According to Pew Research, the American public is very divided over the outcome of the recent George Zimmerman trial and the topic of race the trial has brought up. In general, nearly the same numbers of Americans agree with the not guilty verdict as disagree with it (39 percent vs. 42 percent with nearly 20 percent with no opinion), and 52 percent say race is getting more attention in this case than it deserves. 36 percent say the case raises important issues about race that need to be discussed.
That said, African Americans express a clear and strong reaction to the case and its meaning: By an 86 percent to 5 percent margin, blacks are dissatisfied with Zimmerman’s acquittal in the death of Trayvon Martin. And nearly eight-in-ten blacks say the case raises important issues about race that need to be discussed. Among whites, more are satisfied (49 percent) than dissatisfied (30 percent) with the outcome of the Zimmerman trial. Just 28 percent of whites say the case raises important issues about race, while twice as many (60 percent) say the issue of race is getting more attention than it deserves.
Read more about this research here.
