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WASHINGTON (AP) 鈥� Slightly less than half of U.S. adults believe that Black people face 鈥渁 great deal鈥� or 鈥渜uite a bit鈥� of discrimination in the United States, according to a new poll. That’s a decline from the solid majority, 60%, who thought Black Americans faced high levels of discrimination in the spring of 2021, months after racial reckoning protests in response to the police killing of George Floyd.

Significant numbers of Americans also think diversity, equity and inclusion efforts, also known as DEI, are backfiring against the groups they’re intended to help, according to the survey from , including many people who belong to those groups.

The findings suggest Americans鈥� views on racial discrimination have shifted substantially since four years ago, when many companies launched efforts to promote diversity within their workforces and the products they sold.

Since then, many of those companies have reversed themselves and retreated from their diversity practices, a trend that鈥檚 accelerated this year under pressure from President Donald Trump, a Republican who has sought to withhold federal money from schools and companies that promote DEI.

Now, it鈥檚 clear that views are changing as well as company policies.

Claudine Brider, a 48-year-old Black Democrat in Compton, California, says the concept of DEI has made the workplace difficult for Black people and women in new ways.

鈥淎nytime they鈥檙e in a space that they鈥檙e not expected to be, like seeing a Black girl in an engineering course … they are seen as only getting there because of those factors,鈥� Brider said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 all negated by someone saying, 鈥榊ou鈥檙e only here to meet a quota.鈥欌��

Reversal in views of racial discrimination

The new poll finds 45% of U.S. adults think Black people face high levels of discrimination, down from 60% in the spring of 2021. There was a similar drop in views about the prevalence of serious discrimination against Asian people, which fell from 45% in the 2021 poll 鈥� conducted a month after the Atlanta spa shootings, which killed eight people, including six women of Asian descent 鈥� to 32% in the current survey.

There鈥檚 no question the country has backtracked from its 鈥渟o-called racial reckoning鈥� and the experiences of particular groups such as Black people are being downplayed, said Phillipe Copeland, a professor at Boston University School of Social Work.

Americans’ views about discrimination haven’t shifted when it comes to all groups, though. Just under half of U.S. adults, 44%, now say Hispanic people face at least 鈥渜uite a bit of discrimination,鈥� and only 15% say this about white people. Both numbers are similar to when the question was last asked in April 2021.

Divisions on the impact of DEI on Black and Hispanic people

The poll indicates that less than half of Americans think DEI has a benefit for the people it’s intended to help.

About 4 in 10 U.S. adults say DEI reduces discrimination against Black people, while about one-third say this about Hispanic people, women and Asian people. Many 鈥� between 33% and 41% 鈥� don’t think DEI makes a difference either way. About one-quarter of U.S. adults believe that DEI actually increases discrimination against these groups.

Black and Hispanic people are more likely than white people to think DEI efforts end up increasing discrimination against people like them.

About 4 in 10 Black adults and about one-third of Hispanic adults say DEI increases discrimination against Black people, compared with about one-quarter of white adults. There is a similar split between white adults and Black and Hispanic adults on assessments of discrimination against Hispanic people.

Among white people, it’s mostly Democrats who think DEI efforts reduce discrimination against Black and Hispanic people. Only about one-quarter of white independents and Republicans say the same.

Pete Parra, a 59-year-old resident of Gilbert, Arizona, thinks that DEI is making things harder for racial minorities now. He worries about how his two adult Hispanic sons will be treated when they apply for work.

鈥淚鈥檓 not saying automatically just give it to my sons,鈥� said Parra, who leans toward the Democratic Party. But he’s concerned that now factors other than merit may take priority.

鈥淚f they get passed over for something,” he said, “they鈥檙e not going to know (why).鈥�

About 3 in 10 say DEI increases discrimination against white people

The new poll shows that Americans aren’t any more likely to think white people face discrimination than they were in 2021. And more than half think DEI doesn’t make a difference when it comes to white people or men.

But a substantial minority 鈥� about 3 in 10 U.S. adults 鈥� think DEI increases discrimination against white people. Even more white adults, 39%, hold that view, compared with 21% of Hispanic adults and 13% of Black adults.

The recent political focus on DEI has included the idea that white people are more often overlooked for career and educational opportunities because of their race.

John Bartus, a 66-year-old registered Republican in Twin Falls, Idaho, says that DEI might have been 鈥渁 good thing for all races of people, but it seems like it鈥檚 gone far left.鈥� It鈥檚 his impression that DEI compels companies to hire people based on their race or if they identify as LGBTQ+.

鈥淭he most qualified person ought to get a job based on their merit or based on their educational status,鈥� Bartus said.

Brider, the Black California resident, objects to the notion that white people face the same level of discrimination as Black people. But while she thinks the aims of DEI are admirable, she also sees the reality as flawed.

鈥淚 do think there needs to be something that ensures that there is a good cross-section of people in the workplace,鈥� Brider said. 鈥淚 just don鈥檛 know what that would look like, to be honest.鈥�

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The AP-NORC poll of 1,437 adults was conducted July 10-14, using a sample drawn from NORC鈥檚 probability-based AmeriSpeak Panel, which is designed to be representative of the U.S. population. The margin of sampling error for adults overall is plus or minus 3.6 percentage points.