Just over one-third of Americans think that wearing blackface can be acceptable as part of a Halloween costume, Pew Research Poll found in a recent survey.
Two of the top elected officials in Virginia have encountered controversy in recent weeks after the governor and attorney general admitted to wearing blackface in the past as part of Halloween costumes. Pew Research asked Americans across the country about their views on blackface.
- 34 percent said it’s always or can be acceptable for a white person to darken their skin as part of a Halloween costume.
- 53 percent said that it’s rarely or never acceptable to wear blackface.
- White people are twice more likely to condone blackface than black people, 39 percent to 18 percent, while 29 percent of Hispanic people think it is always or sometimes acceptable.
- 50 percent of Republicans and those who lean GOP think blackface is acceptable, at least some of the time, while 21 percent of Democrats say the same.
Young people and those with a bachelor’s degree or more are more likely to think blackface is never acceptable, while those above 30 and without a college degree are more likely to think it is always or sometimes acceptable.
Pew Research Poll surveyed 5,599 people, with oversamples of black and Hispanic respondents for more accurate estimates of those populations, from Jan. 22 to Feb. 5, with a margin of error of 1.7 percentage points.
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