A new study came out on Friday that basically said black people and white people in America don't see things the same way. My response to that was "duh"!

Since I know most folks won't download the entire report, here are some of the highlights:

• Most Blacks and African Americans 70%) have a plan for their future - even teens.

• A majority (60%) say ‘things are getting better for me’.

• They are ‘confident to do their own thing’ (73%) and trust God to take care of things (79%).

• They agree that education is important - 82% consider it a key to success.

• A majority (54%) are optimistic about the future of Blacks.

• Most (75%) say it’s important to take advantage of the gains won by previous generations of African-Americans.

• A majority think things got better since the Civil Rights struggles of the 60s. And, 1/3 don’t.

• About 2/3 think the history of slavery makes Blacks different.

• So, most (79%) preserve traditions associated with music, culture and food.

• Almost everyone (88%) has enormous respect for the opinions and desires of older family members.

• Among 18+, 34% have at least some college or a 2 year degree.

• 6 in 10 believe that, with very few exceptions, problems in the Black community can be solved by Blacks themselves.

• Even though many believe in solidarity, 84% think ‘Blacks need to be more
responsible for themselves as individuals’.

• Just under half (46%) strongly agree that ‘the only person I can count on is
myself’.

• And, about half strongly agree that ‘Black children should have Black role models’.

• Even though a minority (24%) have been personally discriminated against
in the past 3 months...

• ... Most (82%) believe it is ‘important for parents to prepare their children for prejudice’.

• Most Blacks are comfortable being Black - only 10% feel the need to hide
their Black identity.

• But they don’t need to ‘act Black’ either.

• Barely 1 in 4 act differently with each other compared to when they are with
other ethnic groups.

• Nearly 50% say banks and other financial institutions don’t understand their needs.

• Only 8% trust credit card companies.

• Most Blacks describe themselves as Christian (83%) although only 41% go to church at least once a week.

• 1 in 10 say they have no religion or that they are atheists or agnostic.

• Among men, 47% strongly agree they are not as religious as their parents (36% of women also strongly agree).

• Police, Government, Mainstream media and the Criminal justice system range between 12-16% as far as who are trusted.

• Only 13% really trust Mainstream media and 30% really don’t.

• Most suggest that Mainstream media still reinforces Black stereotypes and that
Mainstream media aren’t doing a good job of portraying Blacks in a positive light.

The next six are my demographic group, specifically:

• Despite being the oldest segment, 90% of this segment are online (mostly for email and news).

• Similar to Black is Better, this segment is strongly inclined to “Buy Black” and has a strong interest in Black history and traditions.

• They are the least likely to say that Blacks are portrayed the same way on Mainstream Media as on Black media.

• They are almost 5 times more likely to trust Black media than Mainstream
media.

• 75% say they are persuaded by ads their reflect their culture and heritage.

• This segment is among the most religious.

And there you go. In case you were wondering, the only one I don't fit into as far as my demographic is the last one; ain't happening. :-) It's an intriguing survey, and I still wonder how one can define a group of 33 million people with a sample of 3,400, but so be it; a survey is a survey.