "increase in black-owned businesses."

A solid majority of blacks report that where they have had contact with individual whites on a regular basis--as opposed to less personal dealings--they have found the relationship "pleasant and easy." Sixty-eight percent report contact with whites as employers or supervisors at work, and 66% of them report a satisfactory relationship; 59% work with whites on the job, and 69% of them say they have a "pleasant and easy relationship"; 47% know a white who is an owner or manager of a retail store, and a high 77% of them report no troubles at all; 39% have a white friend, and 88% of those who do say that the relationship works out well.

The problem, according to the blacks, is not that they cannot get along with whites, or that integration cannot be made to work on a day-in, day-out basis. Rather, most blacks are saying that the problem is with white society in general, the segregated, discriminatory structure that seems unwilling to bend or change to accommodate black equality. They sense a growing intractability in white society and are well aware of the white backlash.

Where they come out is perhaps best expressed in the response to the question of whether blacks should continue to pressure the Federal Government, or should ease up because that course might lead to more white resistance. The answer was overwhelmingly one-sided. By 77% to 14%, blacks answered: Keep up the pressure. Reason: only militancy, black pride and black unity will compensate for decreasing white support, most believe. They mean to achieve education, economic power and political office.

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