What does the public think about the Racial Wealth Gap?

The Racial Wealth gap in America is a problem that we as a society need to face. But before we do that, it is important that we see what the public thinks about the wage gap, and their opinions in the position of African Americans today. A survey was sent out to a group of 12 seniors at Wakefield School. The survey asked certain questions just to see what they thought about the racial wealth gap and to see how informed they were. Although the results were not very surprising, this experiment still gave me insight in certain ideals, and as given me the opportunity to inform the participants and inform them on things they may not be fully aware of.
When asked about if they thought that African Americans were generally poorer than White Americans, 73.% said that African Americans are generally poorer, and 26.7% said that they are not. Realistically, African Americans are generally poorer than African Americans. Next, I asked why did they choose the answer that they did. Most answers relate it to blacks not getting equal jobs, discrimination and racism, and the idea that whites have more of an economic advantage. All but one choose an answer similar to that. That person said that they believed that African Americans have an equal opportunity to gain wealth as whites.
Next, I asked if they thought that African Americans got paid as much as whites. 86.7% said yes, and 13.3% said no. After that, I asked if they thought that the government should help African Americans attain equal wealth. This was one of two questions where everyone agreed, as everyone said yes. The following question after that was If they thought that African Americans lived in poorer neighborhoods than whites. 80% said yes, and 20% said no. I asked them why they chose their answer, and the most common answer went along the lines of African Americans not being trusted by insurance companies, African Americans not having enough wealth to pay to live in nicer neighborhoods, and some simply did not know why African Americans lived in poorer neighborhoods. I then asked them their opinion on incarceration rates, and if they thought it was fair. Everyone who answered shared similar opinions, as they thought that it was unfair and that racial profiling had a big role to play. The participants also shared how they thought the longer sentences for African Americans was unfair. After that, I then asked if they knew what redlining is. 66.7% said that they did not, and 33.3% said that they did. Finally, I asked if they thought that African American were at fault for the racial wealth gap. Although a 2 said yes,  In general, the most common answer was no due to oppression, racial inequality, and not enough representation in the government.
Although these results are surprising, it is still important to know what the public's thinks about the issue. For us as a country to fix this problem, we need to all be properly informed, and aware of the underlying issues. For the most part, the participants had some idea of the underlying issues, but for us as a whole to fix the gap, I think that the public needs to be a little more informed.